Forum Post: NOTHING will be solved unless we get Special Interest $$ OUT of the system

I feel strongly that NONE of the various problems our 99%-ers want to solve through government policies will EVER come to pass without getting special interest $$$ OUT of politics.

Read this and sign the petition (see link below) & add your ideas!

Sign the petition: http://signon.org/sign/public-funded-elections.fb1?source=c.fb&r_by=1251455

For a more detailed idea:

THE PLAN FOR PUBLIC FUNDED ELECTIONS:

I feel strongly that NONE of the various problems our 99%-ers want to solve through government policies will EVER come to pass without getting special interest $$$ OUT of politics.

Read this and sign the petition (see link below) & add your ideas!

Sign the petition: http://signon.org/sign/public-funded-elections.fb1?source=c.fb&r_by=1251455

The heart of the problem in our political system is two-fold:

1: We don't have "real" choice because we have a very limited 2 party system which is really two sides of the same coin and neither side has any new ideas or solutions for our very real problems. Both parties are also highly corrupt for dominating power for too long. We should create a system that will open up a wider net for new and different candidates with various ideas and backgrounds. We should abolish the domination of a strictly two-party system which our government was never designed or intended for.

2: This corruption stems from the fact that politicians need so much money to campaign they must seek money from corporate and private entities. Then, once they are elected they are indebted to these special interest groups to "pay back" in political favors which rarely ever help the country or serve the people. The long and arduous task of campaigning for well over a year and raising such large sums of money, take too much time and energy out of political figures who need to be spending their time and energy serving "we the people" that they really should be working for. For example: our current president, Barack Obama, is technically "campaigning" in Silicon Valley for $30,000. a plate dinners while he is "in office" and should be working for us to fix this mess we are in.

Here is my initial straw-man plan for starting a new system of PUBLIC FUNDED ELECTIONS and what I think - a reasonable election process - should look like:

• It should be made completely illegal to accept any private funding to run an campaign or election • Elections should be funded completely by tax-payer money with these stipulations: • The campaign to run for an office seat shall only last 6 months in total. • Candidates are NOT allowed to run their own TV commercials, Radio commercials or public-facing smear campaigns. Traditional grass roots methods are allowed. • A clear outline and dollar amount for a public official's stipend which ends once they are no longer serving the public. • Tax Payer money will fund a public website, audio, and printed booklet with detailed information on all candidates to be distributed to the public, most importantly - outlining any and all facts that relate to their stance on the issues. The public can still be encouraged to volunteer to help a preferred candidate campaign. • Tax Payer money will fully fund monthly debates (once a month for a span of six months) before the official election. It will be run on a public TV and Radio station with wide access, and also live streamed from a government website with a neutral moderator that allows for the public to ask questions via mobile, text, and in person / traditional methods. This should also be available in print / online. • The debate will only focus on the issues, with a stronger focus on hearing "solutions" and the candidate's background as it relates to the above mentioned. • The public should be allowed to receive information on the candidates and to VOTE by using as many modern-day convenient methods as necessary. For example, we should be allowed to vote via: cell phone, text, our home computers as well as conventional, current polling methods. • Again, while in office, it will be made COMPLETELY ILLEGAL, upon penalty of the law, to accept private money or funding while holding an official government office and should result in the trial and termination of the candidate. • Should a public official miss a vote on an issue, their pay should be docked. No Work = No Pay, just like the hard-working masses! • A better system for representatives of each state to telecommute to Washington for important meetings and voting sessions and reduce costs on the public such as flying by private jet every other day. • Senators and congressmen & women should have term limits (traditionally House incumbents get re-voted in with less than 10% getting voted out. So basically it is the same people, year in and year out, contributing to problems instead of finding solutions. Term limits must be imposed.