Former Education Secretary Betsy Devos has teamed up with billionaire trader and TikTok investor Jeff Yass to dismantle public education by spending tens of millions on state elections to pass charter and private school voucher bills.
Every year in early December, Pennsylvania elites travel to New York City for a weekend to mingle, prepare for the upcoming political season, and most importantly, party in Manhattan’s swankiest spots. Despite the at times vicious disputes over issues critical to families in the state, Pennsylvania’s most influential elected officials come together in midtown Manhattan every year to prioritize the one constituency group that they all share: their corporate donors.
President Biden’s National Infrastructure Advisory Council that recommends water privatization has ties to private water giant, Veolia and water privatizers that stand to profit off of its recommendations.
In Pennsylvania, healthcare profiteers top the list of the most aggressive spenders on lobbying in the state. In 2022, nearly $30 million was spent on direct healthcare lobbying, about $11 million was spent on Medicare and Medicaid, and over $13 million was spent on insurance lobbying. Together, that’s more than the total lobbying spending on energy, the state budget, and education combined.
Pennsylvania is a key focus for the oil and gas industry. In fact, at least $1.8 million was spent in 2022 and the American Petroleum Institute reports spending more money on lobbying in Pennsylvania than in any other state last year.
Left: The Cathedral of Learning at the University of Pittsburgh; Right: Fracking Infrastructure in Washington County Pennsylvania via Flickr In early October 2022, the University of Pittsburgh (Pitt) made the
Pennsylvania’s richest person is funding an influential network of right-wing think tanks and causes across the state.
Out-of-state billionaires are donating big to pro-Israel groups splurging on state elections to defeat progressive candidates.
