Forum Post: Can someone please explain to me current lobbyist/campaign donation policy?
Posted 13 years ago on Oct. 14, 2011, 9:09 p.m. EST by peacejam
(114)
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Hi pro- and anti-OWS forum members. I want to write an article in my college newspaper about how lobbying and campaign contributions work and influence our government today. I have a few questions though and I'm having a hard time finding straight answers that make sense to me...if you have sources with your answers, it would be much appreciated.
How much money individuals and corporations and interest groups are limited to donating to each candidate?
Is there some kind of limit on campaign bundling?
How is lobbying different than campaign contributions? Are lobbyists allowed to make unlimited donations to politicians? Is this because 'money is speech?' Before money was speech, were lobbyists and/or corporations limited in how much money they donate, or who it goes to?
I'm sorry guys, I've been really trying to figure this stuff out but it's still unclear to me. Any help would be appreciated
Since the administration of Governor Mario Cuomo, NY has awarded huge tax cuts to the rich that now cost the state $16 billion annually in revenue. If NY went back to our income tax system of the 1970s, with adjustments for inflation, 95% of us would get a tax cut – yet the state would collect $8 billion more in taxes.
With Wall Street handing out over $20 billion in 2009 cash bonuses, a 50% Bankers’ Bonus Tax on cash bonuses over $50,000 would generate another $10 billion for the state treasury.
“The rich are hoarding their money. They are sitting on $10 trillion in cash and liquid assets in their personal accounts, plus $1.8 trillion cash in corporate coffers. The rich speculating for short term gains from existing productive assets instead of investing long term in new productive assets to get the economy going again. We need to tax them and put some of that money to better use through public spending and investing in the new productive assets we need for a new jobs in a sustainable green economic recovery,” added Hawkins.
Cuomo has been one of the principal recipients of donations from hedge funds managers, who making significant profits from investing in Charter Schools due to generous tax breaks. Cuomo has been a strong proponent of expanding charter schools in New York. Cuomo’s average donation for this election has been $2,666, indicating that his financial supporters are quite well-off financially. More than 130 of his donors have given in excess of $37,800; an additional 544 have given in access of $10,000. (http://www.observer.com/2010/politics/new-york-observer%E2%80%99s-campaign-2010-scorecard-1)
thanks, this is useful information
You should also look into how corporate CEOs move in and out of leading positions in the government agencies charged with regulating the very companies lead.
that's a great point
You can basically donate an unlimited amount. Maybe not from your person directly to a candidate(limited), but there have been many organizations set up mainly in support of the republican agenda that can take unlimited funds from individuals and corporations and use those funds to promote whom ever they please. Can't remember his name but if you recall there was a supreme court justice recently that had the deciding vote saying that this was all constitutional. Come to find out his wife was, is also a lobbyist against health care reform. Now there is a big ethics debate.
that's crazy. thanks for the info.
I wish I could find the link to the Cobert Report show where he brought to light an aspect of campaign finance you should definitely share. Basically what happens is a "legal" form of money laundering.
So, corporations now in the eyes of the law are considered individuals. So, this means they can donate as much money as they want to their own campaigns in secret.
Found it! Here watch this my friend, it will blow your mind, and make for a great paper indeed.
http://www.rawstory.com/rawreplay/2011/09/colbert-explains-roves-money-laundering-scheme/
cheers, and then if you want, for more perspective, check out this new novel.
http://www.smashwords.com/books/view/94223
thanks, lol great stuff and insightful. wow that's a huge deal. people have been afraid to come forward as right wing donators, but those rich interests are eager to pump all that money into something in secret. afraid to stand up for what they believe in?
To write an analogy about this.
You got a policeman protecting you house against criminals. However suddenly the criminals has started to pay money to the policeman to look away when they rob you house. But this wasn't enough now the criminals pay even more money to the policeman to make laws so the criminals could take over you house and sell it.
Policeman = Government Criminals = wall street
a policeman's job is more complicated than just serving criminals. the same policeman that will bust up a protest could save me from a home invasion the next day. let's not call policeman criminals. it's too hateful of a rhetoric, and distracts us from the real culprits, the wealthiest interests that have an iron-fist control on our government process. our goal is to revolutionize our government, not bring down police.
i think it does more harm than good using rhetoric vilifying policemen. there are too many honest police officers, it paints the picture with too broad a brush and leads to us promoting prejudice. we need to keep the discussion as energized but as rational as possible.
Also congress passed a law leaving themselves exempt from any laws governing insider trading. So insider secrets are also passed to them as a form of payoff. Then they use that info to make millions in the stock market.
Also if you can get netflix they have a section of "Watch Now" in it look up documenteries and you will find many documenteries on the subject.
Instead of listening to someone's explaination. Try to find the info you seek from the source. Find the rules and laws you seek as they are written. It is tedious for sure, but other then doing that, you would be relying on another persons' research and interpretation.
I understand and am looking for that eventually, but it also helps learn faster to have frameworks through which to interpret really complicated stuff in the beginning. i can see how the evidence fits that paradigm or doesn't as i learn...the right narrative can help make sense of information that can otherwise be overwhelming. i'll look to the sources though too.
I wish i cold help. The best i can do is...
A lot of campaign donations are donated illegally or in a way skirts the system. One example that i know of is to set up dummy corporations to funnel money into a campaign then dissolve it before any one notices. This is why you wont find to much information on campaign donations outside of the basic limits and caps, none of which i know off hand.
They skirt the system anyway they can. Dummy corps, non-profits,unions,pacs, super pac, pay for ads, and I'm sure there is more. The only reason they can do this is because generations of Americans looked the other way as our public servants enacted rules and laws to allow this.
I don't know all that much about it. I was going to mention some of the other things like super pacs ... I would just be talking out of my butt if i tried to go into any depth discussing them. =)
I am no expert either. But just look here and you can see the influence. What is amazing is that the teachers union is the number one contributer.Get them out and give that money back to the teachers.
http://www.followthemoney.org/database/top10000.phtml
I agree with that completely ! lol
I have been saying for years we need to remove the money, lobbyists and special interest groups from Washington. Right now our politicians are up for sale to the highest bidder.
New facebook page focused solely on that idea. No parties, no other issues.
Help it get started here...
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Get-Money-Out-of-Politics/170454236375392
Lots of infoormation here. May not be what you're looking for, but hope this helps.
http://www.fec.gov/pages/brochures/citizens.shtml
http://www.facebook.com/l.php?u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.followthemoney.org%2F&h=iAQBDbjhVAQD3_rotQBqDO_R6eNIqeN7UW6Ok5bm0Weje6Q
i'm reading this stuff right now, thanks a bunch.
question maybe you can help with...so is there no limit to what our politicians can spend on an election? or are there limits at different levels of office? i hear 2012 elections will be costliest ever, my understanding is that is from the money is speech declaration which will allow large financial interests to donated vastly more (unlimited?) funds to political campaigns.
I'm no expert on the topic to be sure. From what I understand, what you ask, the answer is yes.