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More on politics (sorry)
Oct. 13th, 2008 10:34 pmOn the eve of the Canadian election.
I think we should pay our MPs* more.
I can hear the derisive laughter from here. No one wants to spend more money on politicians.
We need MPs with ideas and passion and brains. We need creative new minds in politics, instead of more of the same. Offer more money; draw people in.
No more expensive campaigns to lead the individual parties. No more company donation to politicians. Companies can donate to a single non-profit, Democracy Fund, and the money will be distributed amongst the parties who got at least 10% of the popular vote in the last federal election. The money will be used to bring party members together to create policies. It can also be used to find and pay candidates across the country. We will need to pay candidates because campaigning is a lot of work, and we want to make sure that people who can’t afford to just take time off are able to run.
Next: No party leaders. No one runs for prime minister. The elected MPs in each party will choose their leader from amongst them after the election.
At the same time, we change how campaigning happens. First, no more TV commercials. No one can learn about a nuanced and complicated economic plan from a 30 second spot during a Law & Order rerun. No more bus ads, radio ads, or lawn signs either. If you want to support your favourite candidate, you can find Bristol board in all the major parties' colours at the dollar store.
Campaigns will be about the local candidates going to community events, handing out their literature, and doing lots of presentations and having debates in church halls and parks. Candidates who are interesting and exciting will naturally attract the media, so there will be lots of news bites. Candidates who seem likely to become the prime minister, the leader of the opposition, or otherwise important, will end up having their full debates televised in time slots paid for by the independent Democracy Fund.
I have some details left to work out, still. Luckily, no one's voting me in tomorrow, so I have some time to work out the quirks.
* Members of Parliament: Each area's elected representative in the Canadian federal government.
I think we should pay our MPs* more.
I can hear the derisive laughter from here. No one wants to spend more money on politicians.
We need MPs with ideas and passion and brains. We need creative new minds in politics, instead of more of the same. Offer more money; draw people in.
No more expensive campaigns to lead the individual parties. No more company donation to politicians. Companies can donate to a single non-profit, Democracy Fund, and the money will be distributed amongst the parties who got at least 10% of the popular vote in the last federal election. The money will be used to bring party members together to create policies. It can also be used to find and pay candidates across the country. We will need to pay candidates because campaigning is a lot of work, and we want to make sure that people who can’t afford to just take time off are able to run.
Next: No party leaders. No one runs for prime minister. The elected MPs in each party will choose their leader from amongst them after the election.
At the same time, we change how campaigning happens. First, no more TV commercials. No one can learn about a nuanced and complicated economic plan from a 30 second spot during a Law & Order rerun. No more bus ads, radio ads, or lawn signs either. If you want to support your favourite candidate, you can find Bristol board in all the major parties' colours at the dollar store.
Campaigns will be about the local candidates going to community events, handing out their literature, and doing lots of presentations and having debates in church halls and parks. Candidates who are interesting and exciting will naturally attract the media, so there will be lots of news bites. Candidates who seem likely to become the prime minister, the leader of the opposition, or otherwise important, will end up having their full debates televised in time slots paid for by the independent Democracy Fund.
I have some details left to work out, still. Luckily, no one's voting me in tomorrow, so I have some time to work out the quirks.
* Members of Parliament: Each area's elected representative in the Canadian federal government.
