A paste from Thisland writer Joe Weistein. He eloquently writes my thoughts on why public funds for electing politicians is rubbish: Thank you for your message on the Government by the People Act for partial public finance of candidate campaigns. This act - allegedly aimed at abating corruption of politicians - appeals to tacit premises which are largely mistaken, for two major reasons. The lesser reason is that over-the-top election campaign spending does not really owe to justifiable genuine campaign costs. In this internet age, truly informative campaigns can be run cheaply, via candidates39; and non-partisan websites. This Act would create more regulatory complexity and waste public (on top of private) money, all in order to subsidize individual candidates39; costly 20th-century-style mass-media circus campaigns focused mainly on bamboozling the most marginal, passive and uninformed voters. Genuine campaign (and finance) reform could be achieved by far cheaper actions, public and private. For instance, just repeatedly broadcast one simple message: that each voter can and should become basically and responsibly informed by spending a few minutes to check noted non-partisan websites plus each candidates site in the contests that the voter cares about enough to vote in. The bigger reason is that, like most would-be anti-corruption efforts, this latest one too pathetically disregards the key import of Lord Actons 1887 famed and utterly correct statement: Power tends to corrupt, and absolute power corrupts absolutely39;. Actons import is that corruption does not require politicians to be needy or greedy - whether for campaign funds or for anything else. Rather, corruption can - and will tend to - exist precisely because a politician has been entrusted with something massive and valuable that he can sell that a briber will find it worthwhile to buy: concentrated long-term power over many and various public decisions whose outcomes have high stakes for the briber. As long as a politician is willing and able to sell concentrated power that a briber finds it worthwhile to buy, a bribery excuse and path will readily be found. Campaign costs (actual or alleged) and funds will serve, but so will any of many other devices - for instance donation to a non-profit39; foundation over which the politician has influence, or hiring of the politician or family members as consultants39;. No wonder leading powerful politicians support the Government by the People Act: it doesnt undermine in the slightest their (and their colleagues39;) ability to attract bribes. If we seriously mean to sustainably abate corruption, we must deprive politicians of the long-term broad-scope concentrated policy-making and law-making and other public-decision power that attracts their bribery. That course calls for changing our constitutional public decision model from a Roman-republic-style politician oligarchy of a few long-term all-powerful officials (whether legislative or executive or judicial, whether elected or appointed) to something closer to the citizen-jury decision-making used in Athenian democracy: public decisions made by many deliberating teams of ordinary interested citizens who spend manageably short terms in this task as a public service. Joe Weinstein Long Beach CA 90807 USA ______________________________________________________________ In response to a post he got for public funding of politicians: Date: Thu, 6 Feb 2014 18:20:20 -0500 From: [email protected] To: jweins123@hotmail Subject: A democracy that works for all of us I am USAction. We are the TrueMajority. Dear Joe, Our democracy is in crisis. Citizens United opened the floodgates for unlimited corporate spending in elections. And plutocrats like the Koch Brothers and other billionaire CEO’s will stop at nothing to make sure our government is of, by, and for the wealthiest 1%, not people like you. Help fight back to reduce the corrupting influence of big money in politics, put our elections back in the hands of everyday Americans, and increase the voice of the people. Take action to support the Government By the People Act (H.R. 20) -- a public campaign finance bill that will reduce the influence of big money campaign donors and help put us on the path to a government of, by, and for the people. We are working with a huge coalition of allies and members of Congress like Rep. John Sarbanes and Majority Leader Nancy Pelosi to make this happen but we can’t do it without you. Will you sign on as a citizen co-sponsor today to make sure Congress is accountable to all of us? The Petition reads: “We demand a government that is accountable to all of us, not just wealthy donors. I support the Government by the People Act (H.R. 20), which reduces the influence of big-money campaign donors by amplifying the voices of all Americans. Candidates can then focus their attention on people like me to support their campaigns, instead of bankers or lobbyists. As a citizen co-sponsor, I urge my representative to be a leader in ensuring that our government is of, by, and for the people by working to pass this critical bill.” TAKE ACTION » If we want to expand Social Security, increase the minimum wage and hold Big Oil and Wall Street accountable, we must break the dependence on big money so that Congress is focused on the people’s priorities. Join us today and support the Government By the People Act. Onward, Ross Wallen USAction P.S. Check out this explainer on the public financing bill from our friends at Demos if you have any questions about how it works. Unsubscribe USAction, 1825 K St. NW, Suite 210, Washington, DC 20006
Posted on: Fri, 07 Feb 2014 18:30:19 +0000
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