This cannot be a good thing: U.S. Allows Candidates to Pay Themselves. Quote:

The Federal Election Commission (news - web sites) on Monday agreed to let candidates pay themselves salaries using campaign donations, aiming to encourage people who otherwise couldn't afford to give up their jobs to run. Commissioner Michael Toner, who sponsored the proposal, said it would help scale back some of the advantages of incumbency.

I myself cannot help but think that system could be abused, and badly. I mean, one of the counter-arguments against those who believe American democracy has been completely subverted by money is that nobody can give money to a candidate for office. The best they could do is give candidates' campaigns money, which the candidates could never keep and had very limited use. However, now there will be a direct linkage between contributions and a candidate's wallet, which makes me worried. The theory of allowing more middle- and lower-income citizens to participate in the process is laudable, but I am too skeptical that it will actually work out that way. I guess we will just have to see.

¶ 464 Posted at 05.07 PM ⇒ No Comments ( news | politics )