Corporations Play Big Role in Political Financing
When it comes to raising money for presidential campaigns, first we'll touch up all the lawyers (apologies to Shakespeare). As a recent NPR piece on fund raising points out, lawyers and law firms have consistently been the biggest industry contributors to presidential campaigns. So far this year, they've donated around $42 million - the next closest group (called "Retired") is almost $12 million behind.
But the largest individual donors continue to be corporations. While they are prohibited from making donations directly to the candidates, they can form political action committees (PACs) that can give money to campaigns.
PACS are like the "mutual funds of politics," [Massie Ritsch of the nonprofit Center for Responsive Politics] says. "You, as the employee of the corporation, are asked to give to the PAC. You believe in the general investment direction of it, but you don't get to decide where the money goes. The corporation -- the PAC -- decides that. Unions have PACs. Ideological groups, like environmental groups, gun-rights groups, they also have PACs."
This election cycle it's Wall Street investment firms that are the big givers. Goldman Sachs, the largest corporate contributor, based on donations from its employees, has given more than $1.5 million to presidential candidates, Ritsch says.
But there is a difference this year from past elections - much of the money from the top 20 corporate givers is going to the Democratic candidates. Ritsch says the corporations are just making sure they're bases are covered and that they will have access "to whoever is going to be leading our country."
10:59 AM ET | 02-21-2008 | permalink
