Waynesburg University student Nika Anschuetz has a few thoughts about campaign finance reform:

Shaun McCutcheon, an Alabama businessman, will go down in the history books as a champion of free speech. The Alabama businessman was the named appellant in the Supreme Court’s recent McCutcheon v. Federal Election Commission ruling, a 5-4 decision that overturned aggregate political contribution limits….

It’s wishful thinking to believe that politics can be made fair. As Americans, we want to believe that if everyone has an equal voice, there will be less government corruption. However, silencing voices by attempting to limit an individual’s choice to financially contribute to a campaign will not make it “fair.” Here’s why:1. We can’t give the same because we don’t make the same. 

Salaries and hourly wages vary depending upon what job you hold and where you work. ….Lowering the contribution ceiling doesn’t work, and it will never work. The truth of the matter is, we can’t all give the same amount because we don’t make the same amount.

2. It’s not just individuals who contribute during an election cycle.

PACs, Super PACs, and unions contribute a larger amount to campaigns than individuals do. Citizens United vs. FEC was a landmark decision in 2010 that lifted limits for political action committees, also known as PACs. PACs collect an exorbitant amount of money in support of a certain candidate or campaign. They do not give direct financial support to such candidates; however, they fund political ads, send out mailers, and promote their candidate in other ways.

3. It’s not always about power.

Forbes believes we should entertain this possibility:

The campaign finance debate is not necessarily about money or power. At least entertain the very real possibility that many of the strongest proponents of responsible deregulation are disinterested participants in a fundamental and continuing discussion, and that they are no less committed to their notion of democracy than those who believe that money, by definition, always corrupts.

….There isn’t a simple solution to the campaign finance debate, and I don’t claim to know the answer to these problems. However, I do know that silencing voices is NOT the solution. We will continue to fight over campaign contributions for decades to come, but the Supreme Court’s ruling in this case has ensured that people who contribute to political campaigns can have their voices heard more rather than less.