Politics 101: Follow the Money, Honey!

“Follow the money, honey” sounds like a slogan until you run the numbers. We break down a straightforward, real-world model of how influence can work in modern American politics: large coalitions form, funding gets approved, and a slice of that taxpayer money powers the political operation that helps keep the funding alive. We keep it intentionally name-free and entity-free, focusing on mechanics so you can recognize patterns without needing a scandal headline to explain them.

We walk through a hypothetical $500 million “community investment” program spread across 100 cities, then zoom in on the part most people never see: the carve-outs, the PAC activity, and the incentives that can shape how members of Congress think about a single “yes” vote. We also compare those terms to what regular families face with student loans or small business loans, where there is no such thing as zero interest, zero payments, and zero consequences.

Then we talk about access: campaign donations, repeated meetings, friendly district events, and even speaker fees and honorariums that can turn politics into a low-friction loop of support and reward. 

We close with a hard standard for public service: can an elected official enjoy the steak and wine, then still vote for the people back home when it counts? 

If you care about government spending, political corruption, and how taxpayer dollars can be leveraged for power, you’ll want to hear this one. Subscribe, share the episode, and leave a review with your take: what rule would change the incentives fastest?

• A hypothetical coalition of 100 groups across 100 cities
• How a $500 million annual ask gets passed and renewed
• The 10% carve-out that becomes political influence
• Why “free money” terms do not exist for ordinary citizens
• How donations and access can keep programs alive
• Speaker fees, honorariums, and friendly local events
• The key question of accountability when it is taxpayer money
• Moms and dads competing against well-funded entities
• A practical test for elected officials under pressure

Please pray, pray for the young men and women who love God, who love country, especially in today's politically charged environment. Those young people, they need our encouragement, they need our prayer.

Transcript

Politics 101 And The Big Claim

SPEAKER_00 0:00

Welcome to Mercer Moments in American History. Today is a current event, but also an historical event. It's called Politics 101. Follow the money, honey. Repeat that with me. Politics 101. Follow the money, honey. I could also call it corruption or political corruption 101. You're going to enjoy today's session. You're going to hear some things you like and things you don't like. And I purposely will not mention names or entities. But I will draw my experience, my 16 years as an elected official to the Texas House of Representatives and Texas State Board of Education, never mentioning names, not pointing fingers, just giving you some things that I've witnessed that I've seen that you need to understand. Especially in today's society, we're talking so much government fraud, waste, corruption, abuse. I'm going to give you an easy picture, an easy picture of how things can happen. When you say, why did my elected official, why did my member of Congress, my U.S. Senate, why did they vote yes for this? Why would they support that? Who influences them? Who are they talking to? You're about to find out. Politics 101, follow the money, honey. And I will not be surprised if you call it corruption 101. Follow the money, honey.

How A 100 Group Coalition Forms

SPEAKER_00 1:19

Let's say you have an organization, and through your meeting in G5, there's about a hundred different cities who do what you're doing. The service you provide, the investment, that's the way you talk to your donors, that they're making an investment into the community. Whatever service you have, and I'm not going to mention names, even entities, because you can probably figure out who they might be. And not that all are bad, but I can tell you not all are good. There are a lot of good ones out there doing some great things. But let's say you get 100 groups together. So we're going to form a committee, a GOTV, get out to vote, and a PAC Political Action Committee of 100 groups. And let's say five, 10, let's say 20 years ago you started this, you went to Congress, you said, you know, we want you to invest in your community. We have 100 cities that impact every member of the U.S. Senate, all 100, that impact almost all the 435 members of the U.S. House. We'd like for you to invest $5 million a year for each 100 cities. That'd be $500 million. $5 million times 100

The $500 Million Funding Ask

SPEAKER_00 2:25

different cities, $500 million, and it impacts every state and almost every congressional district. But that first year you're able to find members of the House and Senate who will support you. And it is either a standalone bill, I doubt that, it's probably an amendment to the bill for $500 million to invest in 100 different entities for whatever service you're giving, whatever service or investment in the community you have. So you get the money. Year one, 20 years ago, you get the first $500 million, you go to your 100 groups. Okay, I'm gonna give you all $4.5 million each. What? $5 million? Well, I want you to directly or indirectly invest $500,000

The 10% Kickback To Political Power

SPEAKER_00 3:11

each into our political action committee, get out the vote committee. Well, then we only get four and a half million dollars. So let me ask you, that four and a half or five million dollars, what is the interest rate on that money? Zero. How many payments do you have to make? Zero. How much do you pay on taxes on that four and a half to five million dollars? Zero. Do you see where I'm going, folks? They're getting free money. They're getting $500 million, and they're taking $50 million of that 10%, which is again $500,000 times $100 entities, $50 million for political, for influencing and communicating with members of the U.S. House and U.S. Senate, and maybe State House, State Senate, whatever it might be, for influencing and communicating to get out the vote.

Why Citizens Never Get These Terms

SPEAKER_00 4:09

Now let's how many of you applied for small business loans, the small business administration, or student loans for yourself or your children or grandchildren? How many of the things you applied for have a have a zero interest rate? How many of those have zero payments? That money is not available to you and me. You know, their student loans are usually 10 years, 120 payments in the same small business administration. And if you miss a payment, don't make one, what's going to happen to you? What's going to happen to your credit, to your business? They're going to garnish your wages. That free money is not available to you. But these entities who have the political strength together, who come together, they can get free money and they can invest that money because that $500 million with $50 million for a committee is used to reinvest to go back next year, ask for $500 million more.

Buying Attention With Donations And Access

SPEAKER_00 5:05

And you do the math. Well, I got to have at least 51 members of the U.S. Senate. There's 100. Have to have at least 51 to pass a bill. There's 435 members of the U.S. House. I have to have, what, 218? Is that right to pass a bill there? So together, about 270 elected officials, let's say 300. I want to influence and communicate. 300 elected officials at the federal level. Influence and communicate. So the next year I can go back and they'll pass the bill again. Or they'll add it on as an amendment somewhere else that nobody will see. What happens to that money? What if you could get, we know I can donate $100,000 to 300 campaigns, that'd be $30 million of the $50 million. And when you go back and you meet several times a year with that representative, you probably remind them that directly or indirectly you are providing $100,000 to their reelection campaign. Oh. That might get their attention. I can do one vote a year. That one vote will mean $100,000. Isn't that a pretty good deal for you guys? Would you like

Speaker Fees And Softball Events

SPEAKER_00 6:16

the kind of opportunity? You do one yes vote, $100,000. But wait, but wait. We also have times throughout the year at least twice a year in your district. We have uh forums, we have fundraisers, and we'd be honored to have you as a guest speaker at lunchtime. You'd be literally on stage with a cup of coffee, and the audience, it's softball. It's all like-minded people. What I call a cream puffed or softball interview, you're there for 45 minutes. If you could, maybe an hour extra just to stand with people and take pictures. They all want pictures of you. They're supporters of you. Oh, by the way, if you come and talk to that 45-minute lunch once a year, we'll provide you an honorarium or a speaker's fee. An honorarium or a speaker's fee of let's say $20,000. At least twice a year, we have these functions. If you come both times, well, that could be $40,000. All of a sudden, you might think if I vote yes on this, I have $100,000 in my campaign. I have $20,000 to $40,000 more of speaker fees, honorariums, and the events I go to, they're soft. I'm living on a sofa drinking coffee, and the audience is all for me. Piece of cake, right? Of course, they would pay you that because they have a fundraiser and they can say Representative so-and-so or Senator So-and-so is going to be here, draws more people, and a lot of their donors could also become your donors. You see where I'm going? Politics 101, folks, follow the money, honey.

The Real Question: Whose Money?

SPEAKER_00 7:57

And then they go back next year and ask you to pass it again. And this is sad. Sometimes the elected officials might even say, Are you ready for this? Hold on to your seats. You asked for $500 million last year. Is that enough for this year, or you do you need more? Now, if you're a business person, you might think, like, wait a minute, I'm gonna give you $500 million, and I'm only gonna potentially get back $50 million? That's a terrible investment. And you wanna come back next year? That's a horrible investment. 10%? Why would anybody do that? Why would you give someone $500 million to maybe get $50 million back unless unless it's not their money? Uh-oh. Follow the money, honey, unless it's not their money. That's political corruption one-on-one. They're taking your money, your money, gonna give somebody else $500 million that you will never see. You don't get $500 million with no interest rate, no payments, no taxes. $500 million goes out there. They get $50 million back, which is a terrible investment, a terrible return on your investment, unless it's not your money. It's taxpayer money, but it's not the money to politicians. You know, that's why you hear me often say to politicians, have you forgotten it's not your stinking money? Pretty cold. To politicians, it's not your stinking money. It belongs to the people. And you can probably better understand now why the fraud and abuse that I fight against, it's so rampant in our country, how things can happen. So there you go, my friends. Politics 101, follow the money, honey. You may call it corruption 101, follow the money, honey. First, set up an organization, find out who you want to communicate with and influence, get that free money again with zero interest, zero payments, zero taxes, get that money on year one, reinvest it, so that every year you can go back to those same members of Congress. What a deal. You're probably thinking, hey, Ken, where can I sign up to get free money every year? Again, with zero interest, zero payments, zero taxes. You can't, folks. But now you understand more of what's happening. Let me see what let me say what

Moms And Dads Versus Lobbyists

SPEAKER_00 10:32

could be happening. I'm gonna be cautious. I didn't mention names. Did I mention any names? No. Did I mention any entities? No. But I'm saying what could be happening. Now I gotta say, there are some great political action committees, there's some bad ones. Most of the great ones I know are families, moms and dads. They're just good parents fighting for their children, and they're fighting against these huge entities. I had to decide as an elected official who is I gonna support? The lobbyists or the moms and dads? Well, I love the moms and dads, but I tell them, I'd warn them, that you're competing with people who are going out the night before and they're getting a big steak and a bottle of wine. One of the best quotes I ever heard from a politician, a friend of mine, a state senator, I don't have permission to use his name. I wish I did, because it's a great quote. He says, Ken, Ken, when you go out at night and you eat their steak and drink their wine, and the next morning you still vote against them. You know you're doing your job. When you go out the night before, eat their steak, drink your wine, and the next morning you still say, no, I'm voting for the moms and dads. Then you know you're doing your job. There you go. Politics 101. Follow the money, honey. And most of you are probably saying, No, it's corruption 101. Follow the money, honey. And if you watch the national news right now, what's going on with corruption, abuse, and fraud at the federal and state government levels? I have just given you the tip, the very tip of the iceberg.

The Steak And Wine Test

SPEAKER_00 12:08

This is Ken Mercer, Mercer Moments in American History. This is both a current event and historical event. Is it current news or is it history? Always end by giving a shout out to one school, and today it's the state of Nebraska. Please pray, pray for the young men and women who love God, who love country, especially in today's politically charged environment. Those young people, they need our encouragement, they need our prayer. Today it's the state of Nebraska. Next time it could be your state. Ken Mercer with Politics 101. Follow the money, honey. Again, you may call it corruption 101. Follow the money, honey. Thank you, my friends. God bless

Closing Message And Nebraska Shoutout

SPEAKER_00 12:52

you.