Home 禄 Opinion 禄 Foreign Views
Secret campaign money stifling to US businesses
Print Edition
Five years after the US Supreme Court handed down its decision in Citizens United v. FEC, the United States is still feeling its ill effects. The 2012 election cycle proved to be the most expensive cycle in history, with an estimated US$6 billion in spending on federal races; 2014, meanwhile, was the most expensive midterm election cycle in history. In all likelihood, future election cycles will eclipse those marks.
This isn鈥檛 just a problem for good government advocates. It鈥檚 a problem for businesses too. All economic activity exists within a marketplace that is defined by laws enacted through the democratic process. If our democratic institutions are not healthy, the structures of our markets cannot be healthy.
The greatest menace to election integrity in America today is how easily unlimited money, cloaked in secrecy, is brought into the system. That money buys votes in elections, influences elected officials, and disables the regulatory process by dangling irresistible job offers and consulting contracts in front of officials charged with regulating vital economic activity.
Our democratic system of government, and our world-leading business innovation and entrepreneurship, thrive when elections are open and fair, when all citizens can fully participate, and when special interests are not allowed to corrupt the system or exert undue influence.
According to polling commissioned by the American Sustainable Business Council, two-thirds of small business owners view the Citizens United decision as bad for business, compared with 9 percent who view it favorably. Nearly 90 percent have a negative view of the role money plays in politics overall. And remarkably, half of the respondents were self-identified Republicans.
The reason is simple: Most businesses prefer to invest money in their companies rather than trying to buy elections. These are funds they believe are better spent on upgrading their technology or hiring the best talent, business decisions that are good for their bottom line and the communities they serve.
Instead, the Citizens United decision has enabled a minority of large corporations to spend unlimited amounts of money on elections in complete secrecy.
Undue corporate influence
If corporations with the deepest pockets can have this undue influence on our elections, then the priorities of the small and medium businesses that make our economy grow will be pushed aside. Most business owners believe that this is bad distortion of a free market.
There鈥檚 certainly a role for businesses to play in the policy process. It鈥檚 important for policymakers to understand the concerns that businesses have.
At the same time, there is a growing response to Citizens United.
Shareholders have called for full disclosure of corporate contributions. More than a third of US senators and representatives, and more than a third of the states, have called for a constitutional amendment overturning Citizens United. A half dozen proposed amendments were introduced in the last Congress, and one of them got the support of 54 senators.
We need to return to a focus on rebuilding our infrastructure, investing in new technologies and other initiatives to build a strong US economy. That is why business leaders are speaking out in favor of overturning the Citizens United decision. It鈥檚 important that members of Congress realize that their constituents, including small businesses, want them to get hidden and unrestricted money out of politics.
Levine is CEO of the American Sustainable Business Council, which with its member organizations represents more than 200,000 US businesses. Copyright: American Forum.
- About Us
- |
- Terms of Use
- |
-
RSS - |
- Privacy Policy
- |
- Contact Us
- |
- Shanghai Call Center: 962288
- |
- Tip-off hotline: 52920043
- 娌狪CP璇侊細娌狪CP澶05050403鍙-1
- |
- 浜掕仈缃戞柊闂讳俊鎭湇鍔¤鍙瘉锛31120180004
- |
- 缃戠粶瑙嗗惉璁稿彲璇侊細0909346
- |
- 骞挎挱鐢佃鑺傜洰鍒朵綔璁稿彲璇侊細娌瓧绗354鍙
- |
- 澧炲肩數淇′笟鍔＄粡钀ヨ鍙瘉锛氭勃B2-20120012
Copyright 漏 1999- Shanghai Daily. All rights reserved.Preferably viewed with Internet Explorer 8 or newer browsers.
