John,

The grassroots fundraising revolution has undeniably been good for our politics. Instead of politicians solely being reliant on contributions from Wall Street corporations and ultra-wealthy individuals, tools like ActBlue have empowered politicians to back policies that are closer to the people.

It’s no surprise that the explosion in grassroots fundraising over the past decade has coincided with a period where Democrats re-embraced Social Security and Medicare―two programs despised by Wall Street and beloved by regular Americans.

But when there’s money involved, bad actors and scammers see corrupt opportunities―and those scammers threaten everything that makes grassroots politics possible.

The very same low barrier to entry that lets an inspiring bartender become a congressional powerhouse also means that scammers can enter the space, setting up political action committees designed to funnel money into their own pockets while claiming that they’re helping to elect candidates. And the primary victims of these scammers are seniors. John, we must prevent grassroots fundraising from becoming a synonym for elder abuse.

The New York Times documented the problem last year:¹

Take action to support Rep. Katie Porter’s Stop SCAM PACs Act today, and protect seniors from financial predators in politics!

The Stop SCAM PACs Act would help combat the problems presented by scammers. But it also isn’t the end of the conversation. The uncomfortable truth is that official party committees are as guilty of misleading, alarmist emails as any scammer.

Social Security Works takes our relationship with our email community seriously. That’s why we’ve never sent an email that looks like this, and we never will:

Grassroots donations from emails like this one are what keeps Social Security Works independent, and what gives us the ability to call out our friends when they’re out of line. That could mean Joe Manchin pitching a fast-track commission to cut Social Security, or it could mean official fundraising committees tricking seniors into giving thousands of dollars to candidates they’ve never heard of.

When our emails are alarmist, it’s because we’re genuinely alarmed. The world is scary enough without a giant red “Final Notice” warning.

Take action to demand accountability for unethical email tactics―start by supporting Rep. Katie Porter’s Stop SCAM PACs Act today!

Thanks,

Alex Lawson
Social Security Works

¹ https://www.nytimes.com/2021/06/26/us/politics/recurring-donations-seniors.html