'Unemployed' Have Given $6.9 Million In Political Contributions Since 1990

You'd think unemployed people wouldn't have spare money to throw at the political system... but they do.

Since 1990, the unemployed have given $6.9 million to candidates, parties, and political action committees, according to the Center for Responsive Politics. The rate of giving seems to have increased markedly in recent years.

In the 2008 presidential election cycle, the unemployed coughed up $2.9 million. In 2006, they donated $1.1 million. From 1990 to 2004, they gave candidates and PACs $2.4 million.

So far in the 2010 cycle, which is soon entering the home stretch, the jobless have only given up $323,413. Maybe it's the recession.

The data are based on forms filed with the Federal Election Commission by political committees every quarter after the money has been collected from donors. There's no menu of options for the occupation field, so people giving money describe themselves the way they see fit.

How many of the "unemployed" donors are sharing their last dime with a political campaign? It seems a safe bet that many, if not most, are in a secure financial situation. Lots of donors describe themselves as unemployed/retired or unemployed/homemaker or unemployed/student.

Others are more intriguing: What about the woman in Eads, Tenn. who put herself down as "unemployed/aspiring actress," and donated $2,400 to Kentucky Senate candidate Rand Paul (R) in December? What about the woman in Gahanna, Ohio, who is an unemployed "Jill of All Trades" and spared $250 for EMILY's List in February? And what's the story with the woman in New Providence, N.J., who listed her occupation as "UNEMPLOYED WITHIN LAST MONTH= CIGNA" and gave $250 to the Democratic National Committee?

HuffPost attempted to reach these people and a dozen others on Friday, to no avail.

Are these folks of means or true believers giving away their savings?

Browse political donors at the FEC's website or at the Center for Responsive Politics. Send tips to [e-mail].

Comments

[Yikes11]

03:39 PM on 05/17/2010

Obviously, they know we don't have much money so they're only asking for $1, $2, or $5 donations to cover the printing and travel expenses. The drive for him will be about 600 miles each way. I spent a long time on the phone with him today, and I'm more than impressed with his knowledge and commitment, but we couldn't expect him to fund this himself.



Below is the site that has today's article and the donate button. The button will be removed as soon as the goal is reached so if it's still up there please give something. They have set a goal of Monday night, but sometimes you don't get this letter until Tuesday. So, if the button is still up, they need more donations! If he doesn't use the whole amount for his expenses, the rest will be donated to the Humane Society which is a special charity of WNV. I believe that for now, this is the best shot we have at getting additional benefits. Together, with our small donations, we'll raise the amount needed!



worldnewsvine.com/2010/05/tier-v-99ers-unemployment-petition-readies-for-washington

[Yikes11]

03:38 PM on 05/17/2010

WorldNewsVine has offered to run a short campaign to raise some money to send a person on our behalf. This person is known to them, has press credentials and is familiar with the Senate. He will bring the printed petition with 900 pages of signatures. The Senate requires 6 copies which is one of the obstacles I encountered.



Our emissary knows the ins and outs of the Senate and can arrange appointments with key senators. In addition, because he already has clearance, he can enter the Capital and question staffers in other offices, too. In addition to delivering the petition copies, he intends to ask questions on our behalf both in the Capital and in the 'haunts' he knows where staffers go after hours. Like I said, he's familiar with the scene! He has a vested interest in this just like we do as he has also joined the ranks of the unemployed. What he finds out will be written in the WorldNewsVine, and all together, we'll get a lot of publicity from this!



Now our part. We have to finance his trip. Many of our signers are already familiar with this online news source as they have been the single largest source of signers for us. They have written many articles about the petition and our numbers have taken a big jump every time they have done so. You'll notice that I've given links to many of their articles in the letters I've sent out.

[Yikes11]

03:37 PM on 05/17/2010

Update about 'The 99ers need a Tier V added to Unemployment Benefits' on Change.org

Great news!
WorldNewsVine has come to our rescue! But we have to help. I was encountering a lot of unexpected obstacles trying to organize getting the petition to Congress, and I began to think it wasn't going to come together. People in Washington were saying they'd 'get back to me,' but even if they did, we just didn't have time for that. Next week is when the 'unemployment extension of filing deadlines' is expected to be raised in Congress, and we hope to get weeks added to Tier 4 at that time. Then Congress leaves again the next week. There's little hope of getting another bill other than that one because they are discussing such big issues before they leave.

[terryaley]

06:42 PM on 05/15/2010

If you divide that by 20 years, it's basically nothing in terms of politics. It might be worth looking into if we were talking about just one year, but not 1/20th of that amount. They aren't talking about unemployed people who are living month to month. They're talking about people who have money in the bank but haven't found the next job yet. And those people aren't donating much either. www.terryaley.com

[HarlemFreeThought]

04:16 PM on 05/15/2010

Arthur thank you for your writing about the long termed unemployed. Sadly I turn you attention to Marrisa, an unemployed mother of two who is entering a shelter this weekend after losing her home. This is reality facing long-termed who have exhausted UI benefits. Sen "99 weeks is enough" Baucus need to read this. Here is Marria's thread http://unemployed-friends.forumotion.com/vent-discuss-your-frustration-f71/lost-my-house-now-my-two-kids-and-i-are-moving-to-a-shelter-t8333.htm

[Arthur Delaney]

11:15 AM on 05/18/2010

Thanks for sharing that link.

[curiousasheck]

02:40 PM on 05/15/2010

Cigarette change compared to the money they rake in from lobbyists and corporate contributors.

