Problems with Super Pacs
Super PAC Men
$350 Million dollars. That’s the estimated amount of money spent during the 2012 election. An estimated $240 million of that is not even spent by candidates. The 2012 races has seen the greatest number of Political Action Committees (PACs) ever. These committees spent millions and millions of dollars to help candidates get elected, or legislature passed without regulation. What started as advocacy groups supporting a cause, has turned into big corporations protecting their money and their personal interests. PACs can be beneficial but without more regulation their corruption hurts our government more than help it. The term “Super PAC,” was coined by reporter Eliza Newlin Carney of the National Journal on June 26, 2010 (“What are SuperPACs?”). This was the new nickname of PACs with seemingly endless amounts of money. Originally there were two types of PACs, one was Separate Segregated Funds (SSFs). SSFs were created by corporations, membership organizations, or trade associations. These organizations could only solicit for money from people directly associated with the sponsor organization. These groups could not pool money from multiple groups or corporations (“What are SuperPACs?”). This prevented mass amounts of money from multiple groups being pooled in one place. The other type of PAC was a non-connected committee. These committees were not sponsored by business or any organization. They were strictly limited to soliciting directly from the public. They were also subject to certain contribution limits (“What are SuperPACs.”). This allowed for the pubic to advocate for causes without being tied up with corporations. The contribution limits also prevented one billionaire from dictating the entire group. Overall these PACs worked to support causes that were important to the people. They also had regulation from the Federal Election Committee (FEC). The FEC is directly responsible for regulating election campaign finance.
$350 Million dollars. That’s the estimated amount of money spent during the 2012 election. An estimated $240 million of that is not even spent by candidates. The 2012 races has seen the greatest number of Political Action Committees (PACs) ever. These committees spent millions and millions of dollars to help candidates get elected, or legislature passed without regulation. What started as advocacy groups supporting a cause, has turned into big corporations protecting their money and their personal interests. PACs can be beneficial but without more regulation their corruption hurts our government more than help it. The term “Super PAC,” was coined by reporter Eliza Newlin Carney of the National Journal on June 26, 2010 (“What are SuperPACs?”). This was the new nickname of PACs with seemingly endless amounts of money. Originally there were two types of PACs, one was Separate Segregated Funds (SSFs). SSFs were created by corporations, membership organizations, or trade associations. These organizations could only solicit for money from people directly associated with the sponsor organization. These groups could not pool money from multiple groups or corporations (“What are SuperPACs?”). This prevented mass amounts of money from multiple groups being pooled in one place. The other type of PAC was a non-connected committee. These committees were not sponsored by business or any organization. They were strictly limited to soliciting directly from the public. They were also subject to certain contribution limits (“What are SuperPACs.”). This allowed for the pubic to advocate for causes without being tied up with corporations. The contribution limits also prevented one billionaire from dictating the entire group. Overall these PACs worked to support causes that were important to the people. They also had regulation from the Federal Election Committee (FEC). The FEC is directly responsible for regulating election campaign finance.
Cited: Bailey, Kirk. “What Are SuperPACs?” For Dummies. Web. 27 Sep. 2012. Bailey, Kirk. “What is the Federal Election Commission?” For Dummies. Web. 27 Sep. 2012. “CITIZENS UNITED v. FEDERAL ELECTION COMMISSION.” The Oyez Project. IIT Chicago-Kent College of Law. Web. 27 September 2012. Food, Inc.. Dir. Robert Kenner. Perf. Eric Schlosser. Magnolia Home Entertainment, 2009. Film. Kroll, Andy. “Mitt Romney’s $12 Million Mystery Man.” Mother Jones. Feb. 2012. Web. 2 Oct. 2012. “The Nuts and Bolts of Electioneering Communications.” Open Secret. The Center for Responsive Politics. Web. 3 Oct. 2012. “Speechnow Vs. FEC.” Federal Election Commission. Web. 5 Oct. 2012