Wait a minute. We can indeed outlaw the most blatant forms of corruption, for instance if campaigns are publicly funded, then politicians won't have to do fundraising all the time. They won't care as much about lobbyists because they wouldn't need them to get re-elected.
We can also prevent the closed loop where politicians become lobbyists after leaving office. Give it a 5 or 10 year waiting period. Or outlaw lobbies altogether.
You are basically giving up on ever having a trustworthy government, and I think that's unnecessarily fatalistic.
How about a $3 charge on your income tax form? Debates can happen on public TV.So I want to run for office.
In your world where do I pick up my pile of money (campaigns are expensive you know)?
How about a $3 charge on your income tax form? Debates can happen on public TV.
I see your point about lobbyists, all I'm saying is take the money out. You can still meet with these people, but their influence would be dependent on whether the cause resonates in elections, not whether the lobbying group can afford to buy support.
As to your public TV, that would eliminate the millions and millions of people who don't watch PBS.
Is it ethical to allow imcompetent people to vote?
As ethical as allowing incompetent people to form governments. Which we seem to do all the time.
Is it ethical to let imcompetent people to exist in a societ that requires competence? Or is it unethical to allow such a society were all can not be compitent to said society?
So I want to run for office.
In your world where do I pick up my pile of money (campaigns are expensive you know)?
Why is it that you think lobbyists are necessarily bad?
They are the specialists in the subject matter and the subjects they deal with, the environment, energy, global warming, health care, finances, communication, construction standards, transportation etc etc are complex issues and you need specialists to help our legislators understand the issues involved and the potential impact of legislation, and for nearly every position, there are lobbyists on both sides of the issues, because in the end, neither side has the best answer.
The fact is creating the complex legislation our country needs simply can't be done in a vacuum by a bunch of legislators with only general knowledge of these complex subjects. Good legislation requires a lot of outside help.
Nah, your just a cynic.
Arthur
So you want to euthanize the incompetents now?:bugeye:
Dude, what are you on?
On a lighter note, how about letting a hall full of dachshunds decide which candidate they would rather group around.
The idea that it's racist to confirm the identity of voters is one of the most egregious uses of the "race card". To not confirm that the person showing up to vote is who they say they are is simply irresponsible and calls into question the integrity of the entire democratic process.And guess what the racial demographics of people without photo IDs look like? You really want to go down this road? Because it's one that's been heavily trod by out-and-out racists of all stripes. The kind who've been giving your party such a bad name for the past 50 years now.
Good now that you want to run for office, you have to qualify. That means getting off your derriere and get the pettions necessary to qualify.
In a system of publicly funded campains every one gets the same amount of money - and that money would be very modest by today's standards.
If that is the case, and they are simply subject matter experts, then why do they need to contribute to campaings?
Why do they need to offer lucrative jobs to congressmen/women and their families while they are in and out of office?
I don't think people would have a problem with lobbyists if they were just subject matter experts as you claim. But that is not the case, they are often pushing an agenda at the expense of the nation's tax payers and middle class.
If the government needs outside help they can get it, and they can fund it.
Really? You think that's how lobbyest's operate, on some beach in some exotic location???? Get real. They are almost all located in DC and do their business in DC.That is why we has a committee set up in congress, so that subject matter experts can be called before congress rather than in some back room or on some beach in some exotic location.
The idea that there are people who'd like to watch a debate, but would choose not to do so because it is on PBS, is just silly.
There is nothing to prevent anyone from watching PBS. This kind of thing is one of the primary reasons for having public broadcasting in the first place.
So you want to euthanize the incompetents now?:bugeye:
Dude, what are you on?