Practical Election Reform
I had an article, I’m not happy with it. We’ll try something else.
With the election just days away, some people are talking reform.
Here are my suggestions.
Start with repealing the 17th Amendment which enabled the popular election of Senators.
Ah, I can hear some of you saying. You want to destroy democracy.
The goal is not democracy. The goal is freedom. Specifically the greatest freedom for the greatest number. Freedom and democracy are not the same thing. That is a lie that has been peddled so you would believe the institution and the process are worth defending even as the system reduces freedom.
The goal is not the institution. The goal is not the process. The goal is not the system. The goal is freedom.
To do that, the system has to have a safety. Something that is not beholden to the same political process that elects Represenatives and the President. If nothing else, it splits political resources.
Second, use my version of campaign finance reform. You’re only allowed to give to a campaign in the same area where you are registered to vote. If you live in Los Angeles, you can give money to statewide California campaigns, but never to Arizona. You can give money to Los Angeles city council campaigns, but never to Stockton.
Yes, I know this would effectively kill the national parties as they operate today.
Here’s the real fun bit. Within thirty days after the election, all unused funds are to be returned proportionately to the donors.
Finally, introduce “None of the Above” into every single election.
The biggest objection I’ve heard to this is “what if no one wins?”
And I answer, so what?
That’s another bill of goods we’ve been sold, some government is better than no government. I disagree. Being robbed once might be better than being robbed three times, but it’s better still not to be robbed at all.
There you go, practical election reform that fits on less than a page. It’s guaranteed to make the politicos shake in their beds. It will give you something better than what we have today.
Which is why the self-appointed Powers That Be would never allow it. After all, it’s For Your Own Good.
With the election just days away, some people are talking reform.
Here are my suggestions.
Start with repealing the 17th Amendment which enabled the popular election of Senators.
Ah, I can hear some of you saying. You want to destroy democracy.
The goal is not democracy. The goal is freedom. Specifically the greatest freedom for the greatest number. Freedom and democracy are not the same thing. That is a lie that has been peddled so you would believe the institution and the process are worth defending even as the system reduces freedom.
The goal is not the institution. The goal is not the process. The goal is not the system. The goal is freedom.
To do that, the system has to have a safety. Something that is not beholden to the same political process that elects Represenatives and the President. If nothing else, it splits political resources.
Second, use my version of campaign finance reform. You’re only allowed to give to a campaign in the same area where you are registered to vote. If you live in Los Angeles, you can give money to statewide California campaigns, but never to Arizona. You can give money to Los Angeles city council campaigns, but never to Stockton.
Yes, I know this would effectively kill the national parties as they operate today.
Here’s the real fun bit. Within thirty days after the election, all unused funds are to be returned proportionately to the donors.
Finally, introduce “None of the Above” into every single election.
The biggest objection I’ve heard to this is “what if no one wins?”
And I answer, so what?
That’s another bill of goods we’ve been sold, some government is better than no government. I disagree. Being robbed once might be better than being robbed three times, but it’s better still not to be robbed at all.
There you go, practical election reform that fits on less than a page. It’s guaranteed to make the politicos shake in their beds. It will give you something better than what we have today.
Which is why the self-appointed Powers That Be would never allow it. After all, it’s For Your Own Good.
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