Governing or fundraising: What’s the duty of elected officials? Schwarz on Stateside
Dr. John J.H. (Joe) Schwarz spoke with Stateside, a Michigan Radio program, about “Governing or fundraising: What’s the duty of elected officials?”
Schwarz, a former U.S. congressman (R-MI) and longtime policymaker and political actor, is a lecturer at the Ford School, where he teaches courses on the legislative branch. He is also a member of the bipartisan ReFormers Caucus, comprised of 150 former congressional representatives and governors, for Issue One, a nonprofit organization that is working to reduce the influence of money in politics.
“According to the group Issue One, members of Congress spend more than half of their time raising money, not governing,” reports Stateside's Cynthia Canty. “And in 2010, just .26 percent of the population accounted for over two-thirds of contributions to congressional campaigns.”
Listen to the nine-minute interview as Schwarz describes the issues, how prevalent they are, their causes and consequences, and how to address them.
At the Ford School, Joe Schwarz teaches “Congress and State Legislatures: Effective or Outmoded?” (PubPol 422) and “The Legislative Branch: Structure and Current Issues” (PubPol 625).