Late night food for thought
Disclaimer: the Student Loan Network does not endorse a political party, viewpoint, or candidate.
I’ve been watching news about fundraising by Presidential candidate hopefuls. $32 million here. $25 million there. Republican, Democrat, doesn’t matter – the money is flowing into campaigns and out to marketing and advertising agencies.
A candidate that raises $32 million in political campaign contributions has raised the effective equivalent of 2,670 four year public university scholarships.
All of that money and more will be spent campaigning instead of making a difference in the country the candidates so desperately seem to want to serve.
Before opening your wallet to a political campaign plea, think about what else your money could be doing to accomplish real social change.
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There are so many better, more deserving causes for money than political campaigns, on any level. It really does make me sad to see how much money people can raise and spend for political office, no matter the party.
I will offer an addendum to your thought: The impact of any donation on the local surrounding community is exponentially proportionate to the proximity of that donation to where you live. In addition to scholarship programs all the way to the community college level that are worthy of attention [community college being a great way for someone on a budget to make strides towards educational goals], there are local causes such as a children’s home or a community-managed abused women’s shelter (a cause close to me personally) which can do wonders with as little as $100.
Such local donation also fosters relationships — it’s social networking as it was supposed to be long before IP addresses became involved. That same $100 sent off to some big national charity or political campaign is not only just a drop of water in an ocean of seemingly endless funds, it doesn’t foster any relationship with the receiver more than a machine-printed thank you note, a Christmas card if you’re lucky, and a form letter solicitation again next year.
Where’s the personal reward in that?
I guess I have thought this way before after working for a Major Sporting Event- the money that goes into this thing is outrageous. Some of it does get spent to support causes like Second Harvest, The Food Bank, helping underprivileged kids, but much more gets spent on marketing and hype, which seems transient and just so much waste in the end.
Now the money creates jobs for all sorts of people, that’s true. but in the end, is the good created far better than the waste and the silliness? I dunno.
Wow! I never thought of it in that way before. Not only could that money go to scholarships, but it could pay for teacher salaries, or medical care, etc.
Now after that brain food I need real food and maybe a beer….
YES! Thank you so much for this. Do you want your money to help pay for a candidate’s advertising (most likely)- or do you want change.
I vote change.
I linked to this post on Twitter too! Great late-night thought, and should be shared!
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