and I heard that DeVos used $40 million of his own money to use for advertisment and such to run for governor. i don't know how much The governor used. Wouldn't it be nice if ANY politician made ONE commercial and said "I have this much money and i am going to give it to my state to create jobs, feed the poor, educate the uneducated......anything.....rather than use it for a campaign? I wonder if the press would give a person so much admirable attention that they would win the race. WHat do you think? What do you think could be done with the money used for campaigns? What would you do?
2006-11-09 14:00:26 · 6 answers · asked by pink9364 5 in Politics & Government ➔ Elections
WAYCAR... you are RIGHT. but why not do something good with your money? :)
2006-11-09 14:06:21 · update #1
My wife and I were talking about the same thing the other night.
Politicians spend $2.6 BILLION on this past election. What kind of programs could of that funded? We have people living on the streets!
But it's keeping your face in the public eye. Think about when you look at a ballot. How much do you know about the Green party candidate? It's who has the most money.
And think about it - if Devos spent $40 million, the job only pays $172,000 per year! That's like buying a 1979 Chevy Chevette for $300,000! But it's not about money, it's about power.
2006-11-09 14:09:22 · answer #1 · answered by Joe S 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I am from MI also and yes devos did use his own money. The entire Granholm campaign cost less than one third of that. The money that is used is controlled by the party not the politician in any campaign. Many times the candidate has little to say what goes into the adds. The content of the adds is decided by a political strategist working for the party. It would be nice yes that a candidate would donate the funds for a noble cause however politics is a business just like advertising is. They are in business to make money and if a political party is willing to pay they most certainly obtain more airtime witch will ultimately lead to more attention from the public
2006-11-09 23:40:16 · answer #2 · answered by roscodog 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
This is why State Reform is such a rare thing...
Federal campaigns are restricted by law by how much money they can receive from Political Action Committees and Special Interest Groups (Hard Money), so a big part of pre-campaign season is securing 'soft money' paid to the candidate to spend as they see fit, as long as the funds are from an individual and not a business or non-profit/government entity, and the percent of Hard Money spend on a campaign compared to Soft Money doesn't break a certain ratio.
On a state-by-state level, those rules largely DO NOT APPLY, and candidates can spend as they wish on their pursuits.If DeVos was willing to bankroll $40 million on his election pursuit, and build a campaign platform that basically sounds like a broken record "Create Michigan Jobs, (rrip) Create Michigan Jobs, (rrip) Create Michigan Jobs", who do you think will ask him for 'special consideration' when he made the office? Corporations? You bet!
Some way or another, the money always comes back.
2006-11-09 22:11:59 · answer #3 · answered by Intentionality 4 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Because as Governor he'd have more power to force his beliefs on the people around him. I don't doubt he would have loved to put Intelligent Design into Michigan schools, not to mention going through with his comment about overturning Roe v Wade.
2006-11-10 00:07:58 · answer #4 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
first of all it's his money, so he can spend it the way he wants. The real question, the one you are missing, is WHY would a guy spend 40 million of his own money to secure a low six figure salary job? the answer? the whole system is corrupt.
2006-11-09 22:04:42 · answer #5 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 1⤋
YES BUT EGO IS A VERY PRIDEFUL ANIMAL...
IT TAKES A POWERFUL LOT OF MONEY TO SOOTHE THAT SINFUL BEAST.
2006-11-09 22:03:07 · answer #6 · answered by cork 7 · 0⤊ 1⤋