The Government Requires Your Profession Or Occupation When Making Political Donations

The political party you donate to is monitored by the government, which requires knowing your profession or occupation. The question is why? And does it serve a nefarious purpose?  

Have you ever wondered why people in different professions, lifestyles, and demographics, generally think the way they do, and support the things they believe important, which support can be advocacy or financial? Young, old, male, female, rich or poor, unless I missed a group and there are those who will say I have, you fall into one of these categories. And for our purposes here, let’s apply this inquiry to one specific area, politics.

How often have you contributed to a political party or politician? Republican, Democrat, Conservative, Liberal, Independent, there usually appears to be a defining line that can be drawn along ideological, educational, and status among classes of people, and their state or condition with respect to circumstances. But there is something most people may not be aware of.

If like me you receive emails on a daily basis, many of them from the political class, then you may have noticed, or perhaps not, that most of the time you will be asked to record your profession or line of work, if you’re going to contribute to the cause. This is a requirement and is mandated by the federal government. The information that is gathered is turned over to the Federal Election Commission (FEC).

As an example, and without naming the political group that sent this particular email to me asking for financial support, the following footnote appears, “Federal law requires us to use our best efforts to collect and report the name, mailing address, occupation, and name of employer for each individual whose aggregate contributions exceed $200 in a calendar year.” 

The inquisitive and conspiratorial mind might create a scenario, one that could be an element in a Hollywood movie script. The setting is a society ruled by a government that monitors all aspects of the lives of its people, much of it unbeknownst to them. The information the government gathers, especially what political party the individual supports, can be used against them if it is not the current ruling party. The need to obtain this information, especially now under the Biden administration, can be construed by some as a nefarious attempt by the government as a means, but to what end?

Be that as it may, an analysis was performed based on this information. Verdant Labs is a data collection service that gathers facts and figures, and designs charts in a number of diverse areas, with one in particular for our purposes here, “Occupation and Politics.” The results are quite interesting, and clearly delineate the differences among classes, and show how a person’s profession can predict his or her politics. Following are the two major parties, and the occupations that usually donate to each, in some cases the percentage is shown.

Republican: 

Oil Worker-Fossil Fuel Industry - 89%

Pilots - 62%

Beer Wholesaler - 78%

Logger / Truck Drivers - 69%

Motel Owner / Chairman/ Urologist - 76%

Plastic Surgeon / Exterminator / Car Salesman / Home Builders - 78%

Pawnbroker/ Catholic Priests - 73%

Plumber - 62%

Surgeon / Sheriff / Farmer / Talk Show Host (Radio) / Insurance Agent / Business Owner - 62%

Petroleum Geologist / Neurologist / Military - 62% 

Democrat: 

Environmentalist / Flight Attendant - 64%

Bartenders - 89%

Librarian / Taxi Driver - 85%

Inn Keeper / Pediatrician - 79%

Sculptor / Florist / Yoga Instructor / Architects - 74%

Bookseller / Episcopal Priest - 91%

Carpenters - 64%

Midwife / Park Ranger / Gardener / Chef / Comedian / Professor / Union Organizer / Artist - 86% 

Environmental Scientist / Teachers -79%

Psychologists - 91%
 

In many cases, it appears the level of education plays a part in how a person in a particular occupation will donate to a political party. It is no surprise that people in the fossil fuel industry, pilots (usually former military), radio talk show hosts, plumbers, business owners, and the military, support mainly Republicans, and teachers, librarians, environmentalists, artists, professors, and comedians send their money to Democrats. 

There is one particular category, however, although not considered an occupation, but usually the product of one that I believe deserves mention, billionaires. And why do I bring this group into the discussion, but that their money gives them great power. In the 2020 presidential election, the financial support of several billionaires, in particular Facebook’s Mark Zuckerburg and George Soros, to the Democratic Party, was I believe one of the defining factors of the now-Biden presidency. 

Donations - money - is the lifeblood of politics. Often when a political party has the financial capacity to saturate the market with television and tabloid ads, billboards, yard signs, and paid advocates going door to door incentivizing prospective voters, and in effect plastering their candidate’s name and face all over the locale, then he or she has a good chance of claiming victory.