Connect the dots on campaign finance ecosystem
In America money means undemocratic authoritarian power.
Power corrupts, and absolute power corrupts absolutely.
Billionaires are societally corrupted by the wealth they accumulate and hoard, as are wealthy politicians who inflate the costs of running for elective office in building massive “war chests” of non-refundable campaign monies.
During his first speech as Senate president pro tempore, the Senator said, “My late grandmother would be more excited that the 49ers are heading to the Super Bowl than me being up here today, so I think we need to do a ‘Go Niners,’ everybody.”
A few days later, he attended a game in Las Vegas, and paid for the tickets through a ballot measure committee, $40,000 for tickets, meals, lodging and transportation for a three-day stay in Las Vegas during the event, paying the beer sponsor directly, while receiving ticket packages worth $33,750.
A campaign spokesman said the trip was for a fundraiser held with the Senator’s predecessor.
The ballot committee has amassed $850,000 in political donations from labor unions, tribes, businesses and other political action committees, but has yet to donate to any ballot measure.
Lawmakers, lobbyists, consultants and interest groups use accounts, ballot measure committees and campaign accounts held by ex-lawmakers, to trade money, time and access, to shore up political connections and help elected officials live large, while spending little, if anything, on campaigns the accounts were ostensibly designed to support.
Campaign accounts controlled by current and former elected officials, reveals the price to get a state lawmaker’s ear is not cheap.
Special interests donate tens of thousands of dollars to lawmakers to gain access to private fundraisers at high-end resorts and exclusive events.
Elected officials exploit loopholes, and push legal and ethical boundaries to set up careers in the private sector after term limits. This type of political spending is legal, and allows players to trade money and influence without breaking the law.
“Money in politics is this perverse game where both parties are guilty of the pay-to-play, so they can say, ‘Hey, I’ve done nothing wrong,’ and they often do. It patronizes the heck out of the public because we’re not stupid.”
[Re: societal corruption]
The same way federal PACs raise unlimited funds from special interests [Citizens United]
Many lawmakers who control ballot measure committees use them to raise money to sway voters on ballot propositions, and then don’t. This move abrogates the very reason for raising the funds in the first place, by placing restrictions on the fluidity of funding to facilitate progressive social change. It’s lawmakers’ job to strike down archaic moribund past legislation or override it with more progressive legislation.
Committees used primarily as vehicles for fundraising, collecting large checks from special interest groups and spending thousands to attend fundraisers, is wasteful and destructive to the body politic.
active ballot measure committees controlled by sitting or former elected officials and found that these accounts are funded almost exclusively by special interests. [They should be funded by the general public majority in limited individual amounts, with no overage of slush there to tempt graft]
“There’s no quid pro quo most of the time, which would be illegal. But everyone knows how the game is played. It’s kind of a wink and a nod thing.” [Or a gentleman’s agreement in social exclusionary terms]
Because candidates and elected officials are not required to report certain details about these fundraisers, few specifics are known about who attends and whether potential legislation is ever discussed in private. [Like Bohemian Grove]
State laws prevent registered lobbyists from making political donations, but no rules prohibit a company or interest group from donating a large sum for access to an elected official’s fundraiser, and then sending their lobbyist to the event.
“Lobbyists and other moneyed interests know that donating to an elected officials’ campaign accounts is a way to curry favor. Politicians know it, too, so those are the first people they reach out to for campaign contributions.”
Committees committees have spent upward of $100,000 on fundraisers paid for, and attended by, the same businesses and association groups that lobby the Legislature, while spending little, if any, money trying to reach their voters about a particular issue. [How could any such system invite corruption?]
An assembly member has used their ballot measure committee to pay a $4,000 monthly salary to a campaign worker. The employee also works as legislative scheduler, a job for which she earns an annual salary of $107,868.
[Paid as a volunteer through a UBI stimulus until an employable position comes along]
Another senator spent $40,000 from their own ballot measure committee on two small fundraisers at a wellness resort in Tucson.
[The desire to live like the rich and famous is a powerful motivator for corruptible practice]
“They have always acted with the highest level of ethical and moral integrity, placing the interest of consumers and residents above all, and voting on issues regardless of who has contributed to her campaigns.”
[But do those consumers and residents have the same availability access and affordability to the same health spas? Therein lies the rub]
State lawmakers representing Orange County have a history of hosting large fundraisers at Disneyland, which holds a huge, influential economic force in their district. [Which facilitates domination over entertainment markets]
“Fundraisers followed all applicable campaign finance rules.” [As far as it goes]
Campaign finance law allows lawmakers to raise and spend large amounts of money through ballot measure committees that require no link to an actual ballot measure. The same is true for campaign committees held by lawmakers who have left office — a real campaign isn’t necessary. [Locking down funds that could be made more useful to the entire society if allowed to flow back into public hands]
A former Democratic Assembly Speaker transferred money they raised in office to new campaign accounts at regular intervals, and has never again run for office, instead using the balance of the accounts to give hundreds of thousands of dollars to sitting legislators.
[Hoarded wealth serving no useful purpose]
Registered lobbyists are not allowed to make these kinds of contributions, but no rules prevent partners and owners of lobbying firms from doing so.
“They are passionate about the issues that matter to Californians and are continually looking for another opportunity to serve them. They also actively contribute to causes and candidates that share their vision.”
“It’s a lifetime slush fund for past elected officials.”
“Donors give you money for a specific reason for a specific election, and once you decide not to seek office anymore, you’re free to spend that money however you like, regardless where it came from and the reasons that a donor may have given it.”
He gave money to charities with ties to his firm. [There should be no necessity for charity organizations. If causes like health care and human rights are provided for with sharity in the front end, you don’t need charity in the back end]
[One of those human rights is the right to be free from indebtedness]
They said they don’t derive any income from the charity and don’t see why donating money to the cause would be a problem. [Except for the exclusive perks]
“Even if a charitable contribution doesn’t incur a monetary benefit to a candidate, it could benefit them in other ways, like name recognition, prestige, expanded social and business networks. [Is this the invisible hand of capitalism at work?] None of this is to diminish the good work a nonprofit may be doing, but the ends don’t always justify the means if it creates a perception of impropriety. [Or one of corruption?]
The FPPC is tasked with monitoring the finances and public disclosures of thousands of candidates and officeholders at state and local levels. Those who break the rules are hit with fines depending on the severity of the infraction. [Part of the price of business corruption. It’s more profitable to pay the fines when incurred, then move on as if everything is okay]
“Everybody loves oversight unless they’re the ones being overseen. So it’s not surprising that legislators and governors tend not to give their watchdog enough resources to do the job.”
“There’s so many minnows, it’s really easy to lose track of the whales.” [I would say sharks, but I take the point.]
One legislator was fined $106,000 for concealing payments between his tech nonprofit and an actor. He settled the fine, but not from his personal assets.
He paid it using leftover campaign cash stashed in another committee account.
