More Creative Corruption

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

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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.