This supports the argument that increased inequality in the nation, coupled with the increased ability of people to spend as much money as they wish on campaigns, has made the United States more plutocratic and less democratic.
We may be ruled - more or less - by a group of 32,000 people.
- Click here for the article.
We may be ruled - more or less - by a group of 32,000 people.
- Click here for the article.
In 2014, one out of every five dollars that was contributed to political candidates came from a group of about 32,000 donors -- one-one-hundredth of one-one-hundredth of the population of the country. Spending by the "1 percent of the 1 percent" has been tracked by the Center for Responsive Politics and the Sunlight Foundation, which on Thursday published an analysis of the last three cycles of activity among this group.
The very short version: A smaller group of bigger donors is composing an increasing amount of political giving.
The donors, CRP and Sunlight found, share a number of things in common. They're usually men, and they come largely from the finance industry, which will perhaps not shock you. But we were interested in a subset of that data, the geography. Most donors live in or near big cities, the groups report -- but the cities near which they live vary pretty dramatically by party.
It's very much worth your time reading the full report.
