Will Willkinson on Money and Politics

http://www.futureofcapitalism.com/2011/03/will-willkinson-on-money-and-politics

The Economist's Will Wilkinson writes, "Though I've happily moved on, both occupationally and ideologically, I've spent most of my professional life in libertarian institutions founded or supported by the Kochs."

He goes on:

money is not all that easily translated into effective political influence. Most rich people just thoughtlessly fling cash at causes and candidates they happen to like to little real effect. Indeed, a good deal of political spending is part of moneyed status-signaling games; whether the money makes a difference to anything but the donor's reputation is beside the point. In any case, much effort is devoted simply to neutralising the spending of opposed ideological teams, and the whole racket largely amounts to redistribution from the rich to somewhat less rich political consultants and nonprofit managers.

by Ira Stoll  |  Mar 28, 2011 at 4:53 pm Related Topics:  Campaign Finance, Non-Profits, Politics receive the latest by email: subscribe to the free futureofcapitalism.com mailing list