February 17, 2020--Buying the Election
As Mike Bloomberg rises in the polls to perhaps second place behind Sanders, his opponents, none more than Bernie, accuse him of trying to "buy the election."
Bloomberg is worth $62 billion, is America's 6th richest person, and has said he will spend at least $2.0 billion of this fortune on his campaign for the presidency
Anyone who watches TV or has a smart phone no matter where in America they live can get a sense of what $2.0 billion buys you--endless ads approved and paid for by Bloomberg, a mammoth social media blitz, and a flood of Bloomberg-generated memes to chew on.
In addition, it buys you a well-paid team of operatives to carry out your ground game.
And ultimately, it may help get you the presidency.
It is true on one important level (having virtually limitless money available to fund a campaign for the presidency) that money may help "buy" Bloomberg the election.
I placed quotation marks around "buy" because there are additional ways to think about the purchasing power of money in elections.
A glaring example--Bernie Sanders also is trying to mobilize a fortune's worth of money to help him win the presidency.
Not his money, but yours and mine. Taxpayers' money. The key word to how this works is "mobilize," which is different than "spend."
No one asked us to approve this money, Bernie just appropriated it and plans to use it to pay for all the social programs he is promising.
Thirty to $50 trillion worth (trillion), with a whopping $30 of it for his Medicare for All plan.
This is money we and our children and grandchildren will need during the next 25 years to fund our Social Security and whatever government-funded health care plan we will be required to live with.
Bernie's programs, of course, will not actually be paid for. Assuming Congress approves them (unlikely) their cost will get assigned to our compounding national debt. Like Bush's prescription drug plan and Trump's tax cuts for the wealthy.
There is, though, a significant difference between what Bloomberg is spending and Sanders is mobilizing--Bloomberg's money is his; Bernie's is ours.
Bloomberg is worth $62 billion, is America's 6th richest person, and has said he will spend at least $2.0 billion of this fortune on his campaign for the presidency
Anyone who watches TV or has a smart phone no matter where in America they live can get a sense of what $2.0 billion buys you--endless ads approved and paid for by Bloomberg, a mammoth social media blitz, and a flood of Bloomberg-generated memes to chew on.
In addition, it buys you a well-paid team of operatives to carry out your ground game.
And ultimately, it may help get you the presidency.
It is true on one important level (having virtually limitless money available to fund a campaign for the presidency) that money may help "buy" Bloomberg the election.
I placed quotation marks around "buy" because there are additional ways to think about the purchasing power of money in elections.
A glaring example--Bernie Sanders also is trying to mobilize a fortune's worth of money to help him win the presidency.
Not his money, but yours and mine. Taxpayers' money. The key word to how this works is "mobilize," which is different than "spend."
No one asked us to approve this money, Bernie just appropriated it and plans to use it to pay for all the social programs he is promising.
Thirty to $50 trillion worth (trillion), with a whopping $30 of it for his Medicare for All plan.
This is money we and our children and grandchildren will need during the next 25 years to fund our Social Security and whatever government-funded health care plan we will be required to live with.
Bernie's programs, of course, will not actually be paid for. Assuming Congress approves them (unlikely) their cost will get assigned to our compounding national debt. Like Bush's prescription drug plan and Trump's tax cuts for the wealthy.
There is, though, a significant difference between what Bloomberg is spending and Sanders is mobilizing--Bloomberg's money is his; Bernie's is ours.
Labels: 2020 Democratic Race, Bernie Sanders, Buying the Election, Mike Bloomberg
posted by Steven Zwerling at
4:58 AM
2 Comments:
Amazing piece of sophistry today Steven.
Problems:
You are comparing Bernies big spending plans when president to Bloomberg’s campaign funding. This is not a real comparison.
If Bloomberg as president wants to use his own money to pay for the worthless foreign wars, the ridiculous Wall Street handouts, the massive corporate cronyism going on under both parties ( and trump) , then I encourage him to do so and will support him.
I prefer my taxes to be spent on Americans health care as oppose to drone murdering people at wedding or on diplomatic missions.
Great post thhankyou
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