Reform Campaign Finance

(Enforce the Law)

Rick Henderson from the February 1997 issue

(Page 2 of 2)

Bob Dole suggested one reform that would directly reduce the coercive power of the state: Pass a law implementing the Beck decision.

In 1988, the Supreme Court ruled that the dues of union members can be used for only one purpose: the maintenance of each member's contract.

Dues can't fund political activities, help organize another work site or buy cars and houses for union bosses. Unions can, of course, voluntarily raise money for all these and more.

Neither the Labor Department nor the National Labor Relations Board has enforced Beck. And in this election alone the AFL-CIO, an umbrella organization of 78 unions, spent more than $ 70 million on ads for Democratic candidates.

Grover Norquist of Americans for Tax Reform points out that, if only 10 percent of union dues funded political action (campaign workers, phone banks, computer equipment and so on), unions illegally contributed $1 billion in the 1996 election cycle.

Since the Republicans retained control of Congress, and exit polls indicated that about one-third of households with union members voted Republican, reining in labor bosses could reach the top of this year's agenda.

Enforcing Beck would send the right signal about campaign reforms. Let information and influence flow athrough as many outlets as possible.

Changing campaign laws intelligently will not keep the Ralph Naders of the world from nagging, but perhaps it might make the nagging easier to tune out.

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