Buying Elections

"You're gonna need people like us around."
--Sadie Burke (All the King's Men)

When government is authorized to redistribute resources, then markets for political favor arise. Because they have the power to confiscate wealth from some individuals for the benefit of others, politicians sell their influence to those interested in being on the receiving end of redistribution.

Markets for political favor particularly flourish in democratic processes where winners are determined by majority vote. Individuals are prone to organize around common interests in order to increase their bargaining power.

While these special interest groups (SIGs) can bid on political favor at any time, they are particularly active during the campaign phase of election cycles. The primary objective of SIGs during campaigns is to get their candidate into office. Therefore, SIGs must provide resources to help their candidate get elected.

Votes are the most direct resource class in this regard. Using various methods, SIGs can cajole or coerce their memberships to vote for the preferred candidate. The idea is to line up big voter blocs to elect the candidate outright via democratic (majority rule) process.

Internally, however, SIGs may not be able to marshal the critical mass necessary to carry elections themselves. In such cases, SIGs must look externally, and try to sway other individuals or groups in their candidate's direction. Processes for influencing others require additional resources.

Monetary contributions to the candidate's campaign are one such resource class. Individual members affiliated with the SIG or the group itself can write a check directly to their candidate's campaign. They can also contribute money indirectly though a political action committee (PAC). PACs are legally recognized entities that have been organized for political purposes. PACs are merely another form of SIGs.

The advantage of PACs is that, under currently law, more money can be funneled toward a candidate via PAC channels. However, current laws make them subject to government oversight and regulation.

Another resource class that is difficult to monitor and regulate is the 'in-kind' contribution. In-kind contributions are non-monetary resources, such as equipment, housing, labor, and transportation, that can be given to an election campaign. The advantage of in-kind resources is that they are difficult to account for, making them elusive to external tracking.

A particularly nefarious in-kind contribution comes from SIGs with media operations. Media outlets can contribute to campaigns by providing highly visible platforms for exposure, or by slanting journalistic coverage in favor of a particular candidate. Media that are biased toward a particular candidate can lend a significant edge to a campaign while being nearly impossible to quantify or track.

Once again, we are hearing cries that particular SIGs are trying to 'buy elections.' Of course they are. Markets for political favor always arise when governments are authorized to redistribute wealth. People generally prefer to further their interests with the least amount of effort possible, and employing strong armed government agents to take valuable resources from others permits them to do so.

The oft prescribed remedy is to 'reform' processes for campaign contributions. In addition to obvious First Amendment difficulties, such a prescription treats a symptom rather than the cause of the disease.

Campaign contributions will wither if there is no market for political favor. The market for political favor disappears if the authority to redistribute resources is taken from government.