Thursday, August 23, 2007

Big Education Donates More Than Big Oil

The Boston Globe reports:
Professors and others in the education field have given more to federal candidates running in 2008 than those who work in the oil, pharmaceutical, and computer industries -- a sign of how academia has become a much bigger player in the political cash sweepstakes.


Of the more than $7 million that academics donated in the first half of this year, more than $4.1 million went to presidential campaigns, particularly Barack Obama's, according to a study released this month by the nonpartisan Center for Responsive Politics. The Illinois senator brought in almost $1.5 million, while Hillary Clinton received nearly $940,000.
When your industry gets federal research dollars,students loans,and Pell Grants: bribing politicians becomes a way of life.