More Creative Corruption

IN SEPTEMBER 2024, federal officials indicted New York City Mayor Eric Adams on charges including wire fraud and bribery.

The indictment alleges that Adams accepted lavish gifts and campaign contributions from the government of Turkey, in exchange for which he rubber-stamped Turkish projects in the city.

As of this writing, Adams has pleaded not guilty and claimed innocence. But the case provides a window into a particularly odious campaign finance reform: public matching funds.

When New Yorkers donate to local candidates, the campaigns are eligible to have the city match those donations. The program is quite generous, providing an 8-1 match for the first $250 of all private donations-meaning for each New Yorker who donates to a campaign, the candidate can bank up to an additional $2,000 from city taxpayers. (Donations from city nonresidents don't qualify.) Other states and jurisdictions have matching funds programs of their own; New York state, for example, matches donations 6-1 up to the first $250. There is also a federal program that people can opt into by paying $3 on their taxes, though only about 3 percent of taxpayers currently participate.