Lending half-truths

Re: “Foreign hypocrisy”, (PostBag, Feb 25).

Thanin Bumrungsap may have provided readers with half truths about campaign loans under the US election law. According to the US Federal Election Commission’s website, “political contribution” means:

A) Any gift, subscription, loan, advance or deposit of money or anything of value, made for any political purpose;

B) Any contract, promise, or agreement, express or implied, whether or not legally enforceable, to make a contribution for any political purpose;

C) Any payment by any person, other than a candidate or a political party or affiliated organisation, of compensation for the personal services of another person which are rendered to any candidate or political party or affiliated organisation without charge for any political purpose; and

D) The provision of personal services for any political purpose.

“Contributions are the most common source of campaign support. A contribution is anything of value given, loaned or advanced to influence a federal election. It is important to understand which receipts are considered contributions because:

- Contributions count toward the threshold that determines whether an individual has qualified as a candidate under the Federal Election Campaign Act.

- Contributions are subject to the Act’s prohibitions against contributions from certain sources.

- Contributions are subject to the Act’s limits on the amount of contributions.

Like all receipts, contributions are also subject to the Act’s record keeping and reporting requirements.

“Campaigns are prohibited from accepting contributions from certain types of organisations and individuals. These prohibited sources are: Corporations, including non-profit corporations (although funds from a corporate separate segregated fund are permissible), labour organisations (although funds from a separate segregated fund are permissible), federal government contractors, foreign nationals, and contributions in the name of another.

“Personal loans from the candidate: Candidates may loan their personal funds for campaign purposes. When they do so, they are making contributions to their campaigns. Unlike other contributions, these candidate contributions are not subject to any limits, but are subject to additional reporting. Moreover, timing restrictions apply to the repayment of personal loans aggregating more than $250,000 for an election.”

As I see it, the loan which is part of the political contribution is used for the purpose of advancing the status of a candidate in the US election system.

In Thailand, the “loan” has been used to destroy political candidates and a political party.

SUWIT SUWAN