The Providence Journal published 20 articles about Governor Gina Raimondo and Sackler contributions to her campaign. It was only $12,500, nothing in the world of hedge fund managers, Raimondo’s former occupation. The publicity finally got to her, and she announced she was donating the money somewhere.
Sackler owns Purdue Pharma, major manufacturer of OxyContin, the highly addictive opioid responsible for more than 200,000 deaths. There are more than 1,600 lawsuits against Purdue and the Sacklers, whose net worth exceeds $14 Billion.
Sackler is a major funder if charter schools and charter advocacy groups, such as Achievement First, ConnCAN and 50CAN.
Diane Ravitch's blog 
The Sackler money is raising havoc at many institutions. It is also bringing back into view the contributions of others to “worthy” causes with clawbacks after an initial “yes” to mega-contributions. Here is a new report from the Non-Profit Quarterly, citing Bill Cosby’s gift to Spellman College and how that was resolved…sort of.
https://nonprofitquarterly.org/2019/03/28/fending-off-new-sackler-money-is-easier-than-returning-old-gifts/?utm_source=NPQ+Newsletters&utm_campaign=e1fac3d25b-DAILY_RSS_EMAIL_CAMPAIGN&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_94063a1d17-e1fac3d25b-12896525&mc_cid=e1fac3d25b&mc_eid=49638bd204
May those 1600 lawsuits drain away all of that $14 billion so the Sacklers end up as poverty-stricken as Trump will be after he leaves office and all of the lawsuits he is avoiding because he is president catch up with him.
Trump is desperate to be re-elected so he can run out the statute of limitations.
oh, that it goes just the opposite way: he loses the election, he’s immediately hit with a massive WALL of personal lawsuits, the next President has zero interest in offering him any pardons…
The Sacklers have undoubtedly already stashed their money in Swiss bank accounts where it can’t be touched.
And Purdue will declare chapter 11 bankruptcy if they are pushed to the wall. They have already threatened as much.
As we saw with wall Street bad actors in the subprime mortgage scam, fines don’t work as a means to discourage this sort of thing. They are simply seen as the cost of doing business. Wall Street is basically back to doing what it did before 2008.
The Sacklers made close to 20 billion off of Oxycontin so paying a few hundred million or even a few billion is certainly something they can afford.
And there will never be any criminal trials, you can be sure of that.
And here is another example of questioning whether institutions should be accepting money from “toxic philanthropic sources.” The Whitney Museum is being troubled by demonstrations.
https://nonprofitquarterly.org/2019/03/29/no-space-for-war-profiteers-at-the-museum-protestors-confront-whitney-visitors-with-freedom-songs/?utm_source=NPQ+Newsletters&utm_campaign=ddaf3d75dd-DAILY_RSS_EMAIL_CAMPAIGN&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_94063a1d17-ddaf3d75dd-12896525&mc_cid=ddaf3d75dd&mc_eid=49638bd204
It’s reported that Charles Koch is the keynote speaker at the Global Philanthropy Forum on April 2.
The richest 0.1% and those who serve them, act without conscience. Civic punishment in the form of protest or a legal hammer, is all that works.
All of this scandal is one good reason to tax corporations and the wealthy at such a level that their “philanthropic gestures” will be mostly through their taxes. I would praise the day when no living person’s or corporation’s name was attached to some award, event, or structure because of a donation they made.
“Betsy DeVos
It was great to join @NRO for a fireside chat at their Idea’s Summit to discuss #EducationFreedom Scholarships this AM. These scholarships would create programs to expand choices for families & students in K-12 education. To learn more about EF”
Does the US Department of Education completely exclude public school students, teachers and families now?
They meet exclusively with members of the ed reform echo chamber.
It’s freaking ridiculous that we now have a federal agency that refuses to serve the schools that 90% of kids attend. Why are we paying for this?
The DeVos or Sackler or Walton families can pick up the tab for this anti-public school political campaign they’re running- I resent paying for it.
It’s freaking ridiculous that Ohio has state board of education members listed at SETDA which legitimizes the Gates-funded organization’s political activities, “Take action on important issues facing public education”…promote digital learning …”showcase innovative products” for SETDA’s “partners (available as Gold, Silver, Event and Strategic)”.
I can’t find a single positive press release about any public school in the country at the US Department of Education.
The Trump Administration has apparently decided they won’t expend any actual effort towards 90% of students in this country, just because those students attend the public schools that Trump political appointees oppose ideologically.
It’s ludicrous. Pure politics. And we’re all footing the bill for this propaganda.
I’d like to cut their salaries by 90% since they serve only 10% of students. Just send the federal funding back to our schools and stick the anti-public school politicking. We could replace the whole gang with a competent bookkeeper.
Glad to know the Sacklers are getting sued up the wazoo. Have been reading the excellent book Dopesick, & the one suit covered in there, insofar as I’ve gotten in the 2018 book, sent 3 of their underlings to trial (no one got any jail time, & a proportionately small fine {for all the billions made by Purdue Pharma} &, of course, the Sacklers went off on their merry way).
As I’ve said before, the only reason villainthropists dish out “donations” (the show Democracy Now devoted an entire hour to this the other night, with the original book & its author {Pain Killer} & the protesters hanging from the rafters, throwing down fake oxycontin prescriptions & lying on the floor to represent all those who’d died, at the Guggenheim {or the NYCMMA–?}) is that they believe, in the end, their donations will buy them into heaven.
That or they like to have their name on every $%*&ing institution.
(For that one, last laugh–I believe that Amy Goodman said at least one of the museums was removing the Sackler name from its wing{s}. I believe many will follow suit.)
& how about that unbelievable speech on climate change made, yesterday, by A.O.C.?
Tear-inducing; said everything a representative for the people should be saying.
“at least one of the museums was removing the Sackler name from its wing{s}. I believe many will follow suit.”
I think a better thing to do would be to carve the names of all the people who have died from opioids in the walls of the building and make explicit the role played by the Sacklers in the epidemic.
Oh, and Raimondo is pure, unadulterated evil. Either election fraud runs rampant in Rhode Island or the people who get out & vote are missing some marbles (I’d stick with the former). A recent study found that the U.S. has one of the most corrupt election systems (i.e., widespread election fraud) in the world.
I urge everyone to vote ON ELECTION DAY–paper is safer!!!
Do we know to whom the money is being donated? I wouldn’t put it past them to “donate” it to TfA or some other similarly worthy “charity”. Hell, the NFL is non-profit – donate it to them.