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In this publication, two leading law professors challenge the existing campaign reform agenda in America and present an initiative that claims to avoid the mistakes of the past. Bruce Ackerman and Ian Ayres build on the example of the secret ballot and propose a system of "secret donation booths" for campaign contributions. They unveil a plan in which the government provides each voter with a special credit card account containing 50 "Patriot dollars" for presidential elections. To use this money, citizens go to their local ATM machine and anonymously send their Patriot dollars to their favourite candidates or political organizations. Americans are free to make additional contributions, but they must also give these gifts anonymously. Because candidates cannot identify who provided the funds, it will be much harder for big contributors to buy political influence. And the need for politicians to compete for the Patriot dollars will give much more power to the people. Ackerman and Ayres work out the operating details of their plan, anticipate problems, design safeguards, suggest overseers, and show how their proposals satisfy the most stringent constitutional requirements. They conclude with a model statute that could serve as the basis of a serious congressional effort to restore Americans' faith in democratic politics.
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Voting with Dollars Voting with Dollars A New Paradigm for Campaign Finance Bruce Ackerman and Ian Ayres yale university press New Haven & London Published with assistance from the foundation established in memory of Amasa Stone Mather of the Class of 1907, Yale College. Copyright © 2002 by Bruce Ackerman and Ