Corporate pandering to the left

Townhall reports:

A report issued recently by the Capital Research Center in Washington punctures illusions that tend to associate big corporations with right-wing or conservative causes. The report depicts a reality that is exactly the opposite.

CRC researchers examined contributions made in 2004 by the foundations of the nation's top 100 corporations to nonprofit organizations. The result: corporate contributions to left-leaning groups totaled $59 million and to right-leaning organizations $4 million.

That's about 14.5 corporate dollars going to the left for each dollar going to the right.

For purposes of the research, right-leaning organizations were defined as those generally supporting lower taxes, less regulation, less spending on social programs, more on defense, tough criminal laws, traditional values and the right to bear arms. Left-leaning organizations are those on the opposite side of these issues.

At first blush, this is a highly counterintuitive picture. Why would corporations support organizations whose goals are to make it harder for them to conduct their business?

The report proposes a number of explanations. Among these are the fact that corporations seek competitive advantage, which means that they do not necessarily uniformly support lower taxes and less regulation. They also make decisions regarding "strategic" giving that they conclude nurtures a particular corporate image. And, they respond to pressure.

Reality doesn't fit the Marxist narrative.