FOLLOW THE MONEY | February 2024

If you watch many crime shows you often hear the investigating officer say, ”follow the money,” As we look at the status of politics, National, State, and Local, we keep asking how we got to the condition we are in. I would suggest all you need to do is follow the money.

Why do I bring this up? If we want to elect friendly politicians, and if we want to protect against anti-business legislation, and if we want to move favorable legislation, then we need to get into the game. We will never be able to compete with the other side because it is illegal for us to deduct money from our employees paychecks for political action.

Reading that one might think I am saying there is something illegal going on. To the contrary. This is the system our politicians have set up to protect and retain their place in office. It sounds slimy. We have trouble wrapping our heads around the idea of a pay-to-play scenario. Our politicians would say, just because they get huge donations, it doesn’t mean they reciprocate with favorable votes. Yet all one needs to do is follow the campaign finance reports for any candidate and it will become clear who is favored.

However, ABC can make a difference. ABC, both at the National and State levels, raises funds for candidates. For this 2024 election season National will spend millions of dollars to help get National candidates elected. At the State level we will spend tens of thousands of dollars to help those that are friendly to our cause.

Politics is an ugly business. Unfortunately, the old adage “Get into politics or get out of business” is more relevant than ever. If you want to find out how you can help in the fight for Free Enterprise and the Merit Shop way, reach out to me or our Director of Government Affairs, Jim Willshier. Together we can make a difference.