Ethical Conflicts in American Business

Super PACs
Anthony Monroy, Brandon Lee Grant,
John Hernandez, Brandon Charles

What are Super PACs?

Political Action Committees
Strict limits when they first began
Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission (FEC)
Speechnow.org v. FEC
Purchase TV, radio and print advertisements, and other media

The Dilemma
Money corrupts political process.
Loss of trust in the government.
Super PACs may skew legislative process.

National ReviewBehind Americas Crisis of

Confidence: Government of,
by, and for Special Interests

Pros of Super PACS - Peoples Interests

American people are more informed on positions, campaign plans and
voting records.

Helps lesser known candidates raise funds.

SuperPacs, like
PurplePac, allow third
party candidates like Gary
Johnson to raise funds for
his campaign.

Cons of Super PACs - Peoples Interest

Wealthy corporations and donors can influence the candidates
choices/views.

A minimum donation of $1,000 must be made, regardless of the

donors income.

Encourages disrespect and hostility between political parties.

Pros of Super PACS - Companys Interests

Unlimited funding of favored politician (Rebuilding America Now $20,335,192: Trump)
Business organization connected to S.P. see their interests embedded
within a candidate gain political power - Rebuild America Now
(Trump)
Is the newly-appointed politician (governor, senator, president) a
puppet of the company??
Influence of government policies and regulations in favor of
companys policies and outlook on business
Established lobbying firm (Ex. oil company, ExxonMobil sends
lobbyists to Washington to assist Oil Companies)

Cons of Super PACs - Companys Interests

If preferred candidate loses, millions of dollars raised by Super PACs
are lost. (regarded as misuse of money)
What if companys favored candidate is seen in a false or negative
light by other American entreprises & the American people?
Influence Elections Without Fingerprints - Ghost Corporations
1.Children of Israel LLC - Lisa Gao(real estate agent) raised $350,000
to back Rep. Ted Cruz.Gaos real estate company, Happy Realty,
was questioned by local media and clients
Do public affiliations with Super PACs supporting certain candidates
affect a companys public image?

Republican Party:
Donald Trump
We have to do something about Super
PACs. Because Super PACs are now
running the country.
Trump felt the political groups which
take unregulated contributions, give
million-dollar donors the leverage to
control politicians.

Total raised by top four Super Pacs:

$75,224,464.00
Amount Raised by Campaign and
top four Super PACs:
$322,766,413.00

Democratic
Party: Hillary
IClinton
want to reverse Citizens United.
Clinton and Sanders both say the
system needs fixing...

Youre not going to find anybody

more committed to aggressive
campaign finance reform than
me.

Total raised by top four Super

PACs: $192,559,210.00
Amount raised by Campaign and
top four Super PACs:
$690,368,001.00

Resolution
Our Resolution for the problem of Super PACs is:
Regulation of the amount an individual or corporation can donate. A
cap limit of $20000 would be implemented so no one company shall
be favored from giving high donations.
This resolution keeps both parties happy. The candidate still receives
funding and the donors can still support who they want.

Works Cited
Gold, Matea, and Anu Narayanswamy. "How 'ghost Corporations' Are Funding the 2016 Election." The
Washington Post. WP Company, 18 Mar. 2016. Web. 04 Dec. 2016.
"The Center for Responsive Politics." Opensecrets RSS. N.p., n.d. Web. 04 Dec. 2016.
Creamer, Matthew, and MATTHEW CREAMER. "Super PACs as Scourge of Political Advertising Battles? Not
Necessarily; They Certainly Merit Scrutiny, but in the Case of the GOP Primary Battle, These Wellfunded Organizations Have Made the Race More Democratic." Advertising Age, 83.11 (2012): 0002.
Matea Gold, Its Bold But Legal,: How SuperPac and Candidates Work Together July 6, 2015.
Overby, Peter. Fact-Check: Clinton and Sanders on Campaign Finance. NPR. N.p., 6 Feb. 2016. Web. 5
Dec. 2016
Levinthal, Dave. "How 'Citizens United' Is Helping Hillary Clinton Win the White House." Center for Public
Integrity. N.p., 7 Apr. 2016. Web. 05 Dec. 2016.
Krieg, Greogory J.. What is a Super PAC? A Short History. ABC News. 9 Aug. 2012