Spending Limits Are Not the Answer

David Primo and Jeff Milyo have just published an op-ed in Roll Call. Advocates have long argued that restrictions on campaign spending, which can be direct spending or contributions, enhance electoral competition. In Vermont they convinced the state legislature to pass spending limits, the constitutionality of which are now before the U.S. Supreme Court. Primo and Milyo correctly note "the most current and best scientific evidence flies in the face of the promises" made by these advocates. Indeed, "the court jurisprudence upholding campaign finance laws is built on a shaky empirical foundation." They continue: "In fact, we are aware of no scholarly studies that yield consistent evidence of large and statistically significant effects of campaign finance regulations on electoral competitiveness."

I go into the shaky philosophical and empirical foundations of campaign finance law in my upcoming book, The Fallacy of Campaign Finance Reform.