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5/13/2008
Lance Burri: I guess I'm a public enemy too
The Press Gazette headline blared: “Local lawmakers make ‘public enemies’ list.”
Nixonian, isn’t it? Very J. Edgar Hooverish. And all in the name of honest, open government.
The “list” was put together by the Wisconsin Democracy Campaign (WDC), an organization that promotes strict campaign finance laws: less money, unless it's taxpayer money. To be named an “enemy,” a lawmaker had to vote against several bills the WDC supported. Fifty-four of them did.
I’ll tell you a secret: limiting campaign money doesn’t guarantee honest politicians and above-the-table governance. In fact, I’d argue that it does exactly the opposite.
Why? The Laws of Supply and Demand. They apply.
Here’s how: one of those Laws states that at any given demand, a decrease in supply means an increase in value, or in price, of the product in question.
In this case, the “product” is campaign contributions. The “price” is influence. The bigger the contribution, the more influence the contributor gets in return. WDC says that’s unfair, un-American, and a rotten way to run a representative democracy. In all honesty, I agree.
So campaign finance reformers (CFRers) like them say we have to limit supply, to cut down on influence!
But it doesn’t work that way. Look, a bologna sandwich is just a bologna sandwich. I can’t stand it. Wouldn't pay for it. Won’t eat it. But if I’m ever stranded on a desert island, one bologna sandwich will be worth a lot.
Restrict supply enough, and anything can be worth a fortune.
So. Let’s say an Assembly candidate needs $50,000 to run a campaign. Not unheard of. The maximum individual contribution to an Assembly campaign is $500, so that candidate needs 100 people willing to contribute $500 each.
That’s a lot of people. Plus, any salesman will tell you: you’ll only close a sale about 10% of the time. So that candidate has to contact at least 1,000 people to get those 100 contributions.
That’s a lot of work. A lot of time. A lot of stress, performing a task that most of us absolutely hate.
And if CFRers had their way, it would be even more work, time and stress, because it would be even harder to raise that much money.
Which, in turn, will make you willing to do more to get it.
There's more: if it’s hard for an established politician to raise big money, it’s even harder for an unknown challenger to do so. Making it easier to raise money means more competitive races.
It also reduces temptation. Why should an honest candidate feel pressured to accept a quid pro quo, when there’s plenty of money available elsewhere? On the flip side, when money is hard to come by, a crooked candidate has the advantage over an honest one.
So is relaxing or removing limits “the solution?” Yes and no. It’ll lessen the “price” of a contribution, and level the playing field for challengers and honest would-be candidates.
But it isn’t a guarantee. There’s money in politics. There’s power in politics. As long as those things are true, politics will attract corruption.
There is no guaranteed “solution:” there’s only accountability, the attentiveness of voters, and a system of government that wisely makes it really hard to enact new legislation.
If we can’t stamp out corruption in government, we can at least reduce the incentive to become corrupt, and lower the bar for a successful challenge.
It is, at least, worth a look. But it goes against the script, and that’ll get me labeled an “enemy,” too.
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• Solberg: Healing After an Abortion
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• Blame it on the outmoded computers
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• 8th Congressional Candidate Forum, Jan. 25
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• MORE taxes on investment income - dreadful and wrong
• Join the blaze orange army and say ‘Enough is Enough’
• The future of government-run health care
• Tax on banks is a really bad idea
• Roth, Savard on the stump, grassroots style
• Savard speaking in Appleton, 8 PM, Wed., Jan. 13.
• Rahmlow: Savard, Bies frontrunners for State Senate
• Burri: Failing Political Correctness 101
• School contracts and Race to the Top
• Senator Feingold worrisome and big red flags
• Psephological?
• This is really important. Contact Rep. Kagen. Now. Please.
• This is exactly what we need from Governor Doyle
• This guy is my hero
• Why am I not surprised?
• Talk health reform with Feingold (Th), Petri (today)
• Give the Mayor power over MPS - if he can break contracts
• Burri: Yup, Dems really are going to bypass a conference
• The $2.7 billion Wisconsin deficit no one told you about
• Walker launches county accountability website
• Rahmlow: Why is Van Hollen dodging the Nebraska deal?
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| 2009 |
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• The Lawton-Bader files
• Yup, it’s the TAX LEVY, not the tax RATE
• Ellis: costly automobile insurance laws must be rolled back
• If not Barrett, who?
• The subsidy game
• Burri: Bailouts, Banks, Health Care, and the Mob
• Attend Appleton Schools budget meeting tonight
• A public option WON’T increase costs? That’s delusional!
