How to Take Money Out of Politics Once and For All
Here is a real simple proposal to rid US Politics of corruption and greed: Take the money out of it! What I am proposing is that we change the way campaigns are funded. No more fundraising. Zero, nada, zilch. No more. The other part of the proposal is to make offering or receiving a bribe punishable by large personal fines and mandatory sentences.
The proposal is, you get the signatures, the government allots you X amount of dollars to run your campaign. If you run out, you're done. It can't be your money or that of anyone else. Finite dollars.
If you want to run for mayor of your city, depending on the population size, you may need 5,000 signatures and boom, you qualify for the ballot and here is your campaign allotment.
If you want to run for Senate, nowadays, candidates are spending @ $11 million in campaign money and another $8 million being spent by political action committees. $19 million needs to be raised, on average, in order to compete in today's campaigns. Far higher in the bigger states. That is too much purchased influence to ever expect a politician to be in office, for the people. Rather, it would be favors for those that filled their campaign coffers.
It would have to be done on a percentage basis, in terms of number of signatures and campaign funding, to run in California would be more expensive then it would be to run in Rhode Island, and there are far more residents.
Regardless of how the candidates are validated, the election campaigns also need to be shortened. A Congressman is constantly campaigning and fundraising, due to the two year term. They never stop and that is not a benefit to their Congressional District.
They spend so much of their time giving speeches and drumming up donations for the next election. Cut active campaigning to something more like the French model, short and sweet. If they only have what we give them, to campaign with, all politicians will shorten the marketing period before the election, measurably.
And finally, it's time to turn off the media spigot. So many of these campaign dollars are poured right back into the media's advertising revenue. It makes good sense for the media to donate, tax deductible funds, into a campaign that will likely use the contributions to buy ad-space on their network. Let's nip that in the bud. Advertising could be limited to only donated air time from the channels/networks. They are government regulated and licensed, they can afford to donate some non-prime time media space to the current candidates.
If the US has any plans to have a government of the people, by the people and for the people, we have to change what we're doing. We see it every day that corporations and industry lobbys have become a new branch of government. The Campaign Branch. We need to take this special privilege away from the corporations and billionaires, we need to pay for the campaigns ourselves if we want any semblance of fairness in our lifetimes.
It actually wouldn't cost the government very much money compared to what it will save with politicians acting in the interest of the people versus the corporations.
You get the signatures, we'll fund your campaign, with a bit less money then you are used to!
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Very well done! If you make the media companies donate equal airtime (that's where the campaign money goes- whatever isn't pocketed) to ALL candidates- it takes the money out of politics. Along with your fines and mandatory sentences for anyone abusing the system. Currently, a senator who serves 6 years, has to raise $7500 (minimum) a day for his entire term just to run again.
Thanks @richq11, to allow the current system to continue is to force a politician into servitude to the corporate class. Where else are they going to get $7500/day? It's designed to be this way for that exact purpose.
Like I say in the story I'm writing: A politician is only as good as the corporations that pay to get him elected.
Not a bad plan. Problem is they are the legislature, meaning they would have to change the law. I like it though. Let's drop all corporate donors and all this fluff money and get back to what the government was intended to do.
The POTUS does appoint the commissioners of the Fed Election Commission, possibly do an end around using the FEC might work.
You might just have them there!
Good idea and maybe a roundabout way of getting rid of the blighters altogether. If there aint bundles of cash and other goodies in it for them, perhaps there would be fewer of the buggers lining up to serve their country.
Exactly, go back to Roman Republic model, where citizens were expected to "serve" and then return to private life, not become multi-millionaires as career politicians. Money made with nothing other than influence that we provided to them.
You've exceeded my expectations.
The problem here is none of this works.
Every one of these supposed limitations are easily end-runnned.
Such as we disallow lobbying, but that doesn't disallow a friend (that happens to be from "that" company) from taking the congressperson out for a an expensive meal. Etc.
Fortunately, politics and the running for office is changing.
The vote for Chump over Hitlery is was for open dishonesty vs obscured dishonesty.
With the internet, campaigns will start to be much more uniform in costs. Because basically the advertising doesn't cost anything. Chumps biggest things was the use of twitter. The thing that replaces twitter will be of even greater import and effect. Making the MSM time allotments meaningless.
So, its good to talk about reform, but these suggestions are plans to fight the last war, not the future war.
I see your point about internet usage in the election cycle as a leveling of the playing field.
If nothing else is done in political reform, Citizen's United must be removed.
Its very simple, just stop participating and voting on politics! Because its all a puppet show controlled by Elite criminals! Don't be fooled!
This is incredible!