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The US Constitution was designed to restrain the power of politicians. The problem is that we don't follow it. And unsurprisingly, the more discretionary powe
by tc 18y ago
The US Constitution was designed to restrain the power of politicians. The problem is that we don't follow it. And unsurprisingly, the more discretionary power that politicians accumulate, the more money flows into the political system despite all number of laws such as McCain-Feingold. Similar to nearly all regulations, campaign finance laws have the effect of excluding small players from the system entirely and benefiting large players and incumbents who can front the compliance costs and reap sufficient benefits from the system to overcome any hurdle.
For an entertaining introduction to the effect of unintended consequences on campaign finance reform, watch John Stossel's Politically Incorrect Guide to Politics, part 4:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8Pu6cT6ICQQ http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8Pu6cT6ICQQ
- justindz 18y agoWhy not do both? Why not reduce their power some, change the law to reduce the variability of money in the system and see what happens? It doesn't have to be either/or. This constant argument that we have to do A only, followed by the counter-argument that we have to do B only, seems to come more from our love of arguing and being righteous in some stance than from common sense consensus-building or the urgency of experimentation and progress.