Current events related the role of money in politics.
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College Loan Slavery: Student Debt Is Getting Way Out of Hand
Alternet.org, November 12, 2008
Raya Golden thought she was handling college in a responsible way. She didn't apply until she felt ready to dedicate herself to her studies. She spread her schooling across five years so she could work part-time throughout. She checked that her school, the Academy of Art University in San Francisco, had a high post-graduate employment rate. But there were two things she hadn't counted on. The first was the $75,000 in nonsubsidized federal student loans she'd have to take out for tuition and those living expenses her part-time jobs selling hotdogs and making lattes couldn't cover. The second was that she'd graduate into a workforce teetering on the edge of the biggest financial crisis since the Great Depression.
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Obama's Team Still Tapping Donors
Opensecrets, November 12, 2008
Like the Energizer Bunny, Barack Obama's $640-million fundraising machine is still going and going, now soliciting private donations to make the Democrat's transition to the White House as smooth as possible. By setting up a nonprofit corporation, the Obama-Biden Transition Project, Obama can tap his most generous donors to add to the $6.3 million he'll already receive in taxpayer money for the effort, according to Politico. By raising private donations, the president-elect will be able to skirt the limitations placed on the federal funds (for example, he'll be able to pay for re-locating new hires) and will have more money to hire a staff to help him build his administration. During a press conference last week, Obama emphasized the importance of taking the time and putting in the work to put together the most effective administration.
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After Costly Race, Groups Aim to Alter Public Financing for Presidential Runs
Wall Street Journal, November 10, 2008
WASHINGTON -- The mountain of money raised by this year's political candidates has spurred campaign-finance watchdogs to agree on a set of principles and start lobbying to improve the public financing of presidential elections.
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Big Political Donors Just Looking for Favors? Apparently Not.
Washington Post, November 10, 2008
The Center for Responsive Politics recently estimated that it cost $5.8 billion to finance the 2008 general elections. To most people that is a staggeringly large sum and evidence of the profoundly corrupting role that money plays in politics, but to some very smart political watchers, the better question is why that amount is so small.
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Wall Street Fat Cats Are Trying to Pocket Billions in Bailout Cash
Alternet.org, November 7, 2008
The election results pretty much confirmed the extent to which Main Street is rightly livid about the Wall Street mentality that led to our financial crisis. During his historic victory speech, President-elect Barack Obama told supporters, and the rest of the world, "If this financial crisis taught us anything, it's that we cannot have a thriving Wall Street while Main Street suffers."
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With Election Over, Interest Groups Calling In the IOU's
CQ Politics, November 7, 2008
Barack Obama has been president-elect for only a few days, but already the special interest groups who helped him get elected are issuing reminders of the IOU's they plan to call in.
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Reform Groups Call On Obama To Change Campaign Finance Laws
Mother Jones Blog, November 6, 2008
Barack Obama has only been President-elect for 36 hours, but seven major government reform groups are already making demands. In a joint press release Thursday morning, the Brennan Center for Justice, the Campaign Legal Center, Common Cause, Democracy 21, the League of Women Voters, Public Citizen and US PIRG set out a "government integrity reform" agenda for the next Congress. And the groups are using Obama's own words to convince him to adopt their plans, pointing out that Obama campaigned on a promise to "fixWashington." Fixing Washington, they argue, means fixing campaign finance.
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What Happens to Public Financing, When Obama Thrived Without It?
The New York Times, November 2, 2008
As Senator Barack Obama spends the last of hundreds of millions of dollars donated to his presidential campaign, the debate over how future campaigns will be financed is set to begin in earnest.
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Attention Voters: Here's What You Have to Do to Make Sure You Get to Vote
Alternet.org, October 21, 2008
Ignore the partisan attacks on new voters and voter registration groups. Call your county election office to ensure your registration information is correct. Vote early to avoid Election Day delays, or use an absentee ballot if you know how to fill one out.
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Virgina, Pennsylvania, Ohio Not Prepared for Record Voter Turnout
Alternet.org, October 21, 2008
Several battleground states are not prepared to meet the challenge of administering the general election on November 4th, where turnout will be unprecedented, According to a report conducted by Advancement Project, a national leading voter protection organization.
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