I know this is true because the gun controllers and the pretty people talking to me on the news programs tell me it is.
Wait, is that IT coming from corporate donors? Just FIVE companies donate more than a million and the biggest one is Midway where a mess of the money comes from the customers dumping their change into the virtual equivalent of a Leave A Penny / Take A Penny tray by the cash register?
Now I am a bit perturbed the gun makers AREN'T donating a bit more. Kinda.
But lets do some maths. Lets pretend that in each category they donated the full mount of that category
Midway = $10M
4 companies at $5M (Beretta, Springfield, &c..,)
Lessee, carry the 2... The absolute maximum that could have been donated is... $50 million. Half what the minimum membership donation is. The companies are the junior partner.
I lost track long ago of how much I've donated through Midway's round up program. Not to mention all the other money I have spent on dues.
ReplyDeleteI count 20 (about half) of the companies they label as "manufactures or distribute guns" to be incorrect...Leupold, for example, is so labeled. Also, a NASCAR team and a seller of "farm and construction equipment."
ReplyDeleteLayers of editorial oversight...
From page 4 of the article is says:
ReplyDeleteOver the next six years, various companies donated a total of between $14.7 million and $38.9 million, according to the pro-gun control Violence Policy Center, which analyzed NRA records.
so it appears the your estimate of $50 million is a bit high. The article mentions that most of the NRA donors are individuals which is better than most articles. In context, the NRA takes in about $200 million a year. That means $14.7-38.9 million corporate donations compared to over $600 million in membership fees out of over $1,200 million revenue over those 6 years.
If each of the NRA's 5 million members only paid $35 for a one-year membership, that's $175 million...in a single year...just from individuals. Corporate money is chump change in comparison.
ReplyDeleteFirst saw the Midway USA as the top donor in an article after Newtown. I laughed when I saw Midway as the top donor knowing most of it would be from Round-Up customer donations. But seing this again made me curious how much is the Round Up and it is $9.4 million since 1992. Also interesting it is an endowment where only the interest is spent. http://www.midwayusa.com/nra-support
ReplyDeleteOne thing to keep in mind when factoring membership money is that not all members pay full price. Life and higher don't have pay annually (but may or may not donate), plus there are the family member prices that are lower.