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Comment by chatmasta | Hacker News Reader

Do you have a better idea for how to distribute political representation?

Perhaps in-depth public accounting of all political contributions/favors/etc and the finances of all politicians who serve one or more consecutive terms? If you want to be a politician you have to submit to public scrutiny of your finances prior to and following your political career?

I don't know really... But I think that might help weed out career politicians who rely on sources of dubious income.

Well I don't think the whole system has to be broken down and rebuilt from scratch. There are lots of pretty basic ideas floating around for getting money out of politics.

There are some good ideas floating around, and we could do a lot better than the direction we're going now, but I don't think it's really possible to try and eliminate all the ways in which money buys influence.

Once you can employ people to work for your political ends (by directly engaging with congressional staff, by producing supportive research, by working a PR campaign...), you have a bigger voice than someone else, whether laws allow you funnel campaign cash by the shipping container or not.

My guess is that the only real way to balance this out is have more citizens talking to congressional staff.

To say nothing of the fact that glamour can be used - and IS used - in lieu of money. Associating with movie stars, successful businesspersons, so on, is it's own reward.

Make lobbying illegal (which the US, or at least it's Supreme Court, seems unwilling to do). Prevent big donations to politicians. Make tax returns and all other indicators of wealth public, i.e. completely transparent, at least for public officials (like Sweden).

The solution to 'people don't vote right', in the long term, has to be to increase engagement and education. Ever more rules about how the political discourse must be carried out is just running in circles.

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