The 2020 election is all set to smash spending records with the bill closing in on 11 billion dollars. That’s 11 with nine zeros after it.
This rising cost is one reason why some continue to call for campaign finance reform, specifically to limit how much money a candidate can raise and where they can raise it from. This is obviously not working. I respectfully submit the following idea for election funding. Step one: Remove all limits. Yes, yes. I hear you. Unlimited election funding gives the rich a disproportionate voice in elections. I agree. However, all attempts to limit this purchase of a louder voice have been thwarted by the very people that continue to purchase a louder voice. Let’s stop beating that particular dead horse. Let the candidates raise as much as they want. Go for it. Grab that all mighty American Dollar. However! A percentage of all money raised must be donated to a charity or cause of the candidate's choosing in the jurisdiction of the office he or she is running for. I propose a sliding scale with city and county elections at 15%, state level elections at 25%, and federal level elections at 50%. This accomplishes two things. First, it redirects a bunch of wasted money towards something useful. Second, it provides the voters with insight to what the candidate truly feels is important. After all, we can talk about all sorts of things, but it is all meaningless if you aren’t willing to actually pay for it. Step two: No fund raising or add buys until three months prior to the election date. Candidates are elected to do a job, not to campaign. Step three: No more war chests. After every election any left over money all candidates have will be directed to paying down any outstanding public debt in the jurisdiction the candidate is running. Should that jurisdiction have no debt, the money will go to a fund meant for maintaining public infrastructure. Again, lets put that money to something useful. Step four: Apply these same rules to any and all special interest groups, PACs, and individuals that chose to raise money for and/or directly lobby for or against a candidate, proposition, or law. Any group or individual that spends money to sway any election or law accepts these rules. Any group or individual that advocates that others should send money to a candidate or political group also accepts these rules. And yes, that goes for churches as well. You want to stand on the street corner and shout about your favorite law or lawmaker to anybody that will listen. Go for it. The second you accept money to do so, or tell others they should send money somewhere, you are now a part of the system and subject to its rules. So how do we keep track? Simple. We let the candidates police themselves. At any time during the election any person residing in, or group operating in, the jurisdiction of the office in contest can call for a public audit to be completed within one week of request. Should the audit find any issues with the numbers, either by accident or on purpose, that candidate pays all costs related to the audit and forfeits the election. Full stop. No wiggle room. No margin of error. If there is even a hint of something off, you are done. (After all, anyone in office will have control of public money, so an ability to keep it straight is very important.) Any delays by the candidate will be taken as admission of guilt and the election and all remaining funds will be forfeit. This goes for groups and individuals not running as well. If a group campaigning for or against a law or candidate has a problem with the books, the candidate or law they are supporting forfeits. If it is a campaign against a candidate or law, that candidate's opponent forfeits or the law passes. Should the books come back clean, the person or group calling for the audit must pay for all cost incurred by the candidate or group relating to the audit and they are barred from calling for any further audits until the next election. Any person or group that calls for three audits in a row that find nothing will be barred from calling any audits in the future. I think it's worth a try.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
Step inside the mind of me.Hi. Welcome to my little electron of the internet, where you will find random comments about whatever pops into my mind! Previous mumblings
December 2021
Categories
All
|