New Mexico is on the front lines of a critical battle to reform corruption in politics. We need nonprofits to help restore democracy and faith in government.
By Larry Ottinger and Aaron Dorfman
America’s serious economic crisis is hurting — and will continue to hurt — the children, families and communities that are served by its more than 1.5 million nonprofit organizations. Yet, at the very time our policy-makers most need the wisdom and involvement of nonprofits and ordinary Americans, there are some government and big business cronies who like the “old boys’ network” and want to shut the people out.
Take a look at New Mexico today and you will find the front lines of a critical battle to reform the corruption in politics with which Americans are rightfully fed up. If we are to achieve the type of accountability and responsiveness that are necessary for effective government that serves the common good, then we must stop attempts to silence civic engagement by our charities.
In the spring of 2008, a respected charitable organization called Center for Civic Policy (CCP) and other charitable partners sent to the public educational materials on some state legislators’ voting records relating to the organization’s priority issues, including ethics and the environment.
Instead of applauding CCP’s positive act of increasing informed civic participation, a few state legislators, who don’t like a democratic exchange of information and ideas, filed a frivolous lawsuit and pressured the secretary of state to require the charities to register as political action committees in order to burden and intimidate them from getting involved in legitimate First Amendment and democratic activity.
Furthermore, there are now legislative attempts to require charities and other nonprofits to register as political committees as a matter of course, and even to reverse years of clear Supreme Court precedent by mandating disclosure of anonymous charitable donors, who may feel threatened by violence or otherwise assert privacy rights.
The First Amendment as reflected in federal tax laws guarantees charities the right to engage in limited lobbying, unlimited non-lobbying issue advocacy and nonpartisan voter activities. Instead of cutting back on nonprofit speech rights, now is an opportunity to simplify and strengthen these rules for the benefit of charities, their funders, the government and the public.
In these times, nonprofits must not be bystanders
New Mexicans have greatly benefited from campaigns by various community groups on issues such as education, health care, living wages, predatory lending and water quality, as shown by recent studies. Instead of stripping nonprofits of their ability to fight for the citizens of New Mexico, now is an opportunity to support such efforts.
As the federal government passes on billions of dollars to the states to spur jobs and meet the essential needs of their residents, nonprofits must be at the policy table to ensure accountability. If they’re not at the table, they may find themselves on the table, without the ability to support civil society as we know it.
Charities and foundations must not be bystanders as decisions are made that will affect the ability of low-income families to become self-sufficient by building assets, finding living-wage jobs, affording decent health care and housing, and providing a future for their children.
The current financial meltdown has been described as the worst since the Great Depression. If this is not a call to action for every organization in the nonprofit world, then how much worse do things have to get before we embrace nonprofit advocacy as central to restoring democracy and faith in government?
Larry Ottinger is executive director of the Center for Lobbying in the Public Interest and