- References and Call to Action
- Prospects for Change
- We CAN Get the Money Out of Politics
- We MUST Get the Money Out of Politics
- Introduction
- Overview
A Voting Advice System has the capacity to make money irrelevant to elections and break the stranglehold that corporate money has on the political process. That change, in turn, would break the log jam that currently makes it virtually impossible to solve the pressing problems that confront our civilization, and that imperil our very survival.
Originally published 2004
Contents
The Impact
A Voting Advice System will make our current voting system as obsolete as the Electoral College—a vehicle that remains in existence to carry out the wishes of the electorate, but which is no longer used to make decisions. In a way, a voting advice system achieves the original goal of the Electoral College, by creating a thoughtful deliberative body that exercises wisdom in the choice of leaders and legislators.
Right now, money dominates politics. With 100 percent voter participation in the Citizens’ Advisory, money would be totally irrelevant. In fact, with as little as 10 percent participation (by independent voters), money spent on advertising would still be irrelevant.
Somewhere between the total domination of money and its total irrelevance, a balance will be found. Although we cannot know for certain where the scales will finally come to rest, we can be certain of one thing: The influence of money will be less than it is now, and that can only be good.
What You Can Do
There is much that needs to be done to remove the money from politics. Here are some things that you can do to hasten the day:
- Write an endorsement or foreword for my book. Glowing endorsements are wonderful things. They put a halo around a book and make it stand out. So if you’re impressed by what you read, by all means send a short endorsement! Or, if you have established a name that people recognize, a foreword would be invaluable to help promote the ideas.
- Support a grant. If you know of possible sources for funding, please suggest them. And if you are in a position to help support such an endeavor, then by all means please do!
- Help build the system. We need graphics, web pages, software. Eventually, we’ll need a database of addresses, precincts, and election choices. And we’ll need people with serious organizational skills to make it all work.
- Help spread the word. Everyone you tell about these issues is one more person who becomes aware of the problem, who can then become part of the solution. Use the buttons at the bottom of these pages to Tweet them, or like them on Facebook.
- Make a donation. By all means, send money! There is a lot to do, and not all of it can be done by volunteers. Click the link in the footer of this page to make a donation.
Resources
Online References
- John Adams. Thoughts on Government.
press-pubs.uchicago.edu/founders/documents/v1ch4s5.html - Eric Armstrong. Rebuttal to George T. Will’s Assertion that Minorities SHOULDN’T Be Represented
- Ballot-oriented voting information sponsored by the League of Women Voters: smartvoter.org
- Services provided by Public Citizen, including access to the congressional record:
citizen.org - Information provided by Project Vote Smart, including access to the congressional record: vote-smart.org
Highly Recommended Books
- Steven Hill. Fixing Elections. Routledge. New York. 2002
- David Cay Johnston. Perfectly Legal. Portfolio, New York. 2003.
- Elaine Schwarz and Suzanne Stoddard. Taking Back Our Lives in the Age of Corporate Dominance. Berrett-Koehler Publishers, San Francisco. 2000
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