Corporate giving by large corporations to public affairs organizations continues to disproportionately benefit those seeking to expand regulation and the welfare state.

This conclusion is based on an examination of corporate giving by the 250 largest publicly held corporations to more than 300 public affairs organizations in 1995 (the latest year for which information is available).

• For every dollar corporations gave to conservative and free-market groups, $3.23 went to liberal and pro- regulation/pro-welfare groups.

• One hundred thirteen of the largest corporations gave more than $25 million to left-wing organizations while contributing less than $8 million to groups supporting limited government and market-oriented policy reforms.

Still, the pattern is improving. In 1993, the ratio of left-to- right giving peaked at $4.07 to $1, capping seven years of continual increases. When the corporations are ranked on a scale of 1 (liberal) to 8 (conservative), according to the number and ideology of organizations they support and the size of their grants, Eli Lilly & Company gets the best grade for the third year in a row. May Department Stores is the lowest-rated company.

Source: Patterns of Corporate Philanthropy XI (Washington, D.C.: Capital Research, 1998).