Support public financing in national campaigns
Common Cause recently circulated a summary of funds spent in the run-up to the November 2007 City Council election. With only one exception, the candidates who spent the most prevailed.
Certainly it's possible that the candidates who spent the most — especially those for whom I voted — may well have been the most qualified. And I don't want to suggest that any of these candidates are likely to vote according to the dictates of their contributors.
I wish I could be as sure of that at the national level, where incredible sums are already being spent on an election that is still nine months away. Unfortunately, there seems little that one voter can do about the increasing control of government by major campaign donors.
One small step we can all take, however, is to check off that square on the tax return that contributes $3 of the tax to a fund for public financing of elections, at no additional expense to the taxpayer. Since those mindless 30-second TV spots are probably a principal reason for the multi-million-dollar expenses, another small step might be to alert TV stations that we will not watch or listen to any commercials beginning in August.
Richard G. Cox
Greensboro
Comments (3)
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Can someone explain to me how "checking off that square on the tax return that contributes $3 of the tax to a fund for public financing of elections" ... is in fact completed "at no additional expense to the taxpayer"?
Posted on February 14, 2008 5:15 AM
It's magic money. Since your taxes don't change, there's "no expense to the taxpayer" (except for the $3 that has to be borrowed to "replace" the original $3). But since the budget has huge deficits anyway, what's another 3 bucks?
The letter both identifies and then evades the central problem: many people are easily swayed by commercials. It's the public's fault, not the politicians', that the situation exists. Asking the public to pay $3 to be brainwashed (as opposed to letting candidates brainwash the public on their own dime) seems quixotic to me.
Posted on February 14, 2008 12:15 PM
James,
It's the shell game on a gargantuan scale.
I wish we could give each candidate (party nominee) equal time, as mandated by the government, since we the people "own" the airwaves.
Ain't gonna happen though.
Posted on February 14, 2008 3:45 PM