How is it legal for big corporations to donate $ to political candidates?

Answer 1

Big question. Corps can contribute through PAC's which are limited to $5000 per campaign committee, but they can also contribute to the party, who then distributes the money out "as it sees fit".

Then you have the 527's, while not strictly corps, are used to finance things like the Swift Boat smear of Kerry during the 2004 elections.

Stopping up the myriad loopholes is an exercise in frustration. The politicians themselves who write the laws, don't want to limit them, except for their rivals.

If they are committed to giving money, they can find a way.

Answer 2

A supreme court ruling (I don't remember when but i'll try to look it up) that said that a corporation has the same rights as a person. The right to buy and sell property, to be sued, etc. Along with that came the right to give money to political candidates. It is limited though.

Answer 3

I've been wondering how they donate significant funds to politicians. I know there is a limit, but I doubt they stay with in it. My guess, and its only a guess is that the Big corporation owns smaller companies and they get each one of those unit to donate money.

Answer 4

Heres the Clinton way
Democrat Tax Cheaters
It seems the Clinton’s have been playing a shell game with their income, shuffling it through a supposed charity just so they can hide it from the tax man. Notice the revenues versus the charitable contributions in this story:

Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton and former president Bill Clinton have operated a family charity since 2001, but she failed to list it on annual Senate financial disclosure reports on five occasions.

…

The foundation has enabled the Clintons to write off more than $5 million from their taxable personal income since 2001, while dispensing $1.25 million in charitable contributions over that period.

Any normal taxpayer trying to play this game would be hauled in for a tax audit - and rightfully so. Somehow the Clinton’s hid $5M in income from the taxman (which would be at the income tax rate of 34%) as if it was charity donations (can Bill’s speeches be seen as a charity case?). In order to do this scam the Clintons donated 25% to charity, saving about 10% and keeping all of it from the taxman. But what is ridiculous is a charity which has 75% overhead and only providing a measely 25% of all revenues to the target of the supposed charity. This is a scam plain and simple. Everyone knows the best charities donate 90% of their revenues to the needy they represent - not 25%. I would expect every donor to this ‘charity’ to be a Democrat fundraiser who has little record of donating to charities like this one. In other words, they knew the Clintons would pocket the money for themselves.
Is this how the liberal elitists show compassion for the poor? Evidentally it is.

Answer 5

Yes, they can donate $1000.

Answer 6

Yes, but only in amounts up to $20,000.