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Political Spending: Civic Engagement is Not a Threat to Democracy

January 1, 2018  •  By IFS Staff  •    •  

The First Amendment guarantees every American freedom of speech. That freedom includes the right to spend money on speech. Without money, a political group cannot buy ads, print fliers, organize protests, or hire staff. Short of shouting one’s opinions on a street corner, it takes money to spread a message. Recognizing this relationship, the Supreme Court has long prohibited the…

Gaining Perspective on Convention Spending

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August 29, 2012   •  By Sarah Lee   •  

The sexy new questions regarding money in politics — if the word sexy can ever really apply to an issue that breeds contentiousness rather ...

Independent Spending & Incumbency, 2010

August 1, 2012   •  By Jason Farrell   •  ,

Using information obtained from the New York Times, Real Clear Politics, state websites, and the Center for Responsive Politics, we were able examine the ...

Morgan Freeman Lends his “Voice” to Obama

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July 19, 2012   •  By Sarah Lee   •  

So…can we all just finally get on the same page that money in politics actually does equate to speech in politics? As the esteemed ...

Are corporations spending “unprecedented sums?” Setting the record straight

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July 9, 2012   •  By Brad Smith   •  

Roll Call’s Eliza Newlin Carney is on a mission. Today Carney takes on competing claims about the role of corporations in the 2008 campaign. ...

Are corporate campaign contributions good or bad for shareholders?

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June 21, 2012   •  By Jason Farrell   •  

The argument that corporate spending on political campaigns is making companies rich has been screamed ad infinitum by the media and pro-regulation groups like ...

SEC Rulemaking Should Not be a Popularity Contest

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May 25, 2012   •  By Allen Dickerson   •  ,

Today, two Ivy League law professors touted the groundswell of support for an SEC petition that would require corporations to disclose otherwise-immaterial political spending ...

Outside Spending and Incumbency in Indiana

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May 9, 2012   •  By Jason Farrell   •  

Fox News reported that Senator Dick Lugar R-IN, lost his renomination bid after 35 years in office. Lugar is expected to be one of ...

Does Less Income Mean Less Representation?

May 1, 2012   •  By Matt Nese   •  , ,

Do politicians better represent the interests of their higher income constituents? Perhaps because of the increasing costs of campaigns, or the greater participation of high ...

The (Non-)Effects of Campaign Finance Spending Bans on Macro Political Outcomes: Evidence From the States

February 20, 2012   •  By Matt Nese   •  , ,

This paper seeks to understand the effect of campaign finance laws on electoral and policy outcomes. Spurred by the recent Supreme Court decision, Citizens United ...

Campaign Spending, Diminishing Marginal Returns, and Campaign Finance Restrictions in Judicial Elections

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October 1, 2011   •  By IFS Staff   •  , , ,

Abstract: For years, scholars of elections have argued about whether campaign finance limitations adversely affect electoral competition. In this article, we examine how the ...

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