• Appleton Schools budget meeting Monday
• Wisconsin should be screaming for accountability
• Burri: If anything, we need more obstructionism around here
• WI on the leading edge - in the wrong direction
• Rep. Montgomery: Utility Customers Join State’s Crime-Fighting Efforts
• Public Conservation and Recreation Lands Total 16.5% of State
• In the crow's nest of the Titanic, shouting 'Iceberg!'
• Is Rep. Nelson a political hack?
• Health care: The road ahead will be brutal
• Kagen's pandering again
• Birthers - good stuff for you
• How much do we bend over backward for seniors?
• The trouble with health care is paying for it
• Two-parent families: The Gold Standard
• Burri: Kids... the joys and blessings
• Very, very worried about health care
• Rep. Huebsch: Wisconsin is proof government health care isn’t the answer
• School district contracts push up tax levy
• What? Obama, the Peace Prize?
• TODAY - hearing on Campaign Finance Reform
• Appleton School District tax levy up way too much
• CBO report is out - and the bill isn't even written yet?
• So, how much do YOU budget for health care?
• Burri: Copenhagen trip was amateurish
• “Sotomayor, you have blood on your hands...”
• Cap and Trade. Always follow the money
• Rep. Kagen gets (almost) free health services
• I actually agree with Rep. Kagen
• Future Wisconsin Conference for Conservatives, October 10, Wauwatosa
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• Important votes Tuesday, including Appleton Common Council
• Democrats are becoming supply siders??
• Further debunking Hillary myths
• WEAC has created an unsustainable monopoly
• From Mark Gundrum: One of the greatest honors an American can experience
• 'Operation Chaos' working?
• Joe Martin the best candidate in Appleton's 8th
• State programs to cut? - Volume II
• Oh the naivete of youth
• Not just disingenuous - flat wrong
• Steve - you will be missed
• Make cuts only AFTER you're elected....
• Getting serious: What programs can we cut?
• Rep. Steve Kagen joining me on Jerry Bader Show today
• Rep. Van Roy: Dental Care Pilot Program
• Has Dave Obey turned the corner on earmarks?
• Speaker Huebsch: Governor turns down Federal Aid?
• Mark Rahmlow: "We're Broke."
• As taxpayers, how do we know if it's a Chevy or a Lexus?
• This is trash talk - about a veteran
• Frank Lasee: Take time to get the Compact right
• 'The Gableman Ad' - is it racist?
• Roth thankful, Kagen shaking money tree
• Gov. Doyle's office not enamored with Freedom of Information
• Governor Doyle will never do it
• Leadership on smoking ban? Not Hanna
• Rep. Van Roy speaks out about smear ads
• You're threatening me about potholes?
• Losing the Hastert seat is NOT a trend and NOT curtians for the GOP
• First suggestion for 'slashing' programs
• Big money-saver for municipalities
• More one time fixes. Nuts.
• Any chances???
• I'm doing the Jerry Bader Show, today, the 11th
• Representative Frank Lasee: Final Waltz of the Season
• Guest Blog: It's not the county's business to be in the nursing home business
• Yup, Hillary won Texas and Ohio
• Gableman/Butler race featured - and it isn't pretty
• Lies from Planned Parenthood and NARAL
• He who sacrifices liberty.....
• Duh.
• The Troha sentencing, Doyle and that $200K
• Guns, passion and "originality"
• How hard is it anyway, to shut down a government program?
• Voting is a PRIVILEGE. And so are property taxes....
• Guest Blog: Governor Doyle, cancel your Ireland trip
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• Lots of ideas. No money.
• The Cigarette Tax - "Poor Policy Instrument?"
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• Frankenstein - not in the library, but in the legislature
• A librarian, a legislator, a president
• $1.25/pack - NO, NO, NO, and NO
• Kagen and Reagan in the same breath?
• Menasha: behind the 8-ball, but not biting the dust
• Any way you slice it, Wisconsin government wants (further) in on health care
• The World is Flat...what about health care?
• The PAC - too precious to fail. Day 3
• News follow-ups: Appleton West, Kagen at the White House
• Fox Cities PAC - too precious to fail - Day 2
• Fox Cities PAC - too precious to fail
• New Transit Tax coming your way
• Rep. Petri has his finger in the dike - I guess
• AASD Retirement Costs Burdensome
• Health care, health care, health care, health care
• Water rate increase was no slam dunk
• Education for all is just a bad dream
• New Year's resolutions from a parade snob
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