Make people, not dollars, count in elections

The blizzard of negative television ads is disproportionately paid for by committees set up by cryptocurrency and artificial intelligence industries and the American Israel Public Affairs Committee. Big donors make outsized contributions to these groups.

In our system, a citizen gets one vote but can make unlimited contributions to buy unlimited political speech. Elon Musk contributed over $250 million in the last election.

If, at a candidate debate, candidates could buy extra time, the debate would be considered a farce. Yet in the overall debate of a political campaign, one billionaire can buy more political speech than tens of millions of ordinary people combined.

Large contributions buy influence over politicians and their votes which is why the super-rich keep getting richer while so many ordinary people struggle.

Contributions could be limited to what most people could afford. These contributions could be matched by a multiple of public funding.

Yes, there would be a small per capita cost for this, but it would be in the interest of government working for everyone, of making people — not dollars — count, which is what democracy is supposed to do.

Richard Barsanti

Western Springs