Comment by twoodfin | Hacker News Reader

Comment by twoodfin | Hacker News Reader

I don't see how subsidizing candidates who agree to donation limits will work. In the last few Presidential elections we've already blown past the viability of the existing public funding.

Anyway, I am one of those rare folks who thinks there's not enough money in politics. Or at least that we shouldn't worry about the money that's already there. The Center for Responsive Politics (a pro-reform group) estimates that total Federal direct election spending reached $6 billion in 2012[1]. Even if "shadowy groups" spent twice that over again (they didn't), that's $18 billion worth of spending to influence the future of a $3.6T government regulating a $15T economy.

To put it another way, $18B is less than half the annual revenue of the Coca Cola company, or only 6x what Americans spend on scented candles every year.

[1] http://www.opensecrets.org/news/2012/10/2012-election-spendi...

Good points. McCain & Feingold passed campaign finance reform about 10 years ago, for the claimed purpose of getting money out of politics.

What that bill did succeed in doing was put more boundaries in place for less-powerful entities, while ensuring the more-powerful entities can do what they want, via fiat, loophole, secrecy, whatever.

Mission accomplished?!

Republic, Lost[0] is a really good read on this (even if it is by Lessig himself). He lays out how he would see the process working, I believe at the Presidential level. The basic idea is running on a platform that promises change as well as a commitment to step down once said change is accomplished. With the amount of money already wrapped up in politics (especially between two large parties), it strikes me as a tough sales pitch for either party's old guard.

To your point about there not being enough money in politics: I'd agree with you if money existed in a vacuum for its own sake. The question should arguably be is there enough/too much purchasable influence in politics.

[0]http://republic.lessig.org

Note that the $6 billion is for a Presidential election year. The last mid-term Congressional year (2010) was $4 billion. The way these are accounted, there is no election spending for 2009 or 2011 (spending for 2009 is counted towards the 2010 election). Thus, we're talking about $2.5 billion per year, or less than Americans spend each year on scented candles.

Reply on news.ycombinator.com