Campaign Finance — Get Money Out

The 2024 elections cost $15.9 billion — the most expensive in US history. Just 1.05% of Americans gave $200 or more, yet that sliver provided 78.45% of all campaign contributions. Princeton researchers Martin Gilens and Benjamin Page documented the result: economic elites have a 'substantial independent impact' on US government policy, while average citizens have 'near-zero' measurable influence.

Dark money exploded from $127 million in 2010 (Citizens United) to $1.9 billion in 2024 — a 15× increase in 14 years. A single donor gave $1.6 billion to Leonard Leo's Marble Freedom Trust, the largest known political donation in American history, routed entirely through a 501(c)(4) with no required public disclosure. Shell company spending enables foreign and corporate money to flow into elections with no traceability.

The Federal Election Commission deadlocks on ~40% of cases by design. Congress built the FEC with six commissioners (evenly split by party) requiring four votes to act — a deliberate choice by legislators who preferred impunity. The FEC killed 300+ pending cases when it went without a quorum for much of 2019–2020, and dismissed an $18 million Bloomberg campaign finance violation not because it was legal, but because the commission could not agree to act.

The corruption tax costs American households $9,000–$16,200 per year. Lobbying hit a record $4.44 billion in 2024, generating an estimated $220 return per $1 spent. Defense contractors gave $10.2 million in campaign donations and received $45 billion in extra defense spending — a 449,000% return. The pharmaceutical industry spent $6.1 billion lobbying to block drug pricing reform.

For working families, every dollar you donate now means something. No more billionaires drowning out your voice. With $100 Democracy Vouchers and 8:1 matching, a working person's $50 becomes a $450 investment in their preferred candidate. Wealth no longer determines access. The 1.05% no longer drive 78.45% of politics.

For women and communities of color, public financing changes who runs and who wins. NYC's 8:1 matching program took the City Council from 27% to 61% women. Seattle's Democracy Vouchers doubled Black political participation. When candidates no longer need mega-donors to be viable, candidates from underrepresented communities can compete — and representation follows.

For consumers and patients, the dark money ban eliminates the shadowy infrastructure blocking drug price negotiation, clean air standards, and safety regulations. Pharma can no longer spend $6.1 billion in secret to block pricing reform. Defense contractors no longer get $45 billion in extra spending in exchange for $10.2 million in donations. The corruption tax — $9,000–$16,200 per household per year — vanishes as regulatory capture ends.

For democracy itself, enforcement becomes real. The FEIC replaces the deliberately dysfunctional FEC. A 5-member commission investigates violations within 30 days and resolves within 180. Whistleblowers get 15–30% of penalties. Violations cost 300% — enough to deter, not just a cost of doing business. The US enters the top 10 of Transparency International's Corruption Perceptions Index.