Get Rid Of The Big Money

Everywhere, it seems, politics is corrupted by big money. That certainly has been the case in Ontario. Martin Regg Cohn writes:

Back in 2016, after a series of columns exposing the wild west of Ontario fundraising, the previous Liberal government clamped down on the worst abuses — so that politicians from all parties could cater to voter interests, not pander to vested interests.

But Doug Ford’s Tories unilaterally diluted those reforms after they took power two years later, revoking public financing of political parties (modest “per-vote” subsidies based on most recent election results). Now, COVID-19 has changed the equation.

Fundraising is falling on deaf ears because ordinary Ontarians are out of pocket. Which leaves deep-pocketed developers whispering in the ears of desperate politicians.

Cohn believes that it's time to re-instate the per vote political subsidy:

With the benefit of hindsight, the premier has every reason to restore the “per-vote” allocations that he unilaterally phased out (scheduled to end next year). And with a little foresight, Ford could go even further in leading a cleanup of dirty money.

The perfect storm of a pandemic is the ideal time for the premier to curb excessive campaign spending, better reflecting the virtual world of COVID-19. Why allow parties to spend (and therefore raise) as much as $10 million for a provincial election campaign that amounts to overkill?

Amid COVID-19, we are entering a new world of political outreach and campaign marketing that is more digital than ever before. The premier could make the best of a pandemic by forcing all politicians to collectively clean up their act — with sharp new limits on how much they spend to grease their lumbering campaign machines.

The old fashioned way of funding campaigns is very costly:

All those sumptuous fundraising dinners are obscenely inefficient ways to attract donors — with big sums (and fine wine) poured down the drain to keep the cash flowing, while politicians waste time prostituting themselves.

As for those costly and clunky whistle-stop campaigns, they are whistling past the political graveyard. Just ask Ford, who ditched the traditional “leader’s tour” in the 2018 election, forsaking the customary chartered aircraft and customized bus, while eschewing the companion “media bus” laid on (for a hefty fee) for travelling reporters. The leader’s tour tends to be a “loss leader” for parties keen to get “earned media” (coverage), but most cash-starved outlets dropped anyway (the Star was often one of the few organizations to tag along).

The pandemic has forced many changes on us. But a change in the way we finance political campaigns could be a blessing:

Image: brazilian.report