How do we protect our democracy from the undue influence of money?
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4 thoughts on “Getting money out of politics”
Celedte
Why dont we instruct all citizens to reregister as independent. I understand the electorate is already at 40% reg independent. Taking the party out of it will mean corporate and politicsl pacs will not have anyone to bribe because no one will have followers. This will allow more parties to naturally emerge. We could then vote to move to a democratic socialistic system like Denmark and Finland. They poll out year after year as the happiest people on the planet. We could call our system democratic humanism! That coupled with the removal of the electoral college could have the US back to a system if government that represents the people.
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Celeste
I understand from feedback that this approach would interrupt the primary process and some are “voting off in the primary”, then voting their true vote in the election. Does anyone have ideas or thoughts around the primary process and how we might reset the electorate (to all independent) but still use the existing primary process? Or ideas on how to eliminate the primary altogether and move to ranked popular voting?
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Wayne
I believe there can be an argument made that party primaries are unconstitutional, excluding voters from the process. States themselves can have primaries and there can be ranked choice voting for two candidates and the parties will have a sample of appeal to a wider electorate avoiding the more fanatic voters carrying an increased weight.
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Wayne
Citizens United was harmful but suggestions to overturn Citizens United ignore the more fundamental problem of reforming the SCOTUS or an impossible to write Constitutional Amendment.
To counter that, a proposal to grant $100 per year to each eligible voter to donate to the candidate of his/her choice, in whatever election they want and accumulate that money. As to cost, if there are 220 million voters, it would amount to $22B per year. Call it the Democracy in America Tax Reduction Act. Let people use the money for transportation to polling places. Let the States distribute the funds to secure accounts so the President can’t hold it up and punish non compliant states by forcing the States to lose their ability to define House Districts so as to eliminate gerrymandering. No Constitutional Amendment needed.
Why dont we instruct all citizens to reregister as independent. I understand the electorate is already at 40% reg independent. Taking the party out of it will mean corporate and politicsl pacs will not have anyone to bribe because no one will have followers. This will allow more parties to naturally emerge. We could then vote to move to a democratic socialistic system like Denmark and Finland. They poll out year after year as the happiest people on the planet. We could call our system democratic humanism! That coupled with the removal of the electoral college could have the US back to a system if government that represents the people.
I understand from feedback that this approach would interrupt the primary process and some are “voting off in the primary”, then voting their true vote in the election. Does anyone have ideas or thoughts around the primary process and how we might reset the electorate (to all independent) but still use the existing primary process? Or ideas on how to eliminate the primary altogether and move to ranked popular voting?
I believe there can be an argument made that party primaries are unconstitutional, excluding voters from the process. States themselves can have primaries and there can be ranked choice voting for two candidates and the parties will have a sample of appeal to a wider electorate avoiding the more fanatic voters carrying an increased weight.
Citizens United was harmful but suggestions to overturn Citizens United ignore the more fundamental problem of reforming the SCOTUS or an impossible to write Constitutional Amendment.
To counter that, a proposal to grant $100 per year to each eligible voter to donate to the candidate of his/her choice, in whatever election they want and accumulate that money. As to cost, if there are 220 million voters, it would amount to $22B per year. Call it the Democracy in America Tax Reduction Act. Let people use the money for transportation to polling places. Let the States distribute the funds to secure accounts so the President can’t hold it up and punish non compliant states by forcing the States to lose their ability to define House Districts so as to eliminate gerrymandering. No Constitutional Amendment needed.