Preview

Limiting Independent Expenditures

Good Essays
Open Document
Open Document
181 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Limiting Independent Expenditures
Limiting independent expenditures is limiting money spent by individuals and groups, such as 527’s and super PACs, for candidates and parties that the individuals and groups are not directly affiliated with. There are many viable arguments in favor of the proposal; one of the strongest arguments in favor is that the most affluent groups and people should not be the most influential groups and people. If there was no limiting of independent expenditures, the influence that wealthy individuals and groups have over elected officials would be potentially magnified. Thus, as long as there are restrictions on the amount of money that individuals and groups may expend in support of candidates and parties, the influence of the preponderance of the
Continue Reading
View Writing Issues

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Good Essays

    Why Has Campaign Finance Reform in the Usa Proved Difficult?
    • 436 Words
    • 2 Pages

    Why Has Campaign Finance Reform in the Usa Proved Difficult?

    In addition, in 1979, Congress further weakened the law by allowing parties to use ‘soft money’ which is the ‘one time’ funding from governments and organisations for a project or special purpose such as voter registration, or party building activities. Later, this money was used for candidate related issue ads which led to the increase in soft money and expenditures in elections. This led to the creation of the Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act which banned soft money expenses by parties.…

    • 436 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Assess the Importance of the Invisible Primary System
    • 897 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Assess the Importance of the Invisible Primary System

    It can be argued that the ‘invisible primary’ is important as it can usually determine the amount of funding that a candidate will receive, which in the long-run is of great help as it can help them run a wide and effective campaign. Arguably, this is of the utmost importance as money can buy all the necessities needed to run a successful campaign, from paying the wages of the campaign team all the way up to billboard rent. Conversely, a candidate who fails in the ‘invisible primary’ stage will receive relatively little funding as original support will swiftly waver as supporters begin to realise there candidate has little chance of winning and so will effectively stop wasting money, and also any companies or individuals who wish to engage in ‘pork-barreling’ will probably stay away as the prospects for the candidate is very small. Both of these effects will culminate in minuscule amounts of funding putting the candidate further behind his competitors. A good example of these effects can be seen in the 2011 Republican Presidential Nominee Race, where a clear front-runner is Mitt Romney, a “fund-raising machine”, who has managed to accumulate vast amounts of funding before the…

    • 897 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Summary Of The Rise Of The Washington Establishment
    • 347 Words
    • 2 Pages

    Summary Of The Rise Of The Washington Establishment

    When things don’t work the way they should, people start to worry. They know that they need something to change. This is what Fiorina explains in chapter The Rise of The Washington Establishment about voting. The main focus of this chapter is the issues of self interest related to government and its congressmen, bureaucrats, and voters.…

    • 347 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Reverse Fec vs. Citizens United
    • 772 Words
    • 4 Pages

    Reverse Fec vs. Citizens United

    Super PACs are the way that the few rich people in America get to control the influences in an election. These people and corporations donate large sums of money to Super PACs in order to dominate the amount of money being given to candidates. According to a study done by the U.S. Public Interest Group, “93% of the itemized funds raised by Super PACs from individuals in 2011 came in contributions of at least $10,000” and came from 23 out of every 10 million people in America. CNN reported on this saying “more than half of this money coming from just 37 people who each gave $500,000 or more.” Also reporting on this study was Politico which said "Super PACs raised about $181 million in the last two years -- with roughly half of it coming from fewer than 200 super-rich people." Since the election process is all about equal voice for all, through Super PACs, the CU ruling is harming the election process.…

    • 772 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Satisfactory Essays

    The Pros And Cons Of Campaign Finance Reform
    • 280 Words
    • 2 Pages

    The Pros And Cons Of Campaign Finance Reform

    As one can see, campaign finance reform has been around for a while, not that many people were really aware of it until the Citizens United v. FEC case of 2010. Citizens United was founded in 1988 by a Washington political consultant, Floyd Brown who received major funding from the Koch brothers, industrialist who own the secondly largest privately owned company in the US (Mayer, 2010). They gained fame by suing the Federal Election Commission (FEC), leading to a notorious Supreme Court case which eliminated some restrictions on how corporations can spend money in elections. Back in 1971, the Federal Election Campaign Act (FECA) was the main United States federal law that regulates political fundraising and spending. Its original focus was…

    • 280 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
    Read More
  • Better Essays

    Pros And Cons Of Being A Lobbyists
    • 1157 Words
    • 5 Pages

    Pros And Cons Of Being A Lobbyists

    The main question is that since the lobbyists represent a big part of the public voice, which may have not been recognized if the lobbyists weren’t there, do we still restrict the lobbyists or do we still have democracy left in this country? The answer…

    • 1157 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Better Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Thoughts on Fixing Congressional Gridlock
    • 972 Words
    • 4 Pages

    Thoughts on Fixing Congressional Gridlock

    Today, most American politicians are “fundraisers first and legislators second,” which has numerous consequences (Sarbanes). Congressman John Sarbanes estimated that congressmen devote 30 to 70 percent of their time to fundraising -time that could be spent creating legislation and learning about policy issues (Lieu). Additionally, the unrestricted private campaign donations are undermining democracy, in a sense “buying the government,” while the people’s interests shift to the back seat. To reduce gridlock, we need our congress members time and energy devoted to legislation, and their votes dedicated to the people, not solely the Big Money minority. In accordance with the views of many grassroots leaders, I believe that we need a comprehensive overhaul of the election system. The first step is the reversal of Citizens United, a court case that led to the creation of super PAC’s when the Supreme Court ruled that the federal government cannot limit corporations (or unions, associations or individuals) from spending money to influence the outcome of elections (Liptak). The second step involves transferring power back to the people. As Lawrence Lessig, academic scholar and political activist, points out, “So long as elections cost money, we won’t end Congress’s dependence on its funders (Lessig).” Therefore, our second step must be to adopt a system of…

