A welfare program for... politicians?

In just a few days, Iowans will caucus for their respective party’s nominee for the 2020 presidential election. If you’ve spent any time in Iowa lately, you’re no doubt aware of it.

But what you may not be aware of is a seldom-discussed and archaic program called the Presidential Election Campaign Fund.

What’s the Presidential Election Campaign Fund, you ask? Put simply, it’s a federal program that’s used to fund presidential campaigns (aka: a welfare program for politicians).

You may have never heard of it, but there’s a check-off on individual income tax returns that allows taxpayers to voluntarily direct $3 from their federal tax bills to the fund. [See below] Instead the money is just being siphoned away and diverted into a black hole, driving our nation’s finances deeper into the red.

But guess what? Not a single one of the candidates running for president this year—the largest field in modern history—applied for the free taxpayer dollars provided by this federal program, that’s sole purpose is to finance presidential campaigns.

And even if one did, the Federal Election Commission, which administered the program, currently doesn’t have enough members to hold a meeting to approve the request! 

As a result, more than $356 million of your hard-earned tax dollars are currently sitting in the fund, an amount that is likely to grow since it can’t even be given away.

And from the looks of it, taking the money has become a losing strategy for politicians and taxpayers. It has been 16 YEARS since a candidate receiving the public funding was elected president.

Over the past 50 years, the fund doled out $1.6 billion in taxpayer money to presidential campaigns. And it’s not just the candidates who are opting out…support among taxpayers has dropped significantly. As of 2018, the number of taxpayers who have checked the box has dropped to less than 4%!

December Squeal Award: Congress

Folks, it’s time to eliminate this outdated welfare program for politicians. That’s why I’m awarding my January Squeal Award to Congress for continuing to pour taxpayer money into this archaic program that has been denounced by both Republicans and Democrats. 

It’s also why I’m introducing the Eliminating Leftover Expenses for Campaigns from Taxpayers (ELECT) Act of 2020, which would eliminate the fund and redirect the money from the pockets of politicians to paying off part of our $23 trillion national debt.

Do you have an example of government waste or inefficiencies that I should take a look at? Send me an email by clicking here.

Thank you!