State rethinks use of public money to help campaigns and causes
In a move I would characterize as cutting off your nose to spite your face, The Florida Legislature may end the practice of giving public assistance to candidates for statewide office, as a remedy for a State budget deficit.
Public financing — which took effect in 1987 — was supposed to limit the influence of special-interest cash by capping campaign spending and allowing a partial public match of contributions. If one candidate overspent the cap, the other would get dollar-for-dollar match. But it has had little effect on campaign spending, thanks in part to a 2005 legislative vote to double the amount of cash candidates could raise and still tap into public funds. That allowed Gov. Charlie Crist to take more than $3.3 million in taxpayer assistance in his race for governor in 2006 despite raising $20 million from insurers, developers, lawyers, doctors and other interest groups.
…Supporters of public financing agreed that Florida’s law hasn’t worked as planned — but not on what to do about it. “The system we have now is not working,” said Jeanne Zokovitch, a lobbyist with the Florida League of Women Voters. “However, the principle upon which it is founded is not one we can afford to move away from.”
So the defenders of special interest groups have shrewdly handicapped the efforts to contain their influence. While the path to ensuring more pragmatic and objective candidates is to increase the amount the State provides for elections. Perhaps a compromise is to fund campaigns at competitive levels but change the source of funds to include a tax on the Media Industry who are the ultimate beneficiaries of campaign expenditures. The tax would be a function of how much the previous election campaigns spent. After all, the air waves are owned by the Public and only licensed by the Media.
Born 1950, Married, Living in Austin Texas, Semi
Retired Small Business owner and investor. My political interest
evolved out of his business experience that the best decisions come out of an objective gathering of information and a pragmatic consideration of costs and benefits. I am interested in promoting Centrist candidates and Policies. My posts are mostly about people and policies that I believe are part of the solution rather the problem.