A coalition of labor and community groups in California are attempting to discover the identities of big money donors to political campaigns. Called Hedge Clippers, named after attempts across the country to shed light on secret political activities of hedge funds, the campaign in California began with a report revealing the names of donors trying to hide their contributions to oppose Proposition 30 a 2012 ballot measure to raise taxes on the wealthy to improve public schools. (San Francisco Chronicle, June 28,2016, by Melody Gutierrez)
Action against hedge funds began in New York and has spread across the country. The goal is to inform investors and the public about how hedge funds use their wealth to gain political advantage with the ultimate goal of leveling the playing field. Hedge Clippers have established hedgeclipppers.org, where citizens can access 25 campaign white papers and a searchable database of 86,000 hedge fund dark-money campaign donations. (Inequality.org, February 8, 2016, by Stephen Lerner)