There's an alternative for campaign donations

In the aftermath of the Supreme Court's "Citizens United" decision recognizing corporations as individual citizens and allowing them rights to donate unlimited funds to their preferred political candidates and interests, growing numbers of Americans are recognizing the deleterious effects on our democratic process.

In fact, recent polls show that as many as 75 percent of us, from every political corner, want that decision to be amended or repealed.

Someday, maybe.

These corporate donations far outweigh those of individual citizens. For example, in the 2012 presidential election, 32 large donors contributed as much as did 3.7 million Americans; that means it required more than 115,000 "average citizen" donations to match one corporate donation.

And the disparity is increasing. Unimaginable billions will be spent to impact the voters decisions in 2016, and that includes federal, state, county, and even local community issues.

For politicians, current or aspiring, who want to stay untethered to these wealthy contributors and unbound by their political "payback" expectations, competing seems daunting, if not impossible. But there is hope.

Recently, I learned about the "Government by the People Act" and the Fair Elections Now Act" which give candidates who choose not to accept corporate donations the opportunity to fund campaigns entirely with small donations by providing them with matching funds.

These options have already shown much success. Check them out. We have to stop big money from silencing our voices.

David Johnson

Glenview