Dad29: Just So You Understand "Special Interest" Correctly

Friday, July 01, 2011

That left-most column?

Dah Unions.

That's the 20-year donations chart.

HT PowerLine

Display Name said...: It only took a few clicks to see a better picture. Open Secrets does have a wider view. Open Secret's summary paragraphs say "Whatever slice you look at, business interests dominate, with an overall advantage over organized labor of about 15-to-1. Even among PACs - the favored means of delivering funds by labor unions - business has a more than 3-to-1 fundraising advantage. In soft money, the ratio is nearly 17-to-1."

Questions to ask: Why were all unions lumped together, but other contributions separated by industry? What is a "long tail" and how does the sum of all contributions compare to what is claimed for "unions"?; 7/03/2011 8:17 AM
Dad29 said...: An important caveat must be added to these figures: "business" contributions from individuals are based on the donor's occupation/employer. Since nearly everyone works for someone, and since union affiliation is not listed on FEC reports, totals for business are somewhat overstated, while labor is understated.

Same click, rest of the article.; 7/14/2011 5:12 PM

Dad29