What does it mean that McCain pledged to only use "public money" for his campaign?
Asked by
MrItty (
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October 30th, 2008
Exactly where is this “public money” coming from? Is it from my taxes? Does it have anything to do with that checkbox for donating $1 on the 1040 IRS forms? Do people who contribute to this “public money” know they’re contributing, or which candidate will be using their money?
(And yes, I understand that Obama supposedly said he would use public money, but then backed out, and so is using money donated to him specifically. I really don’t want this to turn into a McCain vs Obama question. I’m asking specifically about what “public money” means. Thanks.)
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3 Answers
Voila
Chapter 5: Funding the Program: The $1 Tax Checkoff
“The public funding of Presidential elections is not financed by a standard Congressional appropriation. Instead, the program is funded by the one dollar checkoff that appears on federal income tax forms.”
You might also be interested in:
Chapter 2: General Election Funding: How General Election Funding Works
The Presidential nominee of each major party may become eligible for a public grant of $20 million (plus a cost-of-living adjustment (COLA)) for the general election campaign. In 1992, each major party nominee received $55.24 million. To be eligible, candidates must agree to limit their spending to the amount of the grant and must pledge not to accept private contributions for the campaign.
That’s the most recent information I could find, it’s my understanding however, that not much has changed.
We just had some homework about this in Civcs. I’ll get my book from my locker. Be back in a few.
EDIT:
The largest share of the money spent in presidential compaigns comes from the public. Public funding began in the 1970’s. At that time, congress created the Presidential Election Campaign fund to prevent wealthy canidates from buying their way into office by outspending their oppenents. Taxpayers can contribute $3 to the fund each year by checking off a box on their federal income form.
McCain decided to go the somewhat more Socialist route and take money from the People (through the government) to use for his campaign, which means that he agreed to certain spending limits to get that cash. An amount is allotted to the two major parties from that fund, should they wish to take it, as well as to any third parties that can show a certain level of public interest. (I believe it was through attaining 5% of the vote, which is why people were trading votes for the Green party in 2000.)
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