It’s time to silence the money roar in presidential campaigns. 

Today’s politicians are caught in a financial quagmire.  To get elected to the nation’s highest office, presidential candidates must actively seek and secure millions of dollars in campaign contributions.  The quest for the almighty dollar has polluted the political process as corporations unfairly leverage their financial strength to amplify their political voice while reducing the voice of the American people to a mere murmur.  Eliminating private contributions to presidential campaigns and having the federal government fund the entire election process has the potential to reduce corporate influence on elections and policy decisions and empower Americans to spend their money to enhance their own well-being and the general welfare of the neediest Americans.

By eliminating private contributions from presidential campaigns, money will no longer be the variable that determines whose voice gets heard and whose interests get served.  In a Washington Post article, Chris Cillizza projected that Americans will spend more than $1 billion on the 2008 presidential election.  This is twice what was spent during the 2004 election and four times what Americans and corporations contributed to the 2000 presidential race.  On September 18, 2008, Economist magazine reported that by July corporate donations to both Obama and McCain reached $214 million.  This trend proves that money buys political influence.  Corporate America is too financially savvy to spend this money without expecting a financial pay-off.  The Preamble to the U.S. Constitution clearly states that our democratic form of government is designed to “promote the general welfare,” not the corporate welfare.  Furthermore, in his Gettysburg Address, Lincoln reminded the American people that our form of government is one in which “all men are created equal” and that ours is a “…government of the people, by the people, for the people…”  Our illustrious Founding Fathers granted citizens the right to vote so that they could actively participate in the newly formed government.  Voting was seen as a way to level the playing field and secure for all citizens an equal stake in the democratic process.  A person’s vote is the ultimate expression of political power in a democracy.

In addition, eliminating private contributions to presidential campaigns would allow Americans to spend their money in ways that would better promote their general well-being.  For instance, my parents could have taken the same $200 they donated to a presidential candidate and enjoyed three meals at their favorite restaurant.  Imagine a million Americans spending $200 in a similar manner.  Not only would this make Americans happier, it would also pump $200,000,000 into the economy to grow small businesses and increase the nation’s GDP. Now, consider spending that same $200,000,000 to address child poverty or student loan debt.  According to the National Center for Children in Poverty, 13 million children are living in poverty and less than half that qualify will receive services through Head Start.  Finaid.org reports that 65.7% of our nation’s 4-year graduates graduate with student loan debt averaging $19,237.  Whether Americans were to pump their used-to-be campaign contributions into small businesses or organizations focused on helping the neediest Americans, either choice would promote the general welfare.

As the President of the United States, I look to you to lead the effort to place the federal government in charge of organizing and funding presidential elections so that all private contributions can finally be eliminated from presidential campaigns.  I believe corporate America is corrupting the democratic process and is creating a government that continues to fail in its responsibility to promote the general welfare of the people it is meant to serve.  I am asking you to take a courageous and crucial step toward returning the United States government to one that is truly “of the people, by the people, for the people”.  In America, “all men are created equal” and citizens exercise their political voices with votes, not dollars.