Overview

• The clinical condition known as hoarding syndrome drives a small group of right-wing billionaires to amass wealth and leverage government power, exacerbating middle-class decline and environmental harm.
• The Supreme Court’s Bellotti (1978) and Citizens United (2010) decisions enshrined money as free speech and corporate personhood, opening the door to unlimited outside spending by SuperPACs and dark-money groups.
• A recent bribery scandal involving former President Trump’s weapons deals and foreign hotel deals underscores how hoarding-driven oligarchs exploit political office for private enrichment.
• Historical measures from the Tillman Act of 1907 through New Deal and mid-century reforms successfully restricted corporate money in politics but have been weakened by later court rulings.
• Grassroots organizers and lawmakers are rallying behind legislation to revoke money-as-speech doctrine and tighten campaign finance rules ahead of upcoming elections.