David Tulin lost his job a year ago, but he says he hasn't let unemployment stop him from donating money -- not just to charity, but to political campaigns as well. He said he gave $18 from his unemployment benefits to Joe Sestak's Senate campaign on Friday.
"That involvement keeps you feeling whole, keeps you feeling engaged and having an impact," said Tulin, who lives in Wyncote, Pa. "And also it allows me to retain my perspective, that as bad as things are, they're worse for other people."
People who describe themselves as "unemployed" have given $6.9 million to candidates, parties, and political action committees since 1990, according to the Federal Election Commission. The unemployed gave $1.1 million in 2006, and in 2008 they donated $2.9 million. So far in the current election cycle, they've given $323,413 to candidates and PACs.
Tulin emailed this reporter in response to a story about the phenomenon of unemployed money in politics. He said he was concerned that the article suggested many of the donors might be people who don't have jobs but nevertheless have some financial stability.
To the contrary, Tulin said he and other unemployed people donate out of "significantly heightened frustration and our need for some hope about change."
A commenter who said he was disappointed in that story shared Tulin's view: "I'm unemployed and have been for over 15 months. We decided, as a family, to cough up $50 for the congressional candidate we believe in now that our incumbent is retiring. It's not much in the grand scheme, but that $50 for that candidate shows my families belief and small participation in someone we believe in. This article makes that $50 appear to be a whim, and it is absolutely not. It's four boxes of diapers, three weeks of milk, or two gas fill ups."
Tulin said he's also given money, in multiples of 18, to Haiti relief efforts, Democratic Senate and congressional campaign committees, and the American Jewish World Service, among other groups.
He said his friends and family were not exactly thrilled when they found out he spared money for political candidates. "They said, 'You're contributing? What the hell are you doing? You're wasting your money.'"
Campaigns are not required to share data with the FEC on donors who give less than $200 in the course of a year. When Tulin worked as a management consultant, he gave bigger sums. FEC data shows he donated $1,050, in $250 and $300 increments, to the presidential campaigns of John Kerry and Barack Obama.
"Those were the good old days," he said.