• Kalkaline
    link
    fedilink
    853 months ago

    It’s absurd that politicians are allowed to accept campaign contributions from individuals and corporations. Campaigns should be publicly funded.

    • @Omgarm
      link
      353 months ago

      The corporations is especially crazy. An individual supporting the democratic process makes sense. They are the ones voting. But a business doesn’t vote.

      • Pennomi
        link
        English
        283 months ago

        An individual supporting with hard limits to prevent a plutocracy makes sense.

        • @[email protected]
          link
          fedilink
          3
          edit-2
          3 months ago

          Maximum monthly donation should be tied to minimum wage for 1 day of work. Realistically, who (unless you’ve got malicious intent or you’re rich as fuck, in which case I’ll assume malicious intent), is going to donate more than 1-20th of their income to a political party. Want to donate more? Choose a charity instead.

          (And a bonus) this law would probably break the gridlock on increasing minimum wage.

      • @[email protected]
        link
        fedilink
        English
        93 months ago

        The very-dishonestly named “Citizens United” fucked over We the People. Badly. Now, even Democrats and Independents have to also raise obscene amounts of money to match what giant corporations almost always throw at the Republicans who promise to lower their tax rates, limit regulation, repeal environmental and antitrust restrictions, etc.

        If it’s not yet fully a capitalist hellscape, it’s well on its way there…

    • @TallonMetroid
      link
      English
      21
      edit-2
      3 months ago

      Campaigns being explicitly publicly funded would also have the benefit that if the fatcats want to contribute more*, they’d need to pay more taxes!

      *while still not getting to choose who they’re actually contributing to, because eat the rich

      • Flying Squid
        link
        123 months ago

        It also stops what is going on right now thanks to Citizens United- foreign dark money coming in to influence elections.

        Because Russia is very likely pumping a lot of money into U.S. elections and they’re probably not the only one. It’s legal, so why not?

    • themadcodger
      link
      fedilink
      83 months ago

      But won’t someone think of the poor corporations?! What about their free speech?

      • Roberts, probably. I didn’t actually read citizens united.
      • @breadsmasher
        link
        English
        43 months ago

        Ill believe corporations are “people” when one gets executed

        • themadcodger
          link
          fedilink
          33 months ago

          I’m all for the corporate death penalty. Need a bailout, sure. C-suite is fired, assets seized, and corporation becomes nationalized.

          Or something like that. There’s a reason no one has consulted me on the best way to accomplish this.

          • @[email protected]
            link
            fedilink
            23 months ago

            I mean if the government is providing a bailout, at a minimum they should get shares of the company at the current market value. If that’s a controlling share, well then it’s as good as nationalized.

    • kn0wmad1c
      link
      fedilink
      English
      43 months ago

      America has been an oligarchy since corporations were given lobby rights into politics.