The Smoligarchs is a series on the biggest political donors in Indiana. Every state has influential real estate developers, auto dealership owners, medical industry insiders, large agribusiness farmers, and other wealthy individuals with outsized sway in their communities and at the state level. Many of these folks keep their far-right politics hidden behind philanthropy or operate in the shadows, shunning attention altogether. These are the small-scale oligarchs who own the politicians and REALLY make policy in the Hoosier State.
Why are they on this list?
Rick and Vicki have contributed $75,000 to Mike Braun’s gubernatorial campaign
AND they’ve given $125,000 to Suzanne Crouch for hers.
Where’d they make their money?
Rick James is Chairman/CEO of Auburn-headquartered Metal Technologies, Inc. From their LinkedIn page: “Metal Technologies is a premier metal casting company that uses modern technology and a highly productive workforce to produce the best quality product. Since 1997, we have been a privately held, family owned company. MTI produces high quality gray iron, ductile iron, austempered ductile iron, aluminum die cast and value-added machining for a variety of industries.”
Who else gets their money?
Their biggest donations are to Republican campaign committees like:
INDIANA REPUBLICAN SENATE MAJORITY CAMPAIGN CMTE
INDIANA HOUSE REPUBLICAN CAUCUS
Indiana Republican State Cmte
National Republican Congressional Cmte
National Republican Senatorial Cmte
Other candidates they’ve given to repeatedly:
Former US Representative (IN-03) Marlin Stutzman
US Senator Todd Young
Former Speaker of the House Kevin McCarthy
Her Open Secrets contribution history
His Open Secrets contribution history (there is overlap)
Do they do anything good with their millions?
This lengthy excerpt comes from 2019 press release from Rick’s alma mater, Trine University.
Rick serves as chairman of Trine’s Board of Trustees, of which he has been a member since 2010.
Trine’s University Center was named in honor of Rick and Vicki James in May 2012. They provide annual support to the Trine Fund and have financially supported The Metal Technologies Inc. Health and Fitness Center in Fred Zollner Athletic Stadium, a stadium suite in the Athletic Stadium and a flagpole near the football field, an additional house for use by Campus Christian House, the Jim and Joan Bock Center for Innovation and Biomedical Engineering, the T. Furth Center for Performing Arts, the Ford Hall renovation, Reiners Residence Hall, the expansion of Best Hall, the Thunder Ice Arena and MTI Center, the Fawick Hall expansion, and creation of the Books and Beyond Scholarship.
Rick serves on the board of directors for the Foundry Educational Foundation, which provides scholarship support to promising individuals who desire to enter the foundry industry, and has been named to the Board of Directors of the American Foundry Association.
Vicki serves in multiple roles at Auburn First United Methodist Church and has served on the Board of Directors for PBS-39 TV in Fort Wayne and RISE, Inc.
Area efforts supported by the couple, either personally, or through MTI or their James Foundation, include the DeKalb Central School District Early Childhood Program, DeKalb High School scholarships, DeKalb YMCA, Auburn Cord Duesenberg Museum, the Indiana United Methodist Church camping ministry at Epworth Forest, the DeKalb County Fair Association, the DeKalb County Horseman’s Association, Eckhart Public Library, Junior Achievement of Northern Indiana, the Women’s Care Center pregnancy center and the Summer Camp Program at Bridge of Grace in Fort Wayne.
So what’s the problem? Look at all the good they do with their philanthropy…
If you read my piece titled Reflections from a Hospital Room all the way to the end, you’d know that philanthropy is a poor substitute for progressive taxation. If you want a quick and easy summary of this argument, though, check out this piece from The Guardian, which contains the following excerpt:
Philanthropy, then, is a means of making the uber rich look generous, while they save far more money through exploiting loopholes and using tax havens.
There’s another issue, too. The decision on how philanthropic money is spent is made on the whims and personal interests of the wealthy, rather than what is best. In the US, for example, only 12% of philanthropic money went to human services: it was more likely be spent on arts and higher education. Those choosing where the money goes are often highly unrepresentative of the broader population, and thus more likely to be out of touch with their needs. In the US, 85% of charitable foundation board members are white, and just 7% are African Americans. Money raised by progressive taxation, on the other hand, is spent by democratically accountable governments that have to justify their priorities, which are far more likely to relate to social need.
I was disappointed to find this piece wasn’t about THAT Rick James? Can you help me out?
I’ll never let your spirits down.
I’m pretty sure we know just what the “Women’s Care Center pregnancy center” really is. And is there really such a thing as a promising youth that desires to be in the foundry industry?