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| campaign_finance [2024/03/07 12:12] – rslaughter | campaign_finance [2024/03/07 12:19] (current) – rslaughter |
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| If you think campaign finance reform is viable, I have bad news for you. Given today's cultural and political reality, I don't think that we can effectively limit how much is spent on campaigns. This is because of a couple of key facts. | If you think campaign finance reform is viable, I have bad news for you. Given today's cultural and political reality, I don't think that we can effectively limit how much is spent on campaigns. This is because of a couple of key facts. |
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| First, **people can spend their own money on whatever they want.** If you support or oppose "Proposition 254" then you can use your own markers and poster board to make a sign for your own yard. This is a donation to a campaign. You providing a "[[thing of value]]." You can also go into business selling these signs, regardless of whether or not you are coordinating with any official campaign. It's hard to see how the Federal Election Commission (FEC) or any other government body would track these things. | First, **people can spend their own money on whatever they want.** If you support or oppose "Proposition 254" then you can use your own markers and poster board to make a sign for your own yard. This is a donation to a campaign. You are providing a "[[thing of value]]." You can also go into business selling these signs, regardless of whether or not you are coordinating with any official campaign. It's hard to see how the Federal Election Commission (FEC) or any other government body would track these things. |
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| Second, **reporting is a voluntary act.** This is true for lots of things. If you made money in the last year, you're supposed to report it to the IRS. But lots of people keep the money they earn---especially cash---because there is no easy way for the IRS to find out about it. Likewise, if money is spent to promote a political view in advance of an election, how is the FEC going to know about it unless it's reported? | Second, **reporting is a voluntary act.** This is true for lots of things. If you made money in the last year, you're supposed to report it to the IRS. But lots of people keep the money they earn---especially cash---because there is no easy way for the IRS to find out about it. Likewise, if money is spent to promote a political view in advance of an election, how is the FEC going to know about it unless it's reported? |