Mystery Money

Politics is something that most people feel disconnected from. It is an entity of itself that sometimes feels untouchable and even unchangeable. Though our political system was designed, in theory, for the people to serve and communicate with its government, it has not always played out in such a way in practicum. This reality is one of the causes of a separation between the common people, the class system, and whom a president actually serves. Yes, I’m poetically beating around the bush: politicians serve those who have money.

Though this theory may not be completely true, it certainly feels like it. And it seems we always come down to the question “does money influence politics?”.  If we look in terms of presidential campaign fundraising, there are arguments that it could quite possibly be true. In a featured segment on the power of PAC’s,  The Dylan Ration Show discussed how politicians who run for presidency can gain control of their money, and create power and a voice through the amount of money they have to campaign with.  The segment lists figures on how much money presidential candidates spent for office. In 1976, candidates spent 67 million dollars. In 2008, the number skyrocketed to 1.3 Billion dollars.

You would think that with so much money being spent, the government would be able to cap off how much money a candidate can receive. Well, they can. In fact, in a case called “ Buckley vs. Valeo”, Congress determined that money equals voice, and they would only be able to limit contributions and not spending itself. The development of PAC (Political Action Committee) has changed the front of campaign finances. The individual group can give money to the candidate and party they chose, which will increase the money they have, which increases the volume of their voice on the campaign tour.

Allow me to clarify myself in terms of how I see Money = Speech. I think we can look at this formula as The amount of money= the volume of speech. In my perspective, the more money someone has on a campaign trail, the more resources they can unlimitedly spent on, allowing their image, message, and voice be heard in a much larger and more accessible way. For example- if a candidate A has 5 million, and candidate B has 20 million, candidate A has only 25% of the financial opportunities that B has. In this sense, money does equal speech.

This opens up problems on the campaign trail between candidates and the PAC, and other groups, that give them the ability (money) to eventually win an election. With money creating power, politicians may feel obligated to go against their morals and stances, and support issues that they don’t believe in, but will give them money to get into office. With government not being able to regulate mystery sourced money in the campaign financial system, politicians will continue to stay, seemingly, far away from an honest cause and service of the American people.