Fifteen bucks a signature: the crisis of money in US politics is growing | Katrina vanden Heuvel

The fight over California’s billionaire tax is just the latest symptom of a crisis that has escalated since 2010 There’s money to be made in California this spring, no startup pitch or buzzy screenplay required. Instead, signatures are one of the state’s most coveted commodities: campaigns are paying $15 apiece to those willing to collect them. Petition distributors can thank Sergey Brin for this pay bump. In an effort to kill California’s proposed billionaire tax, the Google co-founder and other local tycoons are funding a political group that has hiked the going rate for signatures collected in support of countermeasures. In all, foes of the wealth tax are expected to spend $75m in their attempt to quash the proposal. Brin himself has donated $45m to the cause – a sum that suggests he just might be able to afford a higher tax bill. Billionaires offering bounties for signatures is just the latest indignity in a political system long defined by the machinations of the wealthy. With more than $125m poured into advertising, Texas’s recent Senate election was the most expensive primary race ever. In 2024, billionaires contributed 19% of all reported donations to federal elections, whi