The Basics

How can billionaires try to shape public policy?

Our video explains the legal mechanisms: Electioneering, lobbying and advocacy, opinion shaping and philanthropy.
With corruption, influence becomes illegal.
Our glossary explains the key terms.

OpenSecrets News
CBS MoneyWatch
NYT Economy

Joint report: Lobbyists raked in COVID-19 contracts

14 April 2021

A new report from OpenSecrets and Public Citizen finds that firms hiring influential lobbyists raked in government contracts to fight COVID-19. [...]

GOP objectors rake in record Q1 cash

13 April 2021

Allies of former President Donald Trump in Congress continue to report record breaking fundraising. [...]

NRSC honors Trump as intra-party fight heats up

12 April 2021

The NRSC bestowed its inaugural Champion for Freedom Award on former President Donald Trump last weekend. [...]

Trump has 10 times more campaign cash than he did four years ago

9 April 2021

Former President Donald Trump has 10 times more campaign cash than he had four years ago, and he’s resuming fundraising efforts for the 2022 midterms and a potential 2024 run. [...]

McConnell battles corporate America after benefiting from business interests

8 April 2021

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell issued a warning to corporate America to “stay out of politics” but noted he wasn’t referring to political donations. [...]

Amazon's new banking deal; NCAA tournament drops productivity: #CBSNBusiness Headlines

15 April 2021

Amazon makes deal with Capital One to help with banking on Echo; Obama talks about the encryption debate at SXSW; and March Madness will cost businesses over $1 billion in lost productivity. Those headlines and more from CBS MoneyWatch's Hena Daniels at the New York Stock Exchange. [...]

FEMA funeral program inundated by 1 million calls at launch

14 April 2021

Americans may apply for government money to help cover the funeral costs of loved ones who died of COVID-19. [...]

Boston program helps women negotiate salaries

14 April 2021

The gender pay gap is no relic from the past. Women who work full-time today earn, on average, 79 percent of what men make in the U.S. The disparity has grown smaller over the decades, but with progress stalled, women are looking for new ways to close the gap. Michelle Miller takes a look at how Boston is empowering women to ask for a raise. [...]

Ponzi schemer Bernie Madoff dies in prison

14 April 2021

Bernie Madoff pleaded guilty to orchestrating the largest Ponzi scheme in history. [...]

Deadly car defect threatens backseat passengers

14 April 2021

Auto safety experts are demanding action on what they call a serious safety defect. Crash-test videos show when cars are hit from behind, front seats can break, injuring drivers and passengers, especially young children. Kris Van Cleave reports. [...]

Hundreds of Companies Unite to Oppose Voting Rights Limits, but Others Abstain

14 April 2021 - David Gelles and Andrew Ross Sorkin

Amazon, Google, G.M. and Starbucks were among those joining the biggest show of solidarity by businesses over legislation in numerous states. [...]

The Biden Administration Is Quietly Keeping Tabs on Inflation

13 April 2021 - Jim Tankersley

A monthslong effort to monitor and model economic trends inside the White House and the Treasury Department found little risk of prices spiraling upward faster than the Fed can manage. [...]

Consumer prices rose faster than expected in March.

13 April 2021 - Ben Casselman, Ella Koeze and Jeanna Smialek

Year-over-year percent changes were expected to jump because price indexes dropped sharply a year ago. [...]

NYC Retail Zones: Midtown Has Been Empty, but Other Areas Have Bounced Back

14 April 2021 - Jane Margolies

Shopping locally has helped foot traffic in some commercial districts across the city return almost to prepandemic levels. [...]

In Iraq, Drought and Abundance in the Mesopotamian Marshes

12 April 2021 - Emilienne Malfatto

Once vengefully drained by Saddam Hussein, the wetlands in southeastern Iraq have since been partially restored. Now the region and its isolated settlements face a new set of challenges. [...]