Hard money is given by individuals or political action committees directly to a candidate, campaign, or political party and can be used for all election activities. This money is regulated and limited by the Federal Election Commission. Soft money is the primary source of big money in politics. Soft money makes up a relatively small proportion of money in politics. In the last election cycle soft money accounted for 20 percent of the total money given to a political candidate, party or campaign.
Soft money is the principle cause of political corruption and voter apathy in America.
Hard money can be systemically more corrupting to the political process than soft money. In addition, because the ability to raise money is often the most important factor in a candidate's decision to run for office, hard money contributors have an enormous amount of influence in selecting viable candidates. Potential candidates who don't appeal to and solicit money from these wealthy donors rarely survive the primaries. This wholesale corruption of the political process breeds apathy among the public and leaves the average American with few to no choices of a palatable candidate. The biggest problem with soft money is that it buys legislators' votes.