The signs of a changing climate are all around us. But for some US policymakers, money speaks louder than facts.

Progressive donors tend to operate in the sunshine of public disclosure and are a pale shadow of the conservative juggernaut that is the Koch empire.

The Kochs and their allies have built up a complex network of social welfare organizations, which spent more than $383 million in the run-up to the 2012 election alone.

A new report released by the Cato Institute claims that the "current welfare system provides such a high level of benefits that it acts as a disincen­tive for work.”