    • 972 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Super PACs
    • 288 Words
    • 2 Pages

    Super PACs

    Although the Supreme Court was responsible for the Citizens United case that allows Super PACs to accept unlimited sums of money, Congress has the power pass legislation that would prohibit these organizations. Furthermore the Supreme Court has the power to reverse its previous rulings in Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission and Speechnow.org v. FEC. Lastly, the FEC has done a poor job of enforcing the rules that are in place regarding super PACs.…

    • 288 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Citizens United V. Federal Election Commission (2010)
    • 442 Words
    • 2 Pages

    Citizens United V. Federal Election Commission (2010)

    The changing landscape in the country has contributed to the uptick in gridlock in Washington D.C. The Supreme Court case has given rise to Super Political Action Committees (Super PACs) which have contributed billions of dollars to negative media advertisement of rival candidates. An area to explore in regards to this case are the loopholes created and their consequences. For instance, nonprofits who are not legally required to disclose the names of their donors can function similar to Super PACs. In addition, American subsidiary corporations owned by a foreign parent company are allowed to contribute unlimited amounts of money to political committees. As a result, it is possible that foreign entities are influencing U.S. elections. We are sure no one wants that to occur given the 2016 U.S. Presidential election controversy. Our goal is to explore the origins of the Supreme Court case, noting that longstanding reforms to campaign contributions were overturned, and it’s devastating aftermath. If the money of a few wealthy individuals and organizations outweighs the power of ordinary citizens, everyone does have an equal voice. These circumstances deteriorate the voice of that latter group, as they do not have the power to donate as much to the political campaigns. In the meanwhile, citizen’s faith in their government has fallen as more money entered politics through these shady…

    • 442 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Super Pac's Influence On Politics
    • 1222 Words
    • 5 Pages

    Super Pac's Influence On Politics

    The Political process in today’s presidential race deals primarily with money spent rather than votes earned. Due to delegate rule on our voting system and corruption brought about by money funded corporations and media, candidates promises are more discriminatory than for the people.…

    • 1222 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Arguments Against Campaign Finance Reform
    • 296 Words
    • 2 Pages

    Arguments Against Campaign Finance Reform

    Campaign finance reform is the issue of our lifetime. While we may point to climate change, gun control, economic inequality, the underlying problem is the influence of money in politics. Our representatives are focused on winning elections, instead of addressing constituent concerns. They have to specifically focus on spending the majority of their working time calling donors, and raising money for their campaigns, that this puts their real job on hold. Time spent calling people and asking for donations is estimated to be around ⅓ to ½ of their work day. Just this fact itself proves that the insane influence of money in politics is detrimental to democracy and disallows politicians to focus on what really matters: the voices…

    • 296 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Voters In The 1960's
    • 207 Words
    • 1 Page

    Voters In The 1960's

    Before the 1960’s, Independent voters attracted no attention. They were few in number, and had little significance in any election. All of that has changed beginning around the Vietnam era to recent Presidential elections. Voters were never were equal to begin with really. Everyone only gets one vote, but politicians, campaign and media will focus their attention on particular voters while ignoring others. In recent elections, the emphasis is revolved around Independent “swing voters”. As the country become equally divided and heavily polarized, it makes sense to concentrate on a segment of voters that are believed to determine the contemporary Presidential elections. In the 2004 election, less than forty percent of voters identified strongly…

    • 207 Words
    • 1 Page
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Government in America
    • 258 Words
    • 2 Pages

    Government in America

    9. What are the main features of the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1974? a. b. c. d. e. 10. Present an argument that political action committees are essential to a successful campaign. 11. What are the three effects campaigns can have on voters? a. b. c. 12. What three factors tend to weaken campaigns impact on voters? a. b. c. 13. What is meant by the “permanent campaign”? 14. How might campaigns affect the scope of government?…

    • 258 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Federalists Argumentative Analysis
    • 1803 Words
    • 8 Pages

    Federalists Argumentative Analysis

    The arguments between the Anti-Federalists and Federalists led to the creation of a document that has stood the test of time and new governments have repeatedly modeled their governmental structure off of the Constitution. Despite the overwhelming majority of the Anti-Federalists’ concerns over many of the Constitution’s provisions being unfounded, their apprehensions regarding disproportionate amount of influence men of property could have on government officials have since become a scary reality, ironically due to their own insistence on implementing a Bill of Rights. Since the Supreme Court deemed that the United States government had no right to limit money spent on elections in Citizens United vs. Federal Election Commission, wealthy donors, including corporations, have contributed millions upon millions of dollars into elections at all different levels of…

    • 1803 Words
    • 8 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    The Role Of Interest Groups In American Politics
    • 1006 Words
    • 5 Pages

    The Role Of Interest Groups In American Politics

    This paper will discuss what interest groups are and the role that interest groups play in American politics and why it is important. Another thing that this paper will discuss is how interest groups have influenced American elections. American elections have been influenced with direct and indirect strategies to get a candidate elected. They have also been influenced wit the use of information. The direct strategies used where more in your face and out for everyone else to know about and where very effective. While the indirect strategies used may have been hidden and in the shadows they were also effective. The use of information was helpful to put things out into the world and it was also there to help the candidate that was being supported by the interest group gain popularity and/or publicity. Towards the end of the paper the role of interest groups and how they have influenced American elections should be understood.…

    • 1006 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More

Related Topics