See How It Works!
US124 - Public Financing for Federal Elections
| Require public financing for Federal elections. Candidates collect threshold number of small donations to qualify. | |
|
|
|
   
|
|
Description
Candidates collect a threshold number of small donations to qualify (demonstrating a wide base of public support) and then receive public funding to run a competitive campaign. Further private fundraising is prohibited and they must adhere to spending limits. This would keep candidates focused on the people's interests rather than moneyed interests.
The total pool of financing for the Presidential race could be $200MM. If two candidates qualify through small donations, then they would each receive $100MM to run their campaign. If five candidates qualify, each would receive $40MM. Campaigns shouldn't be wars of attrition in which each side spends billions on ads that people see over and over again. The amounts above would be plenty to reach and inform the voters.
Arguments
A powerful way to tackle government corruption, both real and perceived, is to let lawmakers focus on policy, not fund raising. Only once private money is removed from the political process will the American people be sure that elected officials are focused on legislation for the good of the country, not for the benefit of a few.
Source: chrismurphy.com
Source: chrismurphy.com
Counterarguments
One potential risk is that many candidates qualify, making an election too diffuse and unpredictable. Would be targeting a number of candidates in setting the threshold of small donations, but this may be hard to predict and many candidates might qualify in these days of the viral Internet.
Without running afoul of the First Amendment, you can't restrict people from spending their own money on races. And after Citizen's United, you can't restrict people from spending money on other peoples' races either. Implementing this will just funnel more money away from candidates and toward un-registered, anonymous, committees like SuperPACs.
0 Topics
Discussion
No comments have been submitted for this idea
Related Ideas
| Congress should amend the Constitution to overrule the absurd Citizens United ruling by the Supreme Court More detail | |
|
|
|
|
|
|
| Pass through statute a limitation to corporate personhood and overturn Citizens United More detail | |
|
|
|
|
|
|
| Replace big money control of election campaigns with full public financing and free and equal access to the airwaves More detail | |
|
|
|
|
|
|
| Make the first $100 paid in taxes for each individual go toward funding candidates/political causes of their choice More detail | |
|
|
|
|
|
|
| Restore democracy to its rightful position atop capitalism. More detail | |
|
|
|
|
|
|
| The right to political speech is a right to have your voice heard, not a right to monopolize the conversation More detail | |
|
|
|
|
|
|
| Politicians should be required to visibly wear the logo of any corporation/organization they receive donations from More detail | |
|
|
|
|
|
|
| $50 tax credit for campaign contributions and a "People's Fund" to help candidates be heard when up against Super PACs More detail | |
|
|
|
|
|
|
| Koch Bros, Karl Rove and other Super PACs will again try to steal the election More detail | |
|
|
|
|
|
|