[laaambchop]

08:21 AM on 05/16/2010

No $hit

[krouda]

10:36 AM on 05/15/2010

If you are pissed off by this you are being played. $6.9 million over 20 years is $345,000 a year. Much of this, as the article says, is coming from people who aren't on unemployment because they are retired, homemakers or students. But lets say it is all coming from people getting unemployment benefits. There are 15 million of them now, with average of six months unemployment, means 30 million in a year. This boils down to a ONE CENT donation on average. If you are doing a slow burn because the average unemployed person has one cent too much benefits, you should have your blood pressure checked.

[T Pol]

12:21 PM on 05/15/2010

Yes, and as he stated in the piece, the "unemployed" describe themselves that way...it doesn't necessarily mean they are collecting unemployment benefits.

The numbers, as I noticed too, come out to a gumball machine treat of olden days.

And during even the worst of times, many of those most disadvantaged do what they can to help others or GASP! even get involved politically to make changes.

Bogus article, inflammatory headline.

[Pandaforum]

08:03 AM on 05/15/2010

it just shows how corrupt the system is. they should of tabulated how much money was contributed from deseased persons. anyone who gave a donation to obama just threw their money down a rat hole.

[zingdaddy]

02:28 PM on 05/17/2010

deseased people? Do you mean diseased people? What's wrong with their money? It's not like they all touch it.

If I sent my money down a rat hole, I'm very happy to have done so. The alternative was just not an option worth considering.

[itjustis]

07:35 AM on 05/15/2010

“Yes, they use unemployed people’s names to bundle contributions from other people ( who they don’t want known). So they’re political mules similar to drug mules. It's been used by Democrats for years trying to skirt the campaign finance laws but only came to light after Norman Hsu, was caught red handed in the scheme.”

[zingdaddy]

02:55 PM on 05/17/2010

Um...these are people who contribute to all parties, not just Democrats.

[toxicbrainpoison]

05:47 AM on 05/15/2010

are they really unemployed or living off a trust fund?

[xlntcat]

06:52 AM on 05/15/2010

One of the leaders of one of the Tea Party groups was unabashed in admitting that she is living on unemployment. At the very first Tea Party in D. C., CNN interviewed an attendee and she said she was unemployed. Of course, if you have a job you can't ride around on the Tea Party Express while getting paid under the counter because you have to go to work and actually pay taxes.

[paulacvdw]

05:25 AM on 05/15/2010

If you call being an amazon.com and eBay used bookseller, eeking out a living, then I guess I was "employed" in 2008. I gave a $25 donation to Obama about 3 times. And I felt it. It was less money available for postage, envelopes, paper and print cartridges that I was burning through, as I sent out resumes trying to find a real job.

[Heidland]

04:23 AM on 05/15/2010

I'm unemployed and have been for over 15 months. We decided, as a family, to cough up $50 for the congressional candidate we believe in now that our incumbent is retiring. It's not much in the grand scheme, but that $50 for that candidate shows my families belief and small participation in someone we believe in. This article makes that $50 appear to be a whim, and it is absolutely not. It's four boxes of diapers, three weeks of milk, or two gas fill ups. Arthur Delaney, I am very disappointed in your take on the unemployed in this article...but hey, you have a job, right.

[xlntcat]

06:54 AM on 05/15/2010

You are surprised that people would question your judgement in failing to provide necessities for your family while choosing to contribute money to a politician?

[paulacvdw]

07:10 AM on 05/15/2010

It's called "making a sacrifice" in order to DO something to try and make things better for us all. Better than going to the mall and shopping til you drop to bolster the nation's security.

[MayorQuimby]

09:59 AM on 05/15/2010

So you're basically stealing taxpayer cash and refunneling it back to the political class. Nice...

So all the politicians need to do is fool people into thinking they're there to help the sheeple and they end up writing themselves checks with taxpayer cash.

[Heidland]

01:51 PM on 05/15/2010

Spoken like a truly uneducated teabagger Quimby. My state unemployment benefits expired long, long ago, and I didn't extend in to the Federal benefits because I don't believe in them. In our family we utilize 'assistance' programs in general.

Instead, I sold my truck. Between that, selling off stocks, our savings, and the occasional local odd job we get by. Of course, unlike most, we also had no outstanding debt and money in savings when I lost my job, but living outside your means sets you up for very bad things.

Thanks for jumping right in there with your conclusions. It bothers me that you have 54 fans.

[Bettysdad]

02:07 AM on 05/15/2010

So, if I'm in between six figure jobs I can't legitimately donate?

One of the biggest non-stories ever.

[xlntcat]

06:55 AM on 05/15/2010

If you were between six figure jobs or had ever had one you would know that your severance package would not allow you to draw unemployment benefits until it ran out.

[Bettysdad]

12:51 PM on 05/15/2010

Huge assumptions.

[krouda]

08:29 PM on 05/15/2010

This article didn't say anything about whether these people were getting unemployment benefits. It has nothing to do with unemployment benefits. How did you even get onto the subject of unemployment benefits?

[GalapagosTortoise]

01:14 AM on 05/15/2010

So that means the politicians should feel more accountable to the unemployed. Though they obviously don't.

They should also factor in the number of hours the unemployed give to these unaccountable politicians. And how much, monetarily, those hours are worth.

As for the unemployed, they should consider at the election, if they've gotten their labor's worth.

[MichaelinMD]

12:47 AM on 05/15/2010

I have to wonder how many gave to John Edwards campaign after he essentially was unelectable. Running on a platform of anti-poverty, while knowing that if nominated, it would all come out. Where does anyone who gave to Edwards go for a refund?

[xlntcat]

06:56 AM on 05/15/2010

Don't know but I have heard the question asked repetitively.