The picture that emerges from this in-depth study is that campaign contributions to the New York State Legislature are a great investment, a capital bargain that reaps capital gains. We find that in almost every case, major campaign contributors win their top priority in the Legislature. Even when they lose their number one goal, they invariably win, by gaining other legislative favors at bargain-basement prices. They can easily justify their expenditures because they get an outstanding return on their investments.
Big money adds up fast.
The report also demonstrates how a small number of givers make up a huge amount of the giving. The study includes data from 56,271 contributions reported to the New York State Board of Elections from January 1999 through July 2000. Our researchers classified these larger givers by their interest, allowing us to report on how much was given by various industries, such as health care, banking, real estate and energy. View Chart of Top 10 PACs PACs, including corporations, labor unions and other organizations, give much more money in New York politics than individuals. Businesses and employers give three times as much money as legal and health professionals and three times as much money as labor unions.