Can Someone Explain To Me When Spending Money on Politics is Bad?
So I saw this picture on Facebook:
So apparently it's bad when rich people give Republican campaigns lots of money (I do love the fact that they illustrate how many food stamps you can buy; these people are brilliant!). But what about:
The 150-person event, held Thursday night, brought in $15 million, from both ticket prices -- $40,000 per person -- and donations of $3 or more that entered donors into a raffle to win tickets to the event, according to the Los Angeles Times. Tens of thousands of donors contributed an average of $23 in hopes of winning a ticket, the LA Times reported, raising almost $10 million for the campaign.
So Obama could buy 3450 food-stamp-years with the money from his George Clooney fundraiser. Wouldn't this money also be better spent on those food stamps than on the ridiculous ads I keep seeing on Youtube, instructing me to "Tell Barack you're in", or spent on creepy Father's Day shenanigans? Or is this somehow less bad because
1) Sheldon Adelson donating 10 million, and pledging to donate up to 100 million, is worse because he's just one person?
or
2) Donating money to Republicans is evil and bad, but donating money to Democrats is good and wonderful?
What about these fun facts?
The president and first lady Michelle Obama made a rare joint fundraising appearance when they visited the home of actors Sarah Jessica Parker and Matthew Broderick. The intimate dinner banked about $2 million, with 50 people paying $40,000 each.
...
Among the celebrities on hand to hear Obama's remarks were Oscar winner Meryl Streep, fashion designer Michael Kors and Vogue editor Anna Wintour, who moderated a private question-and-answer session between the president and the guests. Broderick, who was starring in a Broadway musical, was absent.
The president and Mrs. Obama also headlined a second glitzy fundraiser in Manhattan Thursday night that included a performance from singer Mariah Carey and remarks by singer Alicia Keys. The 250-person dinner yielded the Obama campaign at least $2.5 million.
...
From Tinseltown to Broadway, Obama has surrounded himself with blockbuster names lately: George Clooney, Julia Roberts, Reese Witherspoon, Spike Lee, Will Smith, Oprah Winfrey, Ellen DeGeneres, Cher and many others who make more in one year than most people do in a lifetime.
Obama played basketball with a Batman (Clooney) and a Spiderman (Tobey Maguire), all in one game. He held a private chat in Los Angeles with some of the town's younger stars last week, including Jessica Alba and Jeremy Renner. He has had some of the most popular musicians in the business perform at his fundraisers, such as Alicia Keys, Cee Lo Green, Dave Matthews and the Foo Fighters. For his gig with Obama, Jon Bon Jovi even caught a ride on Air Force One.
Why should I be outraged that some rich guy gave 10 million to a super PAC, but not upset that Bon Jovi is riding around on Air Force One?
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Aug '10
Re: Can Someone Explain To Me When Spending Money on Politics is Bad?
I wonder if we can figure out how many people will be working in the marketing and advertising business earning a salary due to Sheldon Adelson's contribution. I also wonder how these individuals will spend the salaries they receive for creating advertisements and promotional materials. I wonder how many people are employed in the printing and promotional items industry by the $100 million.
23,000 families of 4 may be able to be supported by for 1 year on food stamps with 100,000,000, but that money doesn't cycle through the economy near as many times as Adelson's contribution. Food Stamps -- if "properly" administered -- can only be used by the benefiting family for food. Yes, that money cycles through the economy after that, but overall is less efficient than Adelson's contribution which provides jobs from day one and works all the way through the supply chain and allows freedom of choice in how the money is used.
And if $4,348 is enough to feed a family of 4 in a year -- with bureaucratic costs -- I'm a monkey's uncle.
Nov '11
Re: Can Someone Explain To Me When Spending Money on Politics is Bad?
Ayn Rand may be longwinded, but one of the benefits of that longwindedness is that you don't need to paraphrase her because she'll say the same things five times. Don't paraphrase Ayn Rand, just read the words, man, and take in their meaning. Don't paraphrase them.