> The main issue is access. Access isn't the root problem though: ask yourself why anybody wants to pay money to speak to those charlatans. The root problem i

> The main issue is access. Access isn't the root problem though: ask yourself why anybody wants to pay money to speak to those charlatans. The root problem is that the politicians can control who the winners and losers are. So long as that variable exists, any attempt to stamp out corruption is like trying to drain water out of a bathtub with a bucket that has a hole in it. > politicians should be forced to use ONLY public funding for political campaigns Maybe there's a good answer to this, but this sounds like a way to ensure that the Democrat/Republican duopoly continues indefinitely. Certainly Greens, Libertarians, and others are going to qualify for public funding in exactly the same way as they qualify for debate appearances.