# Who gets the 'big money' in Washingon? **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [March 4, 2010, 6:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-gets-the-big-money-in-washingon/531253 "2010-03-04T06:49:50Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 11\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Sam\_Stone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Sam\_Stone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sam_Stone)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2010, 8:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-gets-the-big-money-in-washingon/531253/21 "2010-03-05T08:43:36Z")
On the contrary, I think the words could be very creative. ---
**Author:** ![Mosier](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/7ea924/32.png) [@Mosier](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mosier)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2010, 9:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-gets-the-big-money-in-washingon/531253/22 "2010-03-05T09:33:13Z")
> [@Sam\_Stone](#): > > But they’re not all blue collar jobs, and they’re not just earning people a living wage - they’re earning them a wage that’s significantly higher than their non-union counterparts. Everywhere that people are protected by organized labor, they do better than people who are not protected by organized labor. What are you trying to prove? It seems like you’re making a good argument for stronger unions, to me. ---
**Author:** ![Gyrate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gyrate/32/3588_2.png) [@Gyrate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gyrate)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2010, 10:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-gets-the-big-money-in-washingon/531253/23 "2010-03-05T10:17:23Z")
While I understand the need for unions, like all political entities (and unions are ultimately political) they are first and foremost self-protecting and self-perpetuating. The unions act in the unions’ interests first; this is not to say that they don’t consider their members’ interests but then many politicians will work for their constituents’ interests as long as it doesn’t hurt them personally. Back to the OP: the Republicans have been shifting to a base of smaller donors for a while. It has been suggested that this is less a strategy and more a consequence of [mismanagement](http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0310/33866.html): > [@](#): > > A major Republican donor described the state of the RNC’s relationship with major donors as “disastrous,” with veteran givers beginning to abandon the committee, which is becoming increasingly reliant on small donors. > > The party’s average contribution in 2009, according to the document, was just $40, and the shift toward a financial reliance on the grassroots may help explain Steele’s increasingly strident tone toward the Obama Administration. > > […] > > The RNC plans to raise $8.6 million from major donors alone in 2010, less than 10% of its total 2009 fundraising take, which was primarily from small donors." ---
**Author:** ![Sam\_Stone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Sam\_Stone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sam_Stone)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2010, 2:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-gets-the-big-money-in-washingon/531253/24 "2010-03-05T14:56:29Z")
> [@Mosier](#): > > Everywhere that people are protected by organized labor, they do better than people who are not protected by organized labor. What are you trying to prove? It seems like you’re making a good argument for stronger unions, to me. Except that it’s a zero-sum game. Unions make more money at the _expense_ of non-union workers. They need the non-union workers to pay for their largesse. ---
**Author:** ![Phatlewt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/a698b9/32.png) [@Phatlewt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Phatlewt)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2010, 3:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-gets-the-big-money-in-washingon/531253/25 "2010-03-05T15:20:24Z")
> [@Sam\_Stone](#): > > Except that it’s a zero-sum game. Unions make more money at the _expense_ of non-union workers. They need the non-union workers to pay for their largesse. The money to pay a union worker his contractually obligated wage has to come from somewhere… but aren’t there other places besides “your” paycheck? Maybe Corporate profit margin? Executive salaries? If the company chooses to reduce non union salaries to cover every expense… Maybe you guys should form a union and negotiate a decent contract? ---
