The National Federation of Independent Businesses (NFIB)
calls itself "America’s leading small-business advocacy association," an organization formed "to give every type of small and independent business a voice in government policy-making." Most recently, NFIB is famous for
NFIB v. Sebelius, one of the legal challenges to Obamacare that reached the Supreme Court. You might wonder "how could a non-profit membership organization made up of mom-and-pop businesses take on a case this big?" Well,
how else?
NFIB and its affiliated groups received $2.5 million from Freedom Partners Chamber of Commerce, a conservative advocacy group with deep ties to the Koch empire. Of the five men that sit on the group's board, four are current or former employees of Koch companies and one is a friend of Charles Koch's.
Freedom Partners gave the NFIB $1.5 million last year, the biggest single contribution the federation received, according to tax records. The Koch-backed group gave three other NFIB-affiliated group another $1 million, making Freedom Partners among the top two biggest contributors to those groups, records show.
Here's what else the NFIB
says about itself:
What is NFIB not?
- NOT a voice for Big Business:
- 60% of NFIB members have 5 or fewer employees.
- 55% of NFIB members report gross sales of $350,000 or less.
- NOT under the direction of major contributors:
- NFIB’s overall membership will always determine NFIB policies.
- Each NFIB member gets ONE vote. No exceptions.
- To prevent un-due influence by any one member or group, NFIB dues are capped at a maximum of $10,000.
And that's totally believable. Of course, the Kochs aren't really paying dues, so they don't count as members. They count way, way more.