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Lobbying isn't bad; you're lobbying if you call or write your congresspeople. Even paid lobbying isn't so clear cute: are you part of any organization you dona

Lobbying isn't bad; you're lobbying if you call or write your congresspeople. Even paid lobbying isn't so clear cute: are you part of any organization you donate to or just pay dues to that sends anyone to DC to talk to congresspeople about the issue the organization care about? There is a problem, but blanket statements like your comment only work to stir the pot without offering any real critique or alternative. There are many, many problems with our current system of political communication, but many of the calls to "remove money from politics" and "stop lobbying" completely overlook that those are the means by which the average citizen also participates in political discourse. Moreover, since every citizen cannot possibly talk to their congresspeople people about the details of every possible subject relating to issues they care about, groups of people need to be able to effect change as well as the individual.

mtgx 7y ago
Even if all of that were true, the limits on political donations need to be limited much more drastically, because otherwise this system skews in favor of the rich and this "money vote" acts as a parallel system alongside the "universal vote" that greatly favors the rich, and going by how most candidates treat their electorate, it's often considered more important then the regular vote. If votes are supposed to be "equal" whether you're white, black, poor, or rich, then so should the "money vote" be as "equal" as possible - in other words, the cap on political donations should be pretty low, into the hundreds of dollars a year. The vast majority of people will not donate more than that to a candidate in an election. But rich people donate way more, and candidates are also incentivized to hold cocktail fundraisers, where basically the real campaign promises are made.

mtgx 7y ago

Even if all of that were true, the limits on political donations need to be limited much more drastically, because otherwise this system skews in favor of the rich and this "money vote" acts as a parallel system alongside the "universal vote" that greatly favors the rich, and going by how most candidates treat their electorate, it's often considered more important then the regular vote. If votes are supposed to be "equal" whether you're white, black, poor, or rich, then so should the "money vote" be as "equal" as possible - in other words, the cap on political donations should be pretty low, into the hundreds of dollars a year. The vast majority of people will not donate more than that to a candidate in an election. But rich people donate way more, and candidates are also incentivized to hold cocktail fundraisers, where basically the real campaign promises are made.