Advocates of campaign-finance reform claim that the way to get corruption out of politics is via public financing. The truth is that when you offer politicians taxpayer dollars, you only invite more corruption.
If you don’t believe us, take a look at the criminal charges filed against Sheldon Silver chum William Rapfogel. The former head of the Metropolitan Council on Jewish Poverty and two others were charged this week with stealing $5 million over two decades. In addition to using that money to line his own pockets, he also used it to buy political influence with Albany and City Hall.
And he did it by essentially stealing money from you, the taxpayer.
Under the New York City system — which Gov. Cuomo and Silver want to expand to the whole state — political candidates who participate receive $6 in public funds for every dollar they raise, up to $175 per donation, or a $1,050 maximum. Rapfogel, it appears, quickly figured out he could get even more bang for his illicit bucks if he took advantage of the city’s matching-funds program.
So, as the criminal complaint notes, Rapfogel arranged for checks to be donated in multiple smaller amounts rather than one large individual donation. By giving, say, four $150 checks instead of a single $600 check, the receiving candidate would collect $3,600 in public matching funds instead of $1,050.
Now, Rapfogel isn’t the first pol to figure out the math and try to game the system accordingly. City Comptroller John Liu’s campaign used pretty much the same “straw donor” ruse in smaller donations to trigger expanded matching funds.
But what do you expect when you dangle free money before politicians? Matching campaign contributions doesn’t take money out of the system. It throws public money in — and guarantees that taxpayers will always be the big losers.