Where Are Your Climate Tax Dollars Going?

Hinzugefügt: 2026-05-19

[00:00:00]It takes about 3 minutes for you to fill your tank. Uh that's a completely empty tank. Um as you're watching the numbers go by, um I want you to realize where some of that money is going. Uh you're paying a guy uh by name Gruen $142,742.

[00:00:17]Uh you're paying another guy uh Mr. Martin's making $129,186.

[00:00:26]That's a printing press of money.

[00:00:29]They uh they run this organization called Front and Center. Uh Front and Center got 2.5 million of your money back in uh 2023.

[00:00:38]Uh Front and Center is a place where NGOs, that's non-governmental organizations, um they go to Front and Center and they say, "Hey, we'd like to get a grant. We want to get some money. We want to try to do this or do that for the environment. Can you help us?" And then Front and Center says, "Yeah. Okay. Uh yeah, we'll help you get some money."

[00:00:55]So, here's an example of one of them.

[00:00:56]It's uh called uh Mother Africa. It's in uh South King County. It's there in Kent. And uh they uh I looked up their 19 I looked up their 990 tax return. And in 2020, they had revenues of 1.6 million. Okay? Four years later, revenue of 3 million. The executive director there makes about $156,000.

[00:01:18]Okay. So, they go to Front and Center and they say, "We want to do something.

[00:01:22]We want to try to improve the air quality." So, they asked for uh $300,000 of your money. Uh and they were able to get $262,000.

[00:01:30]Mother Africa was. Uh they spent it on community outreach, uh bus passes, bicycles, and portable air cleaners.

[00:01:40]$262,000.

[00:01:43]You probably have about a minute 30 left as you're filling your gas tank.

[00:01:47]Um All right. So, that's what Front and Center does. They they have the NGOs that come to them and then they they try to get them money.

[00:01:56]Um so, let's see. Did Did Mother Africa there in Kent did it improve the air quality?

[00:02:05]Who knows? We do know that Front and Center was able to direct some of your gas money over to them to overburdened communities in Washington emphasizing racial equity and redistribution of environmental benefits. You can read all about Front and Center um and their principles in an eye-popping and a pant-pooping piece by Shipwreck Crew Substack. Um I'll try to get that, Joe, so people can read it um so they can take a good look at it. There's a map that shows all the organizations that want to thank you for filling your tank with billions and billions of dollars. Now, it doesn't seem like anyone in Olympia is responding to any of these alarms, which reminds me of the most famous bank robber in history in France. His name was Albert Spaggiari.

[00:02:57]Uh and in 1976, Albert uh got himself a safety deposit box at the largest bank in Nice, France, and he put an alarm clock in there. He wound it up, and he put the put the alarm clock in in the safety deposit box, and he set the alarm. It was a bit of a test. You see, the alarm was going to go off, and he wanted to see if anybody would respond to Did anybody? Anybody look up? Anybody seem concerned about any of it? Well, apparently, no one did anything. So, Albert then realized, "Oh, this is going to be an easy job." He and a bunch of guys got together on the 13th to the 7th 16th of uh July, and they began by going underneath a manhole cover, and they started digging and digging and digging till finally they got right underneath the vault. They had to make sure they were right under it, and then they started chipping away, and they were able to get into the vault itself from the bottom, from the sewer. They got in there and the first thing they did is they welded the door of the vault shut from the inside. They drank good wine, they ate lots of cheese, and then they stole about 60 million francs, which would be about 130 million francs today.

[00:04:09]And then they left. Never got caught.

[00:04:12]But then Albert did when somebody snitched on him. He was standing before the judge about to be sentenced and he slowly made his way over to the window and then he jumped out the window cuz that's what you do when you're in France.

[00:04:26]Why does France have an open window in a courtroom?

[00:04:29]>> Good question.

[00:04:30]>> Cuz it stinks.

[00:04:32]Ah.

[00:04:33]And they also don't have AC. He jumps out the window to a waiting motorcycle and he's never seen again. This was the largest bank history or the bank robbery in the history of France.

[00:04:45]Now, I am not accusing any one of these fine organizations in the state of Washington that are getting all of our tax dollars. I'm not accusing them of theft. But if a nonprofit is given hundreds of thousands of dollars and their executive directors are making 200,000 or 250,000 when you combine them and the um co-directors, you'd want to know whether all of their efforts to clean the air in overburdened communities or whatever else they're doing is actually working.

[00:05:18]Alarm bells are going off at in Olympia that has your money. Is anyone doing anything?

[00:05:26]Your gas tank should be filled by now.

[00:05:29]Your wallet should be a little lighter.

[00:05:31]And as far as the air quality is concerned,