All private financing of political parties and politicians everywhere must stop.
Just as religion and state must be separated so must politics and money. If you hold more than $10 million in assets you don’t get to influence politics. It’s one or the other, not both.
Its the last remnant of the various property owning/landed gentry/aristocracy control of government. They had to give up their exclusive right to sit in court and then “democratic” government, and then their exclusive right to vote.
They are holding on to money-as-influence, trying to convince us its fair because everyone can make donations (you get a great tax receipt!!). However, even donation limits are mainly just a way to cover up their thumbs on the scale, because all they require the rich to do is spread out their money.
Giving tax money so politicans can market themselves needs to stop. We all here understand how crowdfunding works, it would work just as well with political parties.
The funding they receive from their own members should be enough.
The state financing parties is pretty valid and is practiced in many countries.
For example in Germany parties get paid around 1 € per vote received in elections.
millions in assets
Rich people and corporations will always be able to use their money to influence politics towards their interests.
Influencing politics works in other ways besides direct donations. The rich can put money into:
media
interest groups
education
studies
events
scholarships
NGOs
Influencing voters to support your desired policies works well.
Then there’s of course the promise of investments, if policies are changed to your interests. In the simplest case this is a local government changing zoning, building infrastructure, softening environmental or noise regulations in order to for an investor to build a factory. This in turn brings money, employment, and tax revenue to the local government.
Instead of direct donations, a politician can be hired to give a speech somewhere.
Or less directly, hire the politician’s child into a well paying position.
Promising a politician a well paid job for their time outside government is of course also a popular way.
Of course you can regulate all of that in various ways to make it more difficult or at least more transparent.
i mean, that’s not quite how it worked for me. politics (at least the kind i did) is basically getting the people with $10 million or more in assets to donate to and get involved with their communities. we had to trade some favors (there are a few musicians on the board who lend their services for such instances. most of the time it was that, once or twice it was “teach my fuckup kid how to work”), but we got funding for homelessness services.
if we couldn’t trade those favors, we wouldn’t have any homeless shelters in my county. they ran off grants mostly (during democrat administrations. during republican administrations, we ran off hope and loan forgiveness), but they can’t expand without extraordinary help. which unfortunately takes politicking (which i hate, but they wanted me doing it)
Then your state is not capable of taxing those with money to extract the value it needs to run said country…
Why do we need private money to fix public things because the politic-people can’t be bothered to look anywhere but the next donation goal.
This isnt a donation but a “Pretty please, pay me a standard contractor rate in the disguise of a ‘donation’”.
Man I hate this illusionary and superficial bullshit
All private financing of political parties and politicians everywhere must stop.
Just as religion and state must be separated so must politics and money. If you hold more than $10 million in assets you don’t get to influence politics. It’s one or the other, not both.
Its the last remnant of the various property owning/landed gentry/aristocracy control of government. They had to give up their exclusive right to sit in court and then “democratic” government, and then their exclusive right to vote.
They are holding on to money-as-influence, trying to convince us its fair because everyone can make donations (you get a great tax receipt!!). However, even donation limits are mainly just a way to cover up their thumbs on the scale, because all they require the rich to do is spread out their money.
Giving tax money so politicans can market themselves needs to stop. We all here understand how crowdfunding works, it would work just as well with political parties.
The funding they receive from their own members should be enough.
The state financing parties is pretty valid and is practiced in many countries.
For example in Germany parties get paid around 1 € per vote received in elections.
Rich people and corporations will always be able to use their money to influence politics towards their interests.
Influencing politics works in other ways besides direct donations. The rich can put money into:
Influencing voters to support your desired policies works well.
Then there’s of course the promise of investments, if policies are changed to your interests. In the simplest case this is a local government changing zoning, building infrastructure, softening environmental or noise regulations in order to for an investor to build a factory. This in turn brings money, employment, and tax revenue to the local government.
Instead of direct donations, a politician can be hired to give a speech somewhere.
Or less directly, hire the politician’s child into a well paying position.
Promising a politician a well paid job for their time outside government is of course also a popular way.
Of course you can regulate all of that in various ways to make it more difficult or at least more transparent.
i mean, that’s not quite how it worked for me. politics (at least the kind i did) is basically getting the people with $10 million or more in assets to donate to and get involved with their communities. we had to trade some favors (there are a few musicians on the board who lend their services for such instances. most of the time it was that, once or twice it was “teach my fuckup kid how to work”), but we got funding for homelessness services.
if we couldn’t trade those favors, we wouldn’t have any homeless shelters in my county. they ran off grants mostly (during democrat administrations. during republican administrations, we ran off hope and loan forgiveness), but they can’t expand without extraordinary help. which unfortunately takes politicking (which i hate, but they wanted me doing it)
Then your state is not capable of taxing those with money to extract the value it needs to run said country…
Why do we need private money to fix public things because the politic-people can’t be bothered to look anywhere but the next donation goal.
This isnt a donation but a “Pretty please, pay me a standard contractor rate in the disguise of a ‘donation’”.
Man I hate this illusionary and superficial bullshit
the taxes weren’t changing, but the grants dried up. yet you blame the taxes.
it’s like you’re a one trick pony. figure out some other thing to harp on