--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The Kochs never did play by the rules…" description: "\"“The Kochs never did play by the rules. They had their own playing field. They just didn’t abide by anything. Not the EPA or anything else. They consta..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/969/jane-mayer-1031_climate_the-kochs-never-did-play-by-the-rules-th_1628461.jpg" --- # The Kochs never did play by the rules. They had their own… ![“The Kochs never did play by the rules. They had their own playing field. They just didn’t abide by anything. Not the EPA or anything else. They constantly polluted. If they got fined, it didn’t matter, because they made so much money doing it. We never reported things like busted pipeline out in…” quote by Jane Mayer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/969/jane-mayer-1031_climate_the-kochs-never-did-play-by-the-rules-th_1628461.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/969/jane-mayer-1031_climate_the-kochs-never-did-play-by-the-rules-th_1628461.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/969/jane-mayer-1031_climate_the-kochs-never-did-play-by-the-rules-th_1628461.jpg) > ““The Kochs never did play by the rules. They had their own playing field. They just didn’t abide by anything. Not the EPA or anything else. They constantly polluted. If they got fined, it didn’t matter, because they made so much money doing it. We never reported things like busted pipeline out in the field. Otherwise, we’d get fined. When we spilled oil, we never reported the real amount. We were told to do that, to keep our costs down. The Kochs expected us to lie and try to cover it up,”” [Jane Mayer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-mayer/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Powerful corporate interests can manipulate regulations and hide environmental damage to maximize profit, undermining public safety and trust. **In simple terms:** Corporations may break rules for profit, hiding harm. Key Takeaway Demand transparency and enforce accountability. Themes corporate power environmental ethics regulation accountability Mood critical concerned investigative Type statement exposé warning When to use this quote - policy making - environmental compliance - whistleblowing - media investigation Key Concepts political influence corporate malfeasance environmental degradation Questions to Reflect On - How can societies balance economic growth with environmental protection? - What mechanisms can prevent corporate cover‑ups? A Different Perspective Corporate profit motives can conflict with public health and ecological sustainability. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Climate](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/climate/) ## Related quotes > [ \[The Kochs\] they hate big government. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-mayer/the-kochs-they-hate-big-government/) [Jane Mayer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-mayer/) > [“Trump’s popularity suggested that voters were hungry for independent candidates who wouldn’t spout the donors’ lines. His call to close the carried-interest tax loophole,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-mayer/trump-s-popularity-suggested-that-voters-were-hungry-for-independent/) [Jane Mayer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-mayer/) > [“The Kochs’ extensive research had shown that what the American “customer” wanted from politics, alas, was quite different from their business-dominated free-market orthodoxy. It…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-mayer/the-kochs-extensive-research-had-shown-that-what-the-american/) [Jane Mayer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-mayer/) > [“from 2005 to 2008, a single source, the Kochs, poured almost $25 million into dozens of different organizations fighting climate reform.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-mayer/from-2005-to-2008-a-single-source-the-kochs-poured-almost-25-million/) [Jane Mayer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-mayer/) > [ I would argue that there's been a backlash this year \[2016\]. They \[the Kochs\] pushed the \[Republican\] party too far right. The other thing… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-mayer/i-would-argue-that-there-s-been-a-backlash-this-year-2016-they-the/) [Jane Mayer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-mayer/) > [ \[Donald\] Trump has put forward a list of people he would like to see on the Supreme Court, whom the Kochs would be very… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-mayer/donald-trump-has-put-forward-a-list-of-people-he-would-like-to-see-on/) [Jane Mayer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-mayer/) > [ They \[the Kochs\] want free trade and cheap labour. They own the second-largest private company in America, which is a huge multinational corporation. So… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-mayer/they-the-kochs-want-free-trade-and-cheap-labour-they-own-the-second/) [Jane Mayer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-mayer/) > [“To this end, the Kochs waged a long and remarkable battle of ideas. They subsidized networks of seemingly unconnected think tanks and academic programs…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-mayer/to-this-end-the-kochs-waged-a-long-and-remarkable-battle-of-ideas/) [Jane Mayer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-mayer/) > [“it’s a major accomplishment for sponsors like the Kochs that they’ve turned corporate self-interest into a movement among people on the streets.” While”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-mayer/it-s-a-major-accomplishment-for-sponsors-like-the-kochs-that-they-ve/) [Jane Mayer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-mayer/) > [“it was the first time a major corporation used a tax-exempt nonprofit as a front group or, as he put it, “a cutout to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-mayer/it-was-the-first-time-a-major-corporation-used-a-tax-exempt-nonprofit/) [Jane Mayer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-mayer/) > [So you've got these regular, middle-class voters who don't hate the government as much as the Kochs do. They're Republicans, but they still want…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-mayer/so-you-ve-got-these-regular-middle-class-voters-who-don-t-hate-the/) [Jane Mayer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-mayer/) > [The great unknown in this country is where this leaves the Republican Party after this election. Will it be the party of the Kochs…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-mayer/the-great-unknown-in-this-country-is-where-this-leaves-the-republican/) [Jane