,Paper Thin: The Flimsy Façade of Campaign Finance in New York

Paper Thin: The Flimsy Façade of Campaign Finance in New York


 

Publication Date: January 2006

Publisher: Brennan Center for Justice

Author(s): Suzanne Novak; Seema Shah

Research Area: Politics

Keywords: Campaign Finance Reform; Democracy; Money in Politics

Type: Report

Coverage: New York

Abstract:

Today, there is wide agreement that government in New York is broken. There is a sense of inertia and torpor, of long-deferred problems, and of a political culture far less robust than elsewhere. This new Brennan Center report looks at another troubling aspect of New Yorks democracy: the paper-thin campaign finance laws. As the authors demonstrate, New York States laws are among the nations weakest on a par with libertarian states that dont pretend to care about the role of money in politics. The result is interest group paralysis and an incumbent re-election rate all too reminiscent of the Supreme Soviet.