Million Dollar, no make that 100 Million Dollar Idea
This post includes an audio version in the podcast at the bottom of the post.
I should begin this post with a few admissions.
1. I love following presidential politics – I follow it like some people follow sports. I know the people behind the people. I watch Sunday morning news programs and sit in my driveway to finish stories on NPR. I love this stuff in all it’s minutia.
2. I believe that this country’s wonderful political experiment is dependent on the people not the leaders (of the people, by the people).
3. I believe there is only so much a president can do, and that is a good thing. The system is set-up to limit power. I about pull my hair out (what I have) when I hear presidential candidates make promises that do not fit into the power of presidency – I find it to be the most dishonest politicking.
All the candidates have been raising the issue of the tough economic time many in our country are living through. And it certainly is true for far to many. And the pending economic recession is certainly going to hit many.
But here is what I don’t get, and leads to my challenge: if so many people are having a tough time economically where are people getting this money to send to presidential candidates?
I mean seriously how can some one receive 100 million dollars just to try and win the primary. And not just one guy, but two and a woman. I mean every month these three are stepping up saying “we received 3 million yesterday” or “50 million last month”.
So here is my call:
Candidates if you are going to run on the basis of helping people who are struggling financially then tell your supporters to budget what they want to give to your campaign. Then cut that in half and give half to your campaign and half to a struggling family in their neighborhood or city.
Tell them that as much as you want their money you have agreed to put the struggling people first and feel it is possible to win the nomination with say, 50 million or a hundred million dollars, and that the other 50 or 100 million will go along way to making peoples lives better. Just think if a million people gave $10 or $100 to needy people around them.
Now this will mean that big communication companies like ClearChannel, or NBC will not get quite as much ad revenue but I am sure they will understand that since you are not running for your own gain, but to help people and the country that you want to start that help now and not just after you win.
Apparently you candidates can attract lots of money, even in tough economic times, so how about casting a vision of people helping each other while they help you try to help us (by winning).
Now, I am sure the problem here will be getting all three of you to agree to give up half. And it will be easy for you to say “if the other will then so will I”. But look, this is what is means to lead – create the conditions for others to do the right thing.
And, my bet is that if you came out with this call and the others didn’t follow people would flock to you.
So give it a shot – share the wealth.
5 Responses to “Million Dollar, no make that 100 Million Dollar Idea”
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March 12th, 2008 at 2:01 pm
As a fellow political junkie, whilst your idea would destroy the free-market system of buying the presidency that started in the sixties, I think it would be good thing. Ah, for some leaders who would truly inspire “follower-ship.”
March 12th, 2008 at 8:24 pm
This is a great idea!
March 13th, 2008 at 1:50 am
I think it’s a great idea. Seems to me like Obama is getting a lot of his cash from ongoing donations in small increments. Not so sure about the other two.
March 13th, 2008 at 7:33 am
I think this would be a great idea if we lived in a country where “ideals” mattered. I really, really do. But honestly, I don’t believe that any of the candidates truly care about “working people” or “people” at all. The reality of the “American experiment” as it now stands is that it functions as a reverse funnel that takes money, power and resources away from the people who can least afford to give it and concentrates it among the choice few corporations as well as among those who are called to “lead” us. Maybe Obama, Clinton or McCain will be able to help turn things around but I’ve got very little hope left in the either the electoral process or in the government of America as a whole. I think a better idea might be to tell the folks who call up looking for money that you’re just going to take every bit that money and give it to the poor. That seems like a more fruitful idea to me.
I think you inadvertently sum up the American political scene when you say “Right off the bat, the game is over…” I’m not usually one to rant over at other people’s blogs and I’m really not ranting at you. I just think that it’s a sad state of affairs when such a truly good idea as you have proposed (and I really do think it’s a good idea) has no hope of working because of widespread corruption, apathy and injustice. Maybe these elections will change something but I’ve got much more faith in local communities of people who are committed to embodying the way of Christ than I do in any nation state.
grace & peace,
A.T.
March 13th, 2008 at 11:01 am
Unfortunately, I think this sort of thing would be functionally similar to bribing people for their votes. “I’ve paid for your groceries this month! Vote Smith ‘08.”
A better way to set this up would be to set up their campaign-donations channels to facilitate joint charitable donations. “You want to donating $50 to my campaign? Great! Why not donate $25, and then send $25 to the charity of your choice instead? Select a charity from this list and click ‘Dual donation’ to help in this way, or click ‘campaign donation only’ to give it all to the campaign…”