Pay-to-Play Politics - How Money Defines the American Democracy

Pay-to-Play Politics examines money and politics from different angles to understand a central paradox of American democracy: why, when the public and politicians decry money as the worst aspect of American politics, are there so few signs of change?

Everyone from Hillary Clinton to Bernie Sanders to Ted Cruz complains about the corrupting role of money and politics, but money is the lifeblood of their political survival. The public, too, deplores big money politics, despite regularly reelecting the richest candidates for office. The purpose of this book is to reconcile how-against many people's wishes-the connection between money and politics has come to define American democracy.

Examining the issue from the perspective of the public, the courts, big business, Congress, and the presidency, Heath Brown argues that money can often be harmful to the political process, but not always in ways we expect or in ways we can directly observe. More money does not necessarily guarantee electoral, legislative, or executive victories, but money does greatly change political access, opportunity, and trust. Without a nuanced understanding of the nature of the problem, future reforms will be misguided and fruitless. Pay-to-Play Politics concludes by making concrete recommendations for reform, including feasible ways to reach bipartisan consensus.

List of contents

Figures and Tables
Acknowledgments
1. Introduction
2. The Public and Political Money
3. Cash, Courts, and the Constitution
4. Business, Money, and Politics
5. Money at the Capitol
6. The Moneyed Presidency
7. Reforming the Political System
Notes
Index

About the author

Heath Brown, PhD, is assistant professor of public policy at the City University of New York, John Jay College of Criminal Justice and The Graduate Center, New York, NY.

Product details

• Authors: Heath Brown, Brown Heath
• Publisher: Bloomsbury
• Languages: English
• Product format: Hardback
• Released: 30.04.2016
• EAN: 9781440850059
• ISBN: 978-1-4408-5005-9
• No. of pages: 200
• Dimensions: 156 mm x 235 mm x 23 mm
• Weight: 539 g
• Subjects: Social sciences, law, business > Business > Miscellaneous; USA, Business & Economics / General, Business and Management, POLITICAL SCIENCE / American Government / Executive Branch, POLITICAL SCIENCE / American Government / Legislative Branch, Business & management, United States of America, USA, Elections & referenda, Constitution: government & the state, Constitution: government and the state, Elections and referenda / suffrage