| Sep. 30th, 2009 @ 04:34 pm Latest Political Rant |
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I think that there are several things that need to be addressed concerning American politics, and I intend to fix all of them in this post with just enough bat-shit crazy that it might actually work.
First off, the two party system sucks. It is driven by the campaign process, if there were 3 candidates and the independent leans left, then the left has to split its votes, if he leans right then the right has to split. To solve this, campaigns need a complete overhaul. I propose that candidates for the house need a 5,000 signature petition from their district; state senators, governors, etc would need a 20,000 signature with at least 2,000 names from each of at least 5 districts; presidency and other national elected positions would need 50,000 signatures drawing from at least 5 states. The government will pay for all advertisement in the form of hosting debates etc. Advertisement for political campaigns in other ways shall be illegal (this already works in Europe). Of the candidates there will be an initial election, then the two leading candidates for each position will continue to a main election (this way the final candidate elected has over a 50% majority, so that we don't get issues like Israel has in which 2 candidates of 3 finish the election each with a 40% vote and each declare themselves the victors).
Secondly, congressmen currently make $100k annually. That's a pretty sweet prize for a popularity contest, and it makes them want to stay in office forever. Because controversy is the root of re-election (and right now is causing republicans to shout down a perfectly good healthcare bill JUST to make this democratic government less effective so that next election republicans get elected instead) we need incentive for politicians to only want to stay in office for short amounts of time. I think instead of their current salary, congressmen should make 1/2 the salary that they did in the year prior to being elected. This way they will run for election only if they have an idea, value, or opinion that they want to be passed so badly that they are willing to sacrifice half their annual salary to do it. (Half to a particular minimum, that is; we can't have people losing their lives over this, but certainly not 100K, maybe more like 30K)
Lastly, to ensure that poltiicians don't get in and abuse their power to get kickbacks/bribes (thus defeating the above initiative) any elected official convicted of taking a bribe will be executed. As will their families. And their dog. Their graves left unmarked that they shall not be mourned. It will, of course, be acceptable to ask a judge whether or not something is a bribe before accepting the deal. For instance, a company offers a donation of a mansion to the government in exchange for additional work. This might be considered a discount for the work; but, if the governor accepts it, and then makes it a "governor's house" it begins to look suspicious.
If these work out the way I want them to we would be able to see a drop in partisanship, a stop to elected officials holding life-long positions, lobbyists donating to "campaign funds," and a general rise in cooperation and honesty across the entire government. Not that it is without issues; for one, freedom of the press and freedom of speech would be infringed upon by the campaign laws. |
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