Forum Post: Get money out of speech.

I think the fairest way to Get Money Out of Politics is to Get Money Out of Speech.

It seems more extreme than just limiting campaign contributions, but if you limit a certain kind of speech then it will be gotten around by beating around the bush with issue ads etc. Limiting the quantity of money in speech of any kind better preserves the spirit of the First Amendment than doing nothing.

For example, I live in a US state (Maine) where billboards are outlawed in favor of small license plate sized signs. It is the only kind of business sign allowed other than at the address of the actual business. In my state, we are free from billboard eyesores blocking up the scenery while still being able to find the nearest McDonald's by looking at the far less intrusive signs that are allowed.

Why is advertising so noisy? Because it must be obnoxiously noisy not to be DROWNED OUT BY ALL THE OTHER ADVERTISING.

By limiting volume, we preserve the peace, and also preserve the spirit of the First Amendment by preventing those with the means from drowning out everyone else's voice like a GNAA troll with too much time on their hands.

The government already limits the power of radio transmitters including Citizen's Band radios, and regular FM radio stations. The power of money to transmit ideas also needs to be limited. This means political ideas as well as other ideas. Each must be able to voice their opinion, but it should not be possible to drown out everyone's voice because you can afford the largest loudspeaker.

I think it is probably possible for there to be laws limiting the volume of speech so that everyone can have their say heard without limiting it's content.

If it weren't for the noisome ad wars, I think a quieter form of advertising could do advertising's legitimate job of getting information about products to customers just as effectively without drowning out all other forms of communication like a slew of ugly billboards obscuring a scenic vista.

What do other people think?