Choice 1 Starting Questions

[Taylor Willingham <taylor@bwillingham.com>]

CHOICE 1 STARTING QUESTIONS:

Over the past two days, many of you have expressed concerns similar
to those found in Choice 1.

* high campaign costs deter potential candidates
* candidates with money have a greater chance of being elected
* incumbent often control the purse strings restricting
  opponents ability to raise money
* a "wealth primary" that leads to voter apathy
* corporate influence over elected officials, and 
* elected officials who are unable to do their jobs due to the
  inordinate amount of time they must spend raising money for the
  next campaign.

In response to those concerns, supporters of CHOICE 1 propose:

* restore political equality by imposing new restrictions on giving
  - reduce the amount individuals can contribute, and eliminate
  corporate and committee gifts to candidates and political organizations,

* provide public funding for elections,
* provide free airtime to candidates.

QUESTIONS:

Even if you do not completely agree with CHOICE 1, in what ways
does this course of action appeal to you? How does this choice
address some of the concerns that you have?

Often proposed solutions have pitfalls or require us to make
trade-offs that might not be acceptable. If we followed the course
of action proposed by CHOICE 1, what might be some results that
might not be desirable? Can you imagine what might be a drawback
of this choice?