PAY TO PLAY

I had not planned on this subject for my next pontification but it is prominent in the news of late so I will say a few words on it.

Pay to play is an obnoxious distasteful corrupt process. However, on the scale of problems with politics in NJ it is in the category of a gnat.

It hurts the people who practice it the most. here is how it works. I am an engineer or lawyer or planner who wants a job in a particular town. I give money to Joe Candidate for mayor. Usually somewhere between $500 and $2500 dollars although it could be more. Joe Candidate wins. Now two people want the job me and Bill Didnotgive. After the election I let Joe know I would like the job. Guess who gets it?

Truth is in 90 % of the cases the town will get the same services for the same price whether it hires me or Mr. Didnotgive.

I suspect most professionals will be happy to see this system go and it should go because it is wrong. I do not think advocates of reform are correct in there assumption that professional fees will go down and I doubt they have data to support that contention.

There really are bigger fish that we should be frying. Ending pay to play while a correct action diverts attention from the real corruption.

Of course it creates a problem for candidates because it makes it more difficult to raise money for campaigns. This is not really a problem on the municipal level because there are ways to run effective campaigns with less money. In fact, it will level the playing field in most instances in municipal elections.

At the state level where they are not getting jobs these professionals give to candidates to show they are good R's or D's (or in the case of some both)

It is at the county level and state level where doing away with pay to play becomes a bigger problem, because big campaigns take money. Here is where the public has to take some blame. They want to restrict how politicians raise money but most of them are unwilling pony up $10 for a candidate. In fact if citizens actually engaged in the political process politicians would not need pay to play. The public is schizo. They complain but will not take the time to learn the issues or support candidates. You politicians out there. How many times have you gone door to door only to have the door slammed in your face.

If as many people paid attention to political issues as paid attention to Paris Hilton a lot of corruption could be avoided. Don't get me wrong I am not letting corrupt politicians off the hook but...

Maybe the public is getting what they deserve?

Food for thought.