The Cost of Democracy

By the people, for the people, the majority rules, and the ability to vote are all things that define America’s democracy. In order to be the leader of that democracy, you have to be able to reach out across the country and touch each voter in the heart. You have to say what they want to hear, and you have to be willing to back up what you say. The 2008 election has already raised an astounding $420 million in a mere nine months. With ten months to go before the election campaign finances could reach an astronomical 1 billion dollars. This number is up 1482% since 1988. Are these numbers something that we as a nation should find appalling, or is this what it really takes to become the next President of the United States?

Behind the scenes of a typical candidate’s campaign is their administration. Administration costs a candidate roughly 53.35% of their campaign funds (opensecrets.org). That 53.35% allows for many jobs to open behind the scenes providing short term employment for many Americans. The administration also brings their passion for their campaign with them and provides added advertisement to the candidate.

The next greatest cost for a candidate is campaign and media expenses. They travel from coast to coast during the campaign. Each candidate pays for all commercials and advertisements that are made on their behalf. In today’s age of technology, how you advertise is the key to success. The typical American family is always on the go. Having the financial ability to advertise on commercials, MySpace, Facebook, Yahoo, bill boards, and bumper stickers is what it takes to reach America. However, these things are not cheap. Republican candidate Mitt Romney has greatly benefited from spending $8.6 million for television ads. He is currently 2nd in the run for the Republican ballot slot, when a brief nine months ago, most American’s could not tell you who he was.

The money that candidates are spending on the 2008 election may seem like shocking amount to most people. But in this day and age, when the State of the Union address viewing is at an all time low, candidates are willing to do almost anything to reach voters. If that means they must spend millions of dollars to have their name stamped on everything between your home and your voting booth, they are willing to spend that dollar.

Of course, having different financial backing does make the campaign ground uneven for different candidates. A candidate that has 60 million dollars is going to reach more people than one with 10 million. Nominees are slotted television time if they have the money to pay for it, regardless of their message. If a candidate is willing to spend 5 million on a commercial through a network, how do we know that all of their reporting is not biased towards that person? Does that mean that in our democratic country an election for presidency can be bought? I believe it can.

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