4 ms·

One possible idea is to simply publicly fund the political parties and do away with political donations entirely. They're an essential part of your democratic

One possible idea is to simply publicly fund the political parties and do away with political donations entirely. They're an essential part of your democratic system of government and could therefore be considered an essential service, so they would be funded in the same way as any other essential service. That would not only solve this problem but also prevent the corporate lobbyists from having too much influence and corrupting the system. Hopefully it'll be capped and that will mean less ads everywhere.

maxerickson 2y ago
In the US, with the first amendment, it's hard to ban private spending.
- jgeada 2y ago
  Only since the current SC redefined money as speech, wasn't a problem for the first couple of hundred of years when saner justices prevailed.
  - maxerickson 2y ago
    Well, I did say spending and not campaign contributions. How do you ban a candidate from paying for air time like Ross Perot did?
pessimizer 2y ago
> One possible idea is to simply publicly fund the political parties and do away with political donations entirely. No, political parties should be abolished. People can get together, call themselves whatever they want, and recommend people as candidates for office, but these private organizations should not be institutionalized in law or supported in any way. We shouldn't even be helping with their primaries. Law shouldn't recognize anything called a "political party" or have any rules governing them. They are not essential, they are corrupting.
- aussieguy1234 2y ago
  That would be even better. I would go a step further and have local citizens assemblies manage as much as possible (direct democracy). But with the current system, public funding is probably a better idea than private funding.
- kbolino 2y ago
  Most laws regulating political parties came about to enforce civil rights. The political parties when left to their own devices engaged in discriminatory practices, which effectively excluded large swathes of people from core parts of the democratic process.

maxerickson 2y ago

In the US, with the first amendment, it's hard to ban private spending.

jgeada 2y ago
Only since the current SC redefined money as speech, wasn't a problem for the first couple of hundred of years when saner justices prevailed.
- maxerickson 2y ago
  Well, I did say spending and not campaign contributions. How do you ban a candidate from paying for air time like Ross Perot did?

pessimizer 2y ago

> One possible idea is to simply publicly fund the political parties and do away with political donations entirely. No, political parties should be abolished. People can get together, call themselves whatever they want, and recommend people as candidates for office, but these private organizations should not be institutionalized in law or supported in any way. We shouldn't even be helping with their primaries. Law shouldn't recognize anything called a "political party" or have any rules governing them. They are not essential, they are corrupting.

aussieguy1234 2y ago
That would be even better. I would go a step further and have local citizens assemblies manage as much as possible (direct democracy). But with the current system, public funding is probably a better idea than private funding.
kbolino 2y ago
Most laws regulating political parties came about to enforce civil rights. The political parties when left to their own devices engaged in discriminatory practices, which effectively excluded large swathes of people from core parts of the democratic process.