The Argument

The Price of $5 Donations: Is Small-Dollar Fund-Raising Doing More Harm Than Good?


Listen Later

As midterm frenzy reaches its peak, your inbox might be full of imploring fund-raising emails with increasingly desperate headlines: “Just $3 can make all the difference.” “Can you chip in today?” “Ultimately, it’s up to you.” In theory, the small-dollar donation model is a good thing: It enables voters to have a say in who their candidates are and counterbalances the influence of superdonors and industry lobbyists. But as extremist candidates increasingly adopt grass-roots approaches and self-fund-raise their way into Congress, could small-dollar donations be doing more harm to our democracy than good?

Today’s guests come to the debate from different positions. Tim Miller is a former Republican strategist and current writer at large for The Bulwark who believes that there are real dangers to the grass-roots model. “Our online fund-raising system is not only enriching scam artists, clogging our inboxes and inflaming the electorate; it is also empowering our politics’ most nefarious actors,” Miller wrote recently in a guest essay for Times Opinion. On the other side is Micah Sifry, a co-founder of Civic Hall and the writer of The Connector, a newsletter about democracy, organizing and tech. Sifry thinks that, yes, small-dollar donations fund extremists, but they can also enable progressive politicians to hold powerful interests accountable as independently funded candidates. “Some politicians are going to get money for their campaigns who I disagree with, but you’ve got to live with that because the alternative is oligarchy,” Sifry says.

Mentioned in this episode:

  • The Most Toxic Politicians Are Dragging Us to Hell With Emails and Texts,” by Tim Miller in The New York Times
  • Fed Up With Democratic Emails? You’re Not the Only One.” by Lara Putnam and Micah Sifry in The New York Times
  • Don’t Blame Our Toxic Politics on Online Fund-raising,” by Micah Sifry in Medium

(A full transcript of the episode will be available midday on the Times website.)

Unlock full access to New York Times podcasts and explore everything from politics to pop culture. Subscribe today at nytimes.com/podcasts or on Apple Podcasts and Spotify.

...more
View all episodesView all episodes
Download on the App Store

The ArgumentBy New York Times Opinion

  • 3
  • 3
  • 3
  • 3
  • 3

3

16 ratings


More shows like The Argument

View all
The Book Review by The New York Times

The Book Review

3,840 Listeners

Popcast by The New York Times

Popcast

1,437 Listeners

Fresh Air by NPR

Fresh Air

37,999 Listeners

The New Yorker Radio Hour by WNYC Studios and The New Yorker

The New Yorker Radio Hour

6,594 Listeners

Modern Love by The New York Times

Modern Love

8,739 Listeners

Inside The Times by The New York Times

Inside The Times

142 Listeners

The Gray Area with Sean Illing by Vox

The Gray Area with Sean Illing

10,629 Listeners

The Run-Up by The New York Times

The Run-Up

2,062 Listeners

The Daily by The New York Times

The Daily

111,593 Listeners

Change Agent by The New York Times

Change Agent

1,465 Listeners

Caliphate by The New York Times

Caliphate

12,633 Listeners

Charm City by The New York Times

Charm City

300 Listeners

Interesting Times with Ross Douthat by New York Times Opinion

Interesting Times with Ross Douthat

6,596 Listeners

The Latest by The New York Times

The Latest

470 Listeners

The Candidates by The New York Times

The Candidates

52 Listeners

Jungle Prince by The New York Times

Jungle Prince

2,275 Listeners

The Choice by New York Times Opinion

The Choice

380 Listeners

Sugar Calling by The New York Times

Sugar Calling

1,445 Listeners

Rabbit Hole by The New York Times

Rabbit Hole

6,671 Listeners

Hard Fork by The New York Times

Hard Fork

5,363 Listeners

The Ezra Klein Show by New York Times Opinion

The Ezra Klein Show

15,195 Listeners

Day X by The New York Times

Day X

1,492 Listeners

The Interview by The New York Times

The Interview

1,419 Listeners

The Run-Up (2016) by The New York Times

The Run-Up (2016)

7 Listeners

Sway by New York Times Opinion

Sway

57 Listeners

First Person by The New York Times

First Person

3 Listeners

The Opinions by The New York Times Opinion

The Opinions

356 Listeners

The Run-Up Guide to 2024 by The New York Times

The Run-Up Guide to 2024

0 Listeners

The New York Times Narrated by The New York Times

The New York Times Narrated

18 Listeners