The Role of Money in Politics
Money plays a huge role in our politics, influencing elections, policymaking, and the overall functioning of our government, often to the detriment of the American voters.
When corporations, special interest groups, and the wealthy use their financial resources to change, weaken, or sometimes even write regulations or policies to their benefit, it’s all of us and our families who lose.
The vast amount of money flowing through our elections can sway not only who wins, but also who even gets to run. This influx of cash can lead to unequal representation and raises fundamental questions about the integrity of our democratic process.
Members of Congress are in a unique position with access to insider information and influence over countless policies that move the market. Despite this, it’s completely legal for them and their immediate families to buy and sell individual stocks.
These groups lobby for their interests, finance political campaigns, and even write the laws that Congress passes… often with minimal transparency.
Dark money is just as sinister as it sounds, and both parties benefit heavily from it.
Are there any solutions to the problem of money in politics?
Yes! As part of our anti-corruption policy platform, we champion a number of effective and politically viable solutions including:
- Expanding public campaign financing programs
- Strengthening penalties on attempts to buy political influence
- Caps on campaign spending
- Requiring disclosures on sources of major donations
- Ending dark money
- Banning campaign spending by foreign-influenced corporations
Since 2012, we’ve scored 200 wins all across the country to pass tough anti-corruption laws like these. See our wins »
To pass these laws, we follow a proven strategy of bypassing the broken Congress to pass tough anti-corruption laws city by city, state by state, limiting the influence of corporations, lobbyists, and special interest groups and their ability to affect regulations.
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