By Kalyani Shankar : The rich rule the world. This is true in India and this true in other countries and even in democracies. The wealthy have a stake in who comes to power. Without doubt money power helps politicians to reach the top to a large extent.
Campaign finance has always been a source of worry in the US just as in India. It is becoming increasingly difficult for an ordinary man to reach the Congress just as it has become in India. Most Senators and Congressmen come from rich background. The presidential candidates too come from the elite. Forty years after Watergate scandal broke in bringing down the Nixon presidency, rules to reform campaign finance are being skirted. The Congress then responded by adopting the 1974 Federal election campaign Act. But despite this as a result of judicial orders and laxity in implementation of reforms there is need to have a re- look at them.
Currently, the US politicians are worried about the presidential campaign cash running into millions of dollars. A recent Brookings study found super PACs have already spent millions of dollars for the GOP presidential candidate and more is to come. This unlimited spending made possible by a Supreme Court judgment has given wealthy individuals unprecedented influence on the elections. The kind of money which is coming into the campaign from corporations and rich billionaires are a source of worry. It has opened the floodgates for the wealthy to play with elections.
The Democrats are seeking to curb this but the Republicans are opposing it. The reason is simple. The rich businessmen give money to the campaign hoping to get something in return when the party or the candidate comes to power. There is no free lunch in politics and it is a give and take.
There is a lot of debate going in the Television and newspapers and also among politicians. Leading the attack is the Republication leader John Mc Cain who was himself a presidential candidate in 2008 but lost to Obama. He has expressed concern about the huge political funding pouring in for the presidential candidates. He said allowing an “incredible amount of money for political races will encourage corruption.” In a recent CBS interview, he commented “The whole system is broken and it is a wash.” There are others who want to put an end to this kind of cash flow for political campaign.
Why is there so much concern? The campaign funds have enormously increased over the years. Running for the president has become a multi -million dollar affair. In the last 2008 campaign, the amount spent on presidential elections alone was $2.4 billion. Obama spent $ 730 million and John M.C. Cain $ 333 million.
Most Americans now criticize that the political process is being controlled by the wealthy. The 2010 Supreme Court judgment which allowed corporations to fund millions of dollars without disclosure clause has made these huge donations legal. The big business can now simply write out a cheque to the campaign fund. The worry is that Wall Street might pump in a lot of money to have policy decisions in its favor when their man occupies the White House. Nevada Billionaire Sheldon Adleson has pledged a whopping ten million dollars to the super PAC affiliated to Republican candidate Mitt Romney recently. He has assured even a $ 100 million if necessary.
The Republicans are likely to raise huge amount of money. Romney himself was a businessman who knew the intricacies of finance. The Republicans in recent weeks have out- raised Obama‘s campaign funds. The Democratic Party has already started sweating how to get more money to match the Republican rival. The President has held a record number of fund raisers in recent weeks.
Four categories of people contribute to the US presidential campaign. Small donors who contribute less than $200, large donors who give more than $ 200, political action committees and individual candidates. .
Both the presidential candidates go all over the country to raise money. Fund raising by candidates has become a fine art. Romney recently had a meet and greet event where the least amount of donation was $2500. Couples who paid $ 75000 got to have dinner with Romney.
Obama had targeted small donors in 2008 campaign and that was how his campaign funds got big. The 2008 elections also showcased how the campaign could be influenced by the internet. Being the president he will also get money from big business. There is a long queue for meeting with the president Obama. Obama campaign has hit upon a novel idea this time. Those who pay$ 3 dollars in a kind of lottery would get to meet the President if they get their number in a lucky draw. For many ordinary people this three dollar ticket is like a jackpot if they win. Millions of dollars are collected through this new scheme. President Obama has an email list of 83 million donors who pay less than $200. . As of April these small donors have given Obama $ 88 million. The President is depending on grass root strategy while Romney is depending on big business. The smaller the group the more money they have to pay to meet Obama. Fund raisers get a small group of ten to 12 to meet the President if they paid $30000 or more per head. These meetings are becoming more popular as the donors get to spend an hour exclusively with the President.
Some serious politicians are talking about regulating the campaign finance to remove the influence of the wealth and the debate has kicked off well. The Congress has to apply its mind in this regard. Perhaps these elections would be a wake -up call for the Congress if elections were not to become the privilege of the wealthy. The political class should apply its mind to curb the money power before it becomes too late.