樁腳

Etymology

 * A reference to . A metaphor for when a politician earmarks money in a budget in order to benefit key supporters (such as local political leaders, companies with government contracts etc) in return for their political support, either in the form of campaign contributions or votes.

Noun

 * 1)  special interests

Usage notes

 * One example would be a union representative who promises to influence the votes of union members toward a specific candidate in exchange for the politician's vote for legislation that would be beneficial to the union in question.