Mayer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-mayer/) > [“To “earn the respect and good feeling” of those whose support they needed, Fink went on to explain during his talk, the Kochs would…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-mayer/to-earn-the-respect-and-good-feeling-of-those-whose-support-they/) [Jane Mayer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-mayer/) > [ This year \[2016\] we're seeing a really strange upending \[of the party\]. The money was coming from these super-wealthy donors who were really on… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-mayer/this-year-2016-we-re-seeing-a-really-strange-upending-of-the-party/) [Jane Mayer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-mayer/) > [“In the view of the Kochs and other members of the Libertarian Party, government should be reduced to a skeletal function: the protection of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-mayer/in-the-view-of-the-kochs-and-other-members-of-the-libertarian-party/) [Jane Mayer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-mayer/) ## More by Jane Mayer > [“David Brock, a conservative apostate who became a liberal activist, described the Heritage Foundation, where he was a young fellow, as almost completely under…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-mayer/david-brock-a-conservative-apostate-who-became-a-liberal-activist/) [Jane Mayer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-mayer/) > [“The early think tank was not a spy operation, but it was funded by wealthy men who had no objections to using pretexts and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-mayer/the-early-think-tank-was-not-a-spy-operation-but-it-was-funded-by/) [Jane Mayer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-mayer/) > [“Americans for Prosperity annoyed some of the Tea Partiers,” recalls the libertarian blogger Ralph Benko. “These people drove up, opened the door, put T-shirts…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-mayer/americans-for-prosperity-annoyed-some-of-the-tea-partiers-recalls-the/) [Jane Mayer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-mayer/) > [“When Barack Obama took office, the fossil fuel industry was not only eager to preserve its perks but also more militant in its opposition…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-mayer/when-barack-obama-took-office-the-fossil-fuel-industry-was-not-only/) [Jane Mayer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-mayer/) > [If you have an informed electorate, it makes great choices.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-mayer/if-you-have-an-informed-electorate-it-makes-great-choices/) [Jane Mayer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-mayer/) > [ One of the oddities of this election is the man that \[Donald\] Trump chose as his vice-president, Mike Pence, is one of the Kochs'… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-mayer/one-of-the-oddities-of-this-election-is-the-man-that-donald-trump/) [Jane Mayer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-mayer/) > [“The candidates promised to cut taxes for those in the highest brackets, preserve Wall Street loopholes, tolerate the off-shoring of manufacturing jobs and profits,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-mayer/the-candidates-promised-to-cut-taxes-for-those-in-the-highest/) [Jane Mayer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-mayer/) > [“Amway in fact was structured to avoid federal taxes.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-mayer/amway-in-fact-was-structured-to-avoid-federal-taxes/) [Jane Mayer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-mayer/) > [“radicals in Congress refused to back down, bringing virtually the entire federal government to a halt for sixteen days in October, leaving the country…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-mayer/radicals-in-congress-refused-to-back-down-bringing-virtually-the/) [Jane Mayer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-mayer/) > [What I write about is how much influence it's had in things like state legislatures and governorships and congressional races. 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They successfully…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-mayer/two-months-into-their-tenure-republicans-on-the-house-energy-and/) [Jane Mayer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-mayer/) > [ \[The Kochs\] they hate big government. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-mayer/the-kochs-they-hate-big-government/) [Jane Mayer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-mayer/) > [“Rob Reich, a professor of political science at Stanford University and co-director of the Stanford Center for Philanthropy and Civil Society, explains that private…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-mayer/rob-reich-a-professor-of-political-science-at-stanford-university-and/) [Jane Mayer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-mayer/) > [“During the previous eight years of Republican rule, this conservative corporate elite had consolidated its power, amassing enormous sway over the U.S. government’s regulatory…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-mayer/during-the-previous-eight-years-of-republican-rule-this-conservative/) [Jane Mayer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-mayer/) > [“Noble again chose Larry McCarthy, the veteran media consultant who was known for his ability to distill a complicated subject into a simple, potent,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-mayer/noble-again-chose-larry-mccarthy-the-veteran-media-consultant-who-was/) [Jane Mayer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-mayer/) [Explore all 305 Jane Mayer quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-mayer/) ## More Climate quotes > [Irish research will contribute to global progress and have the potential to help all countries realise the potential of their land sectors in addressing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/enda-kenny/irish-research-will-contribute-to-global-progress-and-have-the/) [Enda Kenny](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/enda-kenny/) > [In the current climate, things that are true, brave human stories become political.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cate-blanchett/in-the-current-climate-things-that-are-true-brave-human-stories/) [Cate Blanchett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cate-blanchett/) > [Windmills and solar cells are carbon-free sources of electricity. 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