Political Contributions vs. Kickbacks

 This meme has popped up on the Facebook pages of a couple of friends:

Here is my comment to both:

Trash the First Amendment and privacy rights? Terrible idea. Absent evidence of criminal activity, the government shouldn't be "watching" the monetary affairs of law abiding citizens, whether they're spending their money on a car, a charitable donation, a mortgage payment, or to support a political candidate or cause they believe in. How about just NOT monitor bank accounts, and get those who support the idea out of office?

One friend equated political contrabutions to criminal activity:

Mike.

It annoys me is this won’t apply to certain people in politics who get $100k or high kickbacks under the table . But our $600 transactions needs to be watched?

My question is who is watching and monitoring the ones watching everyone else who makes a transaction higher than $600.

I repied:

Bill, we need to be precise. Political contributions are not kickbacks. Kickbacks, bribery, and the like are already illegal under anti-corruption laws. My point is, absent evidence of criminal activity, the government shouldn't be "watching" the monetary affairs of law abiding citizens.

Freedom of speech is under attack by both today's Left and Right. We need to call the attacks out and defend the First Amendment whenever it comes under attack, even if it means challenging a friend.

Related Reading:  

The Real 'Big Money' in Politics By James D. Agresti for Intellecual Takeout

In 2017, the federal government spent a total of $2,677 billion on social programs that transfer money from some people to others. This is 418 times greater than all federal campaign spending and lobbying.

Left-leaning politicians and media personalities—from Barack Obama and Bernie Sanders to Bill Moyers and Carl Bernstein—frequently decry “big money” in politics. These ideological allies also lobby for laws to muzzle the political speech of others, while they simultaneously employ the largest amounts and arguably the most influential forms of money in politics.