Since the Supreme Court ruled in 2010 in the Citizens United case that political contributions are speech and should be protected, the floodgates of anonymous political contributions have opened. But does absolute funding corrupt absolutely?
# Dark Money in Politics
Josh and Chuck dive into how unlimited corporate campaign spending became legal in America and why it's essentially impossible to trace who's actually funding political ads. They walk through the fascinating and infuriating history of campaign finance reform, starting with Teddy Roosevelt trying to hide corporate donations while publicly bashing big business, all the way to the Citizens United Supreme Court ruling that essentially opened the floodgates for anonymous mega-donations through shadowy groups. The guys explain how these loopholes work through 501c4 organizations and super PACs, why regulatory agencies have basically given up trying to enforce transparency, and the shocking statistic that nearly 60% of all super PAC spending comes from just 195 people and their spouses.
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