Petrelis Files

Gov. Perry Loots Fed Treasury for His Charities

The September 8 edition of the Dallas Morning News reported on Texas Governor Rick Perry, asking people to donate money to a charity, the OneStar Foundation, that just happens to be one he founded.

Reporter Christy Hoppe, who I thank for getting this story into print and for looking at all angles of Perry's move, noted where the money for the foundation comes from: "Through legislation, the governor placed his divisions of faith-based initiatives, adult mentoring and the AmeriCorps volunteer program in the OneStar Foundation. It operates with federal grant money."

Nice use of our federal dollars, huh?

Hoppe whetted my appetite for more information on the charity, so I read the only IRS 990 report, for FY 2003, for the charity on the guidestar.org web site.

The total budget for Perry's OneStar Foundation was $71,000 in government grants. It didn't report any private, voluntary donations. Odd, for a group devoted to volunteerism that it has no direct public support. Just handouts from the federal government.

There's also an ancillary OneStar National Service Commission related to the OneStar Foundation, and the commission files its own IRS 990 form.

The national commission, based in beautiful Austin, Texas, reported in FY 2003 that it received $410,729 in government contributions.

Not a single dime was reported in the IRS 990 form. Just almost half a million in federal bucks to subsidize Perry's agenda of volunteerism.

So both of Perry's charities are wholly funded with federal money, from taxpayers, takes in no direct public donations, and the OneStar Foundation's "about us" page, with Perry's rather faggotty looking mug shot staring at visitors, outrageously claims the following:

"OneStar will support and promote volunteerism and will challenge all Texans to become active community volunteers, with the understanding that less costly government requires the individual leadership of service to others."

Hey, Gov! That costly government you deride is partially so expensive because of the federal grants you rake in. The next time someone talks to me about the looting of New Orleans, I'll be sure to point out Perry's looting of the federal treasury for his charities.