Over the past 25 years, the skyrocketing cost of running for office has made it far too easy for special interests with big money to manipulate election outcomes and influence public policies. When a political system is twisted in this way to serve those who can pay the most, the ripple effect is profound. It can hurt democracy on every level, with the people of North Carolina ultimately paying the price when public policies, fees, inferior services and lost tax revenues end up taking money out of their pockets.

 

Consider these harmful effects of a political system dominated by big money donors:

• If only candidates with access to wealth can win office, the idea of a representative government is lost.

• It becomes impossible for some of our best public servants to run for office. 

• Campaigns end up focusing on fundraising instead of the issues, making it hard for voters to know where candidates stand.

• We end up with elected officials who must devote so much time to fundraising that they cannot properly do the job they were elected to do.

• The campaign system impairs the objectivity of our leaders and opens the door for public policy that favors big donors – often at the expense of ordinary citizens who end up paying more for insurance, healthcare, utilities and other essential services.

• A system dominated by big money encourages cynicism and discourages people from participating in democracy.

Why It Should Matter to You

Your government officials should represent you, not their campaign donors, and public policies should be written to serve the public good, not special interests. Nor should your chance to become a public servant or have your issue resolved by your elected official be affected by your access to wealth. Perhaps most important of all: You are the one who pays for a political system based on big money when public policy favors special interests over consumers or when tax breaks and other special interest legislation deprives our state of the revenues it is rightfully due.

 

Still Not Convinced?

Do you really want the person who sets your insurance rates to be obligated to an insurance industry political action committee? Do you want elected officials who won office with huge donations from power company executives making your environmental policies? Are you comfortable having your healthcare options decided by politicians who have accepted hundreds of thousands of dollars from doctors or pharmaceutical company executives? Do you want the question of whether your tax dollars should go to building a new road or school decided by local leaders who were elected thanks to huge donations by developers hoping to build a subdivision in your town?  We’re guessing the answer is, “No.”

 

What We’re Doing About It

For over three decades, Democracy North Carolina and our predecessor organizations have been following the role that big money plays in who gets elected to office and how public policy is decided in NC. Our research has proved that the problem is real – but it has also revealed effective ways to combat the problem. We fight the negative effects of a big money-based democracy by:

• Advocating for Voter-Owned Elections as the single most effective tool in returning our political system to voters.
• Educating the public on the problem of money in politics and what they can do about it.
• Tracking donations to statewide and local candidates so that citizens know which special interests, if any, have backed a candidate.
• Exposing corruption and other abuses of our political system, then advocating for changes so they do not happen again.
• Encouraging citizens to follow the money trail and to pay attention to their elected officials’ voting records and policy decisions.
• Teaching constituents how to advocate for their issues and use their power to counteract the power of dollars.