this post was submitted on 21 Sep 2024
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[–] [email protected] 85 points 1 month ago (5 children)

It's absurd that politicians are allowed to accept campaign contributions from individuals and corporations. Campaigns should be publicly funded.

[–] [email protected] 35 points 1 month ago (2 children)

The corporations is especially crazy. An individual supporting the democratic process makes sense. They are the ones voting. But a business doesn't vote.

[–] [email protected] 28 points 1 month ago (1 children)

An individual supporting with hard limits to prevent a plutocracy makes sense.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 1 month ago* (last edited 1 month ago)

Maximum monthly donation should be tied to minimum wage for 1 day of work. Realistically, who (unless you’ve got malicious intent or you’re rich as fuck, in which case I’ll assume malicious intent), is going to donate more than 1-20th of their income to a political party. Want to donate more? Choose a charity instead.

(And a bonus) this law would probably break the gridlock on increasing minimum wage.

[–] [email protected] 9 points 1 month ago

The very-dishonestly named "Citizens United" fucked over We the People. Badly. Now, even Democrats and Independents have to also raise obscene amounts of money to match what giant corporations almost always throw at the Republicans who promise to lower their tax rates, limit regulation, repeal environmental and antitrust restrictions, etc.

If it's not yet fully a capitalist hellscape, it's well on its way there...

[–] [email protected] 21 points 1 month ago* (last edited 1 month ago) (1 children)

Campaigns being explicitly publicly funded would also have the benefit that if the fatcats want to contribute more*, they'd need to pay more taxes!

*while still not getting to choose who they're actually contributing to, because eat the rich

[–] [email protected] 12 points 1 month ago (1 children)

It also stops what is going on right now thanks to Citizens United- foreign dark money coming in to influence elections.

Because Russia is very likely pumping a lot of money into U.S. elections and they're probably not the only one. It's legal, so why not?

[–] [email protected] 8 points 1 month ago

Israel definitely is

[–] [email protected] 8 points 1 month ago (1 children)

But won't someone think of the poor corporations?! What about their free speech?

  • Roberts, probably. I didn't actually read citizens united.
[–] [email protected] 4 points 1 month ago (1 children)

Ill believe corporations are “people” when one gets executed

[–] [email protected] 3 points 1 month ago (1 children)

I'm all for the corporate death penalty. Need a bailout, sure. C-suite is fired, assets seized, and corporation becomes nationalized.

Or something like that. There's a reason no one has consulted me on the best way to accomplish this.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 1 month ago

I mean if the government is providing a bailout, at a minimum they should get shares of the company at the current market value. If that’s a controlling share, well then it’s as good as nationalized.

[–] [email protected] 4 points 1 month ago

America has been an oligarchy since corporations were given lobby rights into politics.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 1 month ago

Campaigns should be publicly funded.

Then you would just have proxy donors.

[–] [email protected] 54 points 1 month ago (1 children)

US government gives multi multi billionaire most of his money, billionaire turns around and gives it to Republicans. how's your money in politics working, is it good?

[–] [email protected] 19 points 1 month ago (2 children)

It's trickle down economics in action.

[–] [email protected] 11 points 1 month ago (2 children)

trickle down

Yeah like piss, republican politicians are squealing little piss pigs, oink oink fuckers

[–] [email protected] 4 points 1 month ago (2 children)
[–] [email protected] 4 points 1 month ago

I'm stoked that you found it comparably funny

[–] [email protected] 2 points 1 month ago

Depends on if the Warmbos are asking.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 1 month ago (1 children)

Finally, the Republicans get money and golden showers. You really can have your cake and eat it too.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 1 month ago

More like drink it

[–] [email protected] 9 points 1 month ago

Finally, Reagan makes sense.

[–] [email protected] 44 points 1 month ago (1 children)

Let's say he donated the highest amount of 6 figure (i didn't read the article), 999,999. His net worth is at 260 billion, would be the same as me donating $2.50 in regards to my net worth, and i consider myself technically pretty okay money wise. It's absurd how much billions are....

[–] [email protected] 12 points 1 month ago (1 children)

Article says it was $289k.

There's other donations though:

How much money Musk ends up investing in the election remains an open question. In July, the Wall Street Journal reported that he planned to donate around $45 million a month to help Trump. Musk, however, later denied the report.

Despite the influx of cash from Musk, the NRCC raised just $9.7 million in August, compared to $22.2 million raised by its Democratic counterpart.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 1 month ago (1 children)

Still extra sickening how much billions are. Even if he actually did 45 million it would have roughly the same percentage impact to his net worth as me spending $100

[–] [email protected] 1 points 1 month ago (1 children)

Yeah... but that's only the volume of money.

The bigger picture is that he's allowed to use his wealth to influence elections which will of course favour himself and others of his ilk.

He's using his money to convince people to vote against their own interests. The whole thing is cooked. Wrong on so many levels.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 1 month ago

I agree, i was trying to also bring to light that he can have that much influence with an amount of money that could almost be a rounding error to him.

[–] [email protected] 21 points 1 month ago

He can write all of this off too, can't he? God bless America.

Sigh.

[–] [email protected] 15 points 1 month ago

It's pretty cool how he has the ability to single-handedly improve the lives of people in absolute misery (it'd cost him nothing to renovate one homeless shelter, for example) yet he spends his money on stupid shit like this. /s

[–] [email protected] 15 points 1 month ago (1 children)

Doesn't that exceed political donation caps to PACs?

https://www.fec.gov/updates/fec-announces-2023-2024-campaign-cycle-contribution-limits/

The limit for contributions by individuals and nonmulticandidate PACs to national party committees has risen to $41,300, while the limit for individual and nonmulticandidate PAC contributions to each of the additional national party committee accounts has increased to $123,900 per year.

[–] [email protected] 4 points 1 month ago

Just speculating here but it could be a joint fundraising committee donation. Basically allows a contribution to one entity to be distributed to many political entities. So the contribution limit would still apply but you can contribute to all people/pacs/parties associated with that committee. Doing some terrible calculations that would amount to like 1.7m if you maxed out contributions to every general election candidate ($3300 x 538) and excluding parties/pacs.

https://www.opensecrets.org/joint-fundraising-committees-jfcs

[–] [email protected] 15 points 1 month ago

Fascism is not politely waiting to take over the U.S. and Putin is in on it.

[–] [email protected] 12 points 1 month ago (1 children)

Remember when he donated $1 mil to Team Trees? Good times...

[–] [email protected] 2 points 1 month ago (1 children)

I was just thinking of that. Wtf happened. It was all a PR stunt I guess.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 1 month ago (1 children)

it obviously was but it was a better stunt than what he has been doing lately

[–] [email protected] 4 points 1 month ago

He gave up the tony stark and went full homelander.

[–] [email protected] 9 points 1 month ago

Fuck oligarchs, no room for them in a democracy

[–] [email protected] 2 points 1 month ago

A fool and his money….