Public Financing after the Supreme Court Decision

Abstract

The Supreme Court decision in Buckley v. Valeo assures that large amounts of private money will con tinue to play an important role in political financing in America. By thus altering the environment in which public subsidies were intended to operate, the decision foreshadows that public funding will shift toward the objective of providing financial floors under candidates rather than implementing ceilings over them. The problem of third party candidates, the several methods of allocating public funds, the feasibility of administration and enforcement, and the suitability of the check-off as an appropriation device may all be affected. Yet it seems inevitable that public financing will become a perma nent feature of American political life.