海角大神

In this week鈥檚 cover story, staff writer Christa Case Bryant explores an issue that is often put at the root of America鈥檚 political problems: money. A September Wall Street Journal/NBC News poll found that 77 percent of respondents agreed that 鈥渞educing the influence of special interests and corruption in Washington鈥� is either the most important or a very important issue facing the country.聽

In these populist times, it strikes a chord among both Republicans and Democrats. There鈥檚 a reason 鈥渄rain the swamp鈥� became a rallying cry. But it鈥檚 important to be clear about what money does and doesn鈥檛 do in politics. For example, while corruption certainly exists and deserves attention, it hasn鈥檛 been seen by political scientists as the main problem in past years.聽

Money does other things that are subtler yet in some ways just as concerning as outright corruption. And, in a bit of a shock, new research suggests that money doesn鈥檛 do something that many think it does.聽

Money turns lawmakers into constant fundraisers. Five years ago, The Washington Post ran an article titled 鈥淭he most depressing graphic for members of Congress.鈥� It came from a PowerPoint presentation given to incoming Democratic members of Congress, and it suggested that as many as five to seven hours of a lawmaker鈥檚 10-hour day should be committed to fundraising activities.聽

鈥淲hat we don鈥檛 worry about enough is the way the hunt for money saps another precious resource: time,鈥� wrote Ezra Klein. He went on to say that an elder statesman in the Senate at the time, now retired, marveled at how much money members of Congress now had to raise. 鈥淚 would have no idea how to raise that kind of money in a campaign. And that鈥檚 new to me,鈥� he said.聽

Money appears to give wealthy people more influence. This might not come as a shock, but it has been hard to prove. A 2014 study by professors from Princeton and Northwestern universities, however, suggested a strong correlation. 鈥淚n the United States, our findings indicate, the majority does not rule 鈥� at least not in the causal sense of actually determining policy outcomes,鈥� the authors wrote. 鈥淲hen a majority of citizens disagrees with economic elites and/or with organized interests, they generally lose.鈥澛�

Money doesn鈥檛 change people鈥檚 minds much. The advertising, the robocalls, the rallies 鈥� a new study says they do almost nothing to change voters鈥� minds in a general election. The reason? In this era of partisan tribalization, voters pretty much already know whom they鈥檙e going to vote for. That鈥檚 one reason the past three presidential elections have been won not by the candidate who necessarily appealed more broadly but by the candidate who best got supporters to vote.聽

Though America鈥檚 campaign finance laws are generally far looser than those in Europe, the issue of money in politics is not solely an American one. A French study earlier this year was titled 鈥淓ven in France, Money Rules Politics.鈥� Money can鈥檛 鈥� and shouldn鈥檛 鈥� be ruled out of politics. But knowing how it influences the system is crucial to shaping the system we want to have.