Money trail

Money trail

The phrase "money trail" is a catch phrase, used to describe the source of funding for a politician or interest group. Such funding sources are not always obvious and is often only discovered through investigation by journalists, government agencies, or opposition groups. Often, the target of such investigations is a conflict of interest in the form of a recursive, self-reinforcing money loop, benefiting candidates and contributors, to the detriment of taxpayers. Front groups, which are organizations established by other larger organizations to influence public opinion or bring about a desired objective that the parent organization may not be able to do under its own aegis for various reasons, can have their relationship with the parent group revealed by "following the money trail."

The phrase may also refer to the correlation between a legislator's votes on a particular issue, and campaign contributions he or she may have received from organizations which favor the way the legislator voted. Such money trails can be discovered by reports of contributions that candidates, lobbyists and political action committees, among others, may be required to file with regulators.[1][2]

The phrase is sometimes used by the news media, and can be found in contexts other than politics and special interests, such as general financial issues.[3][4]

See also

References