> 2021-10-07
Here are some more loose ideas on simple ways to potentially improve the U.S. political system.
Ideas
- Quantifiable legislative goals: during campaigns, politicians should pledge, or maybe even be required, to set out a handful of specific policy goals with quantifiable outcomes (and preset measurement criteria). If these goals were met, assuming a successful election, they could run again after their term expires.
Goal: move elections towards data-driven performers.
- Campaign finance simplification: only allow personal donations with a maximum donation amount - this could mirror the fact that each citizen only gets one vote and financial disparities should not come into play.
Goal: reducing financial influence on elections.
- Donation-based salaries: elected officials and their staffs draw their salaries from their donation pools alone without federal funding. Exceptions could potentially be made for providing services like security or official engagement transport.
Goal: preventing politicians from manipulating their own salaries.
- War chest management: this may already exist but political candidates could set a predefined distribution strategy for their accummulated donations in the event of a campaign loss (e.g. naming a charitable organization in their consituency as a beneficiary if the campaign fails and disclose this to donors).
Goal: improving visibility into donation usage.
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