NYT: With little movement on state ethics laws, Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo announced a late push in the legislative session on Wednesday to tighten restrictions on election laws governing money given to candidates through so-called independent expenditure committees. In… Continue reading

Here’s the announcement. See my earlier LA Times oped on why I might vote for this misguided ballot measure if it is on the ballot.

Bloomberg: Presumptive Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump distanced himself from his own fundraising estimate of $1 billion, refusing to commit to collecting even half that amount, and saying his campaign didn’t need much money to win the White House.… Continue reading

Tim Kuhner in the World Financial Review: Democracy in the United States has been replaced by a rival form of government premised upon the power of wealth. Not to be confused with mere corruption, plutocracy is an official system of… Continue reading

NYT editorial: One constant is the vast amount of money sluicing through the political system in what is certain to be the most expensive election in the nation’s history. Experts estimate that campaign spending, which has risen inexorably in recent… Continue reading

Politico reports.

Free Speech for People: On the night of June 1st, Uber disclosed an unprecedented $3.5 billion investment from the Saudi Arabian government. Aside from its stock ownership, the repressive kingdom also bought itself a seat on the company’s board… Continue reading

Tarini Parti for BuzzFeed.