Monday 7 April 2014

How come the super-rich back Democrats then?

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We're repeatedly told by the leftist comentariat that the super-rich are corrupting politics through their crony capitalism and support for 'neo-liberalism' (whatever that may mean). So it is odd to discover that the mega-bucks aren't flowing rightwards at all:

Among the .01 percent who increasingly dominate political giving, three of the largest contributions, besides the conservative Club for Growth, backed by Republican oligarchs, went to groups such as Emily’s List, Act Blue and Moveon.org. Liberal groups accounted for eight of the top 10 ideological causes of the ultra-rich; seven of the 10 congressional candidates most dependent on their money were Democrats.

In one respect this should suggest that big money donations are rather less corrupting (in an 'everything-right-wing-is-wicked' meaning of the word corrupt) than many people would suggest. But what it also suggests is that big government is no threat to the super-rich and even that the regulation, high taxes and intrusion into the lives of ordinary folk rather supports the business interests of the 0.01%. Moreover, since the super-rich are able to move so as to avoid regulation and taxation, they can use these things as tools to protect their business interests without having to suffer the personal consequences of big government.

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