-By Frank Hyland
A saying that has proven to be wiser and wiser as time goes by is, “Follow the money.” You’ve heard, no doubt, that money is the lifeblood of Capitalism and that “Follow the money” applies to Capitalism. That is true. It may surprise you or puzzle you, though, when I tell you that the saying applies equally as much to politics, to political parties, and to individual politicians. Politicians, after all, are fond of telling us that they are engaged in “public service,” as if no money changes hands or even needs to ever change hands. If you wonder about my claim here in Politics 101, consider it in terms of cycles: To begin the cycle, politicians run for office; organizations donate money to political candidates and/or to their parties; the organizations then lobby those whom they’ve supported, to press for their agendas; the successful candidates, keeping in mind their next run for office, support most– sometimes all — of their supporters’ requests; the supporting groups gain from the politicians’ support in terms of wage and salary gains; items like union dues increase along with income taxes, meaning that the unions’ income rises as well; in the next election cycle, the unions fill out “report cards” on the various candidates, favoring (Surprise!) the incumbents who rewarded them; the unions donate to those who supported their agendas last time. Now begin the cycle as above over and over again. While it hasn’t been a total secret, the details of the overall cycle have not been widely advertised to you even if you have been a union member. Now, in an era of tight budgets for everyone, the secret has emerged into the bright sunshine of media coverage.
So that you don’t think I’m picking on labor unions unfairly here, the cycles are engaged in by groups other than labor unions as well, organizations such as the Public Broadcasting System (PBS), National Public Radio (NPR), a variety of so-called “Cultural Groups,”and Planned Parenthood . Even an individual like George Soros, it should come as no surprise to you, donates to political causes.
As has been demonstrated amply in the states of Wisconsin, New Jersey, Michigan, California, and others, the problem of labor unions and other lobbyists exists not only at the federal level. Taking a closer look at California, and for just one example, it has been reported that two schools in the Oakland, California, area – the “home” turf of present Governor Jerry Brown – have received in excess of two million dollars from lobbyists just since Brown was elected Governor last year. A troubling fact that bears increased watching all over the country is that the funds contributed in this fashion have no limits under state law, unlike the contributions to Political Action Committees (PACs) or directly to campaigns.
Another beneficiary of the political contributions while we’re at it is the Media – print and broadcast industries. What, you thought those bumper stickers, T-Shirts, billboards and commercials were free because they were about political races? Maybe at the end of the commercials, the candidates could say, “But wait! Call right now and I’ll pass TWO laws for the price of one!” That should clear up the problems.
Don’t worry about your ability to follow the money. You’ll have no trouble doing so. To follow the money, just follow your nose. The stench will lead you directly to the problem and to those who create the problem.
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Frank Hyland is a long-time Writer/Editor who has written for The New Media Alliance, and also for The Reality Check and has appeared weekly on Life, Liberty & the Pursuit of Conservatism on Sunday evenings on Blog Talk Radio, along with Babe Huggett and Warner Todd Huston.