Power Structure: The Corporate Voice in Electoral Contributions

Between 1977 and 1992 congressional campaign spending increased by 347% and since 2006 outside spending on elections has increased by 338% (Smith, 1996; MacColl, 2011). Campaign financing is one example of an issue that many people have strong feelings about, but they do not know the details surrounding the issue nor its scope. Many trust the voice of the media for their understanding of issues like campaign financing, but if one reaches back into the deeper psychological reasons for class structure in the US, politics become much more transparent. Some may argue that the increase in campaign funding over the last few election cycles have improved the quality of elections and elected officials, but psychological theories brought forth by G. William Domhoff and others provide contradictory concepts that shed light onto the question of why there is a stark contrast between winners and losers in campaign financing and, hence, the entire political system.