Fair point, I assumed we were talking about US even though that wasn’t strictly specified. I’m not Canadian so you probably know more than I would, but I’m pretty sure Canada has it’s own systemic problems.
Well, the article’s about Greenland, but I guess Ameri-centrism is par for the course.
I’m pretty sure Canada has it’s own systemic problems.
Sure, but I don’t think our donation rules are big systematic problems. Our rules don’t allow donations from foreign sources or companies, and include pretty reasonable limits for individuals (plus 75% of political donations are refunded next tax year). We have definitely had donation scandals, but they’ve almost exclusively been because people are breaking the rules.
A non-serious campaign could use those funds to enrich themselves/others even with approved activities. They could pay for staff, buy signs, etc. and all those people & businesses would make money doing legitimate work for a campaign whose only purpose was to employ those people/businesses.
Not if staff and signs were only provided by the government. It no doubt comes with its own set of problems, but given what we’ve seen with open campaign finance, I think those wouldn’t hold a candle to what we have now.
That sounds like a system that would be rife for abuse.
Yeah, good thing no one can abuse the current system by having a lot of money.
Depends on which current system you mean. I’m Canadian, and while it’s not perfect, it’s a pretty good system.
Fair point, I assumed we were talking about US even though that wasn’t strictly specified. I’m not Canadian so you probably know more than I would, but I’m pretty sure Canada has it’s own systemic problems.
Well, the article’s about Greenland, but I guess Ameri-centrism is par for the course.
Sure, but I don’t think our donation rules are big systematic problems. Our rules don’t allow donations from foreign sources or companies, and include pretty reasonable limits for individuals (plus 75% of political donations are refunded next tax year). We have definitely had donation scandals, but they’ve almost exclusively been because people are breaking the rules.
How? You get a certain amount of funds to be spent on specific regulated activities if you pass a threshold of signatures.
A non-serious campaign could use those funds to enrich themselves/others even with approved activities. They could pay for staff, buy signs, etc. and all those people & businesses would make money doing legitimate work for a campaign whose only purpose was to employ those people/businesses.
Not if staff and signs were only provided by the government. It no doubt comes with its own set of problems, but given what we’ve seen with open campaign finance, I think those wouldn’t hold a candle to what we have now.
TBH, that sounds even worse, and I am saying this as a fan of big government.