Win-Win Campaign Reform

And on election night I'd go down to city hall in El Paso, Texas and cover the election. In those days, of course, we didn't have exit polls. You didn't know who had won the election until they actually counted the votes. I thought that was exciting too. - Sam Donaldson

How It Works Now
Corporation people buy loyalty from our political parties by making large "campaign contributions" through Super-PACs, who then use the money to place TV ads. The income from these ads makes TV networks dependent on the government, and unlikely to bite the hand that feeds them.

How it Should Work
Voting receipts. Rather than making donations through secretive Super-PACs, corporation people should make large donations to a 'voter reward' program.

After a voter votes, a receipt with a unique QR code is printed for each voter. When the voter scans the QR code with his or her smart phone, it registers the voters vote with the voter reward program and credits the voter his or her portion of all the money in the voter reward program - which he or she will then spend, spurring the economy forward.

According to this here website, as of March 31, the Obama campaign had raised $196 million. According to this here website, the population of the United States is about 311.5 million.


Under the proposed system, and assuming:
- the election taking place April 1, 2012
- a 60% voter turnout
- and Obama getting 50% of the vote
Everyone who voted for Obama would receive about $2.

While that is a low figure, remember that there are still 7 months of fundraising between March and November. According to this here website, in 2008 Obama raised $745 million. If that is repeated this election, under the proposed system and the above assumptions, everyone who voted for Obama would receive about $8.

If our politicians are going to be bought and sold, we should at least get a Starbucks before we vote, and a shot of something stronger afterward.