Why should everyone care about taking private money out of politics?

Why should students care about money in politics?

 

“Did you know that the interest rates and taxes you pay on student loans are linked to the generous campaign contributions of the banking industry?”

 

Students should care that many university trustees are political appointees — payback for big campaign contributions. These are the individuals who set university policies from athletic budgets to the size of dorm rooms. Is giving money to a politician the best preparation for making decisions that affect millions of college students?

 

“The current generation of young people care deeply about their communities, but they also care about their time. They are too savvy for empty actions. Hence, they demand actions that matter. Campaign finance reform bridges the gap between students’ social concerns, personal needs, and the world of politics. While they see immediate benefits to their actions, they also see long term significance because we are winning on this issue.” More…

 

Why should environmentalists care about money in politics?

 

“Anti-environmental special interests pollute our democratic process with large dirty money political contributions. A large majority of Americans believe that protection of the environment should be given top priority, yet Congress continues to ignore the threat of global warming, our dependence on foreign oil, and our energy crisis.”

 

“Environmentalists assume that natural resource protection depends on cultural changes and/or advances in science. This assumption is erroneous. The real problem lies in the way our elections are financed.”

 

The current campaign finance system makes it possible for industries that are responsible for some of the worst pollution problems facing our country to use millions of dollars in political contributions to elected officials to buy access and influence.

 

Why should women care about money in politics?

 

Many women fight against the violence that harms their children’s lives in schools and in neighborhoods. But big private contributors keep preventing good anti-gun legislation from passing in state legislatures and in Congress.

 

Changing elections by changing their financing is a woman’s issue. It is the only way that women can ensure that elected officials will listen to our needs, legislate our issues, and allow us to solve the problems that we share with so many other women. More…

 

Why is it so difficult to elect women in Congress? The influence of private money in politics discourages qualified challengers without access to private wealth from running, hence stifling racial, gender, and socio-economic diversity in Congress.

 

Why should civil rights advocates care about money in politics?

 

Protecting the rights of people of color is a low priority to big campaign donors, so strong enforcement of civil rights is neglected. The average weekly household income for the majority of political donors: $1,900+. The weekly income for member of an average African American household: $512. And the proportion of campaign donors who are not white is only 5%. People who support strong civil rights need to fight for ending the domination of politics by big campaign donors.

 

Why should consumers care about money in politics?

 

“Working families are being hit hard by rising costs for food, medicine, and phone rates – costs made higher by the influence of the campaign contributions by food, drug and telecommunications companies.”

And agribusiness spends millions of dollars each year in campaign contributions and lobbying to beat back any attempt to make our food supply safer or to regulate the amount of fertilizers and pesticides. Obesity – especially in children – is a major concern and yet the food industry fights all attempts to encourage Americans to eat in a healthy way.

Why should business care about money in politics?

 

In order to thrive, our economy needs a climate of public confidence in the workings of our major institutions, including government. When so many citizens believe that big money corrupts elected officials, trust in our political system and other institutions is eroded. In addition, the current campaign finance system also distorts the workings of a free market by favoring big corporations whose leaders contribute large amounts of money to campaigns. Consumers and small business are hurt in the end. Big campaign contributions also can stifle new innovations by artificially propping up outdated products or systems as “pay-backs” to wealthy funders.

 

Many business leaders resent the pressure on them to constantly increase the amount of funding they provide for election campaigns. They wish to compete in the marketplace, not in the political area. The current campaign finance system undermines democracy and essentially forces politicians to shake down business leaders in order to remain in office. As political fundraising has become more lucrative, the strain on business has increased exponentially.

 

Why should conservatives care about money in politics?

 

Conservative Americans worry about wasting taxes. But when private money funds campaigns it fuels wasteful government spending as “pay-backs” in the form of tax breaks for big contributors and laws that favor corporations over consumers. This means higher taxes for all of us, and is a huge waste of tax dollars. Conservatives want to maintain stability in our political system, but when less than half of eligible Americans vote and many more are deeply alienated from politics, the threat to our democracy is serious. Conservatives should support getting private money out of politics.

 

Why should working people care about money in politics?

 

Working people do have some money-backed clout on Capitol Hill. Organized labor has always been a political force to be reckoned with and an active player in the money-in-politics game. But labor’s political outlays pale in comparison to those of big business.

 

Working families also should care about money in politics because of the serious harm that alcohol, tobacco and gambling do to family life. Big corporations representing these threats give millions in private money to candidates every year, thus blocking the possibilities for reform.

 

Why should taxpayers care about money in politics?

 

The tax code is the product of a Congress with an addiction to campaign money. The victims are ordinary Americans who don’t have the kind of cash it takes to influence their representatives in Washington, DC.