I advocated for a hack of the campaign finance system that starts with the internet industry contributing something like 5% of its combined ad inventory to a pool that is available to politicans who agree to certain conditions.
via A VC: The Problem Of Money In Politics.
Yes, that’s one idea, but it only perpetuates the belief that advertising is a fundamental component of elections.
A better solution, in my opinion?
- Congress passes a law saying, in austere language, that no candidate or affiliated group may produce an ad where the subject of the ad is the opponent.
- Ad spending drops by 99%.
- Done.
I mean, seriously – when was the last time you saw a TV ad where the candidate talked about him/her self instead of about how horrible the other guy/gal is?
The world is built on positivity. No reason to think that a great elected official can come out of a campaign built upon negation of the opposition…