**Author:** ![astorian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ad7895/32.png) [@astorian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astorian)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2010, 4:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-gets-the-big-money-in-washingon/531253/26 "2010-03-05T16:07:47Z")
Sam’s results aren’t surprising. Big Business is NOT conservative, and hasn’t been for a very long time. That’s not to say that Big Business is (necessarily) liberal, nor does it mean that CEOs won’t start making big donations to the Republicans again, if and when it’s in their interest. It just so happens that, right now, the Democrats hold all the power. If a CEO wants his phone calls returned by Harry Reid, Nancy Pelosi and Rahm Emmanuel, he knows it will be helpful if he’s on their list of big donors. Hence, Big Business frequently hedges its bets. You’ll often find that business lobbies make big donations to both sides, just to stay in the good graces of whoever wins. And, of course, they’ll give more to the side they perceive to be winning. Both the Democrats and the Republicans tend to offer very different things that are attractive to Big Business. The Republicans tend to offer tax breaks and lax regulations. The Democrats tend to offer big spending programs that can lead to huge contracts. If I’m running, say, General Electric, I want the tax breaks the Republicans promise, but I ALSO want a big chunk of that money the Democrats are shelling out for “green” technology. Hence, I’ll make big contributions to both parties, and HUGE contributions to the side I think is going to win the next election. ---
**Author:** ![Sam\_Stone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Sam\_Stone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sam_Stone)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2010, 11:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-gets-the-big-money-in-washingon/531253/27 "2010-03-05T23:19:44Z")
> [@astorian](#): > > Sam’s results aren’t surprising. Big Business is NOT conservative, and hasn’t been for a very long time. > > That’s not to say that Big Business is (necessarily) liberal, nor does it mean that CEOs won’t start making big donations to the Republicans again, if and when it’s in their interest. It just so happens that, right now, the Democrats hold all the power. If a CEO wants his phone calls returned by Harry Reid, Nancy Pelosi and Rahm Emmanuel, he knows it will be helpful if he’s on their list of big donors. Hence, Big Business frequently hedges its bets. You’ll often find that business lobbies make big donations to both sides, just to stay in the good graces of whoever wins. And, of course, they’ll give more to the side they perceive to be winning. The list I gave was the total from 1989-2010 - a period in which Democrats held the White house for 9 years, and the Republicans for 12. So it’s not just a reflection of the current party in power. ---
**Author:** ![adhay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecd19e/32.png) [@adhay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/adhay)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2010, 1:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-gets-the-big-money-in-washingon/531253/28 "2010-03-09T13:42:55Z")
Those who own the govt, regardless of party. To frame the OP debate around Dems vs Pubs is to argue which driver was more responsible for our recent center line straddling head-on. ---
**Author:** ![sleeping](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/839c29/32.png) [@sleeping](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sleeping)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2010, 9:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-gets-the-big-money-in-washingon/531253/29 "2010-03-10T21:59:00Z")
The Pubs are consistently conservative; some Dems are conservative, others are liberal. Business preferentially gives to whoever is (1) in power, and (2) can best help it achieve the goals. For example, Democrats have gotten the lion’s share of the health insurance industry’s donations over the last few years, but that’s because the insurance companies like the government subsidies and the individual mandate of the current healthcare legislation. OTOH, Wall Street, having gotten its bailout, is [now supporting Republicans](http://www.nytimes.com/2010/02/08/us/politics/08lobby.html) because it wants to obstruct any kind of financial reform. ---
**Author:** ![sleeping](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/839c29/32.png) [@sleeping](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sleeping)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2010, 10:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-gets-the-big-money-in-washingon/531253/30 "2010-03-10T22:16:27Z")
Okay, so I just checked those stats by industry. Totals from 1989 to 2010: [money to Dems / money to Pubs] [% to Dems / % to Repubs] Finance/Insurance/Real Estate: $1,048,858,273 / $1,273,921,416 45% / 55% Health: $385,252,242 / $489,796,566 44% / 56% Labor: $632,154,917 / $52,209,439 92% / 8% Lawyers: $786,174,200 $279,572,551 73% 26% Lobbyists: $92,232,733 $80,102,949 53% 46% Transportation: $134,258,322 $273,577,289 33% 67% Other: $687,479,781 $694,419,076 49% 50% Ideological: $742,241,024 $521,202,750 58% 41% Energy: $153,946,687 $342,713,502 31% 69% Defense: $63,307,595 $84,972,676 43% 57% Construction: $156,117,014 $308,734,578 33% 66% Communications: $466,647,066 $321,972,986 59% 41% Agribusiness: $154,424,961 $325,326,439 32% 68% ---
**Author:** ![sleeping](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/839c29/32.png) [@sleeping](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sleeping)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2010, 10:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-gets-the-big-money-in-washingon/531253/31 "2010-03-10T22:24:33Z")
> [@Sam\_Stone](#): > > Except that it’s a zero-sum game. Unions make more money at the _expense_ of non-union workers. Non-union workers benefit from the higher wages and benefits attained by unions through bargaining. They are essentially free riders. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-gets-the-big-money-in-washingon/531253.md?page=1)