Pacifican decision-makers, at the Local Station Boards & the Pacifica National Board, are often so focused on manoeuvring against each other that they forget about RealWorld. About RealWorld imperatives. Like paying bills. And keeping the state happy.

Pacifica needs stuff to operate. Some of the stuff is people. The volunteers come free, the others don’t. Then there’s all the coffee, & the water, maintaining the toilets, emptying the bins, the early morning cleaning. Plus the broadcasting. The use-values that don’t come free have to be paid for. And as Pacifica isn’t fully integrated into the barter economy, that means money. Money.

Now you may think that’s the source of all Pacifica’s problems. Wrong. Just as the commodity has two aspects, a use-value & a value, Pacifica’s problems are twofold, money & maladministration. The creditors, & the state.

All those tiresome forms. All those pages. Fiddly lil bits. Nothing ever straight forward. Needing up-to-date records. All that supporting evidence. Requiring coordination between stations. Requiring supervision from National. Regulation, eh?

But there just may be a way out. Let’s be honest, when it comes down to it, does it really have to be done? Who’s going to notice? And things are such a mess, maybe it’s been done already, & no-one’s told anyone? Maybe there isn’t a problem at all? Just a fuss about nothing?

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This menu is about the state – and their enforcers. With their disciplinary power. (Quotes of function are from https://oag.ca.gov/charities/resources, unless otherwise stated.)

• the feds:

. . . • Internal Revenue Service (IRS): “[o]versees federal tax-exempt status of charitable organizations and provides a range of resources to assist charities, private foundations and other nonprofit organizations with federal reporting compliance”; http://www.irs.gov/Charities-&-Non-Profits

. . . • Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB): a private corp, non-profit, under contract to the feds, doing their bidding: “a private, nonprofit corporation created by Congress in the Public Broadcasting Act of 1967” – https://www.cpb.org/aboutcpb; https://www.cpb.org/

• California state:

. . . • California Franchise Tax Board (FTB): “[o]versees state tax-exempt status of charitable organizations in California and compliance with state tax reporting requirements”; http://www.ftb.ca.gov/

. . . • California Secretary of State: “[c]harities seeking to operate in California must file articles of incorporation with the Secretary of State and a current list of board officers”; http://www.sos.ca.gov/

. . . • Registry of Charitable Trusts, Office of the Attorney General, Department of Justice, State of California: “[c]harities operating in California must register and file annual financial reports with the Attorney General’s Registry of Charitable Trusts. The Attorney General’s Charities website offers resources to help charities with registration and reporting compliance”; https://rct.doj.ca.gov/Verification/Web/Search.aspx?facility=Y (just enter 011303 – it’s the State Charity Registration Number of Pacifica Foundation, Inc.), & https://oag.ca.gov/charities

. . . • Charitable Trusts Section, California Attorney General’s Office: “[c]ompliance and enforcement are handled by the Attorney General’s Charitable Trusts Section”; operating from secure facilities; not easy to contact them: they contact you

. . . • California Board of Equalization: “[a]dministers state tax assessment policies in four general areas: sales and use taxes, property taxes, special taxes and the tax appellate program”; http://www.boe.ca.gov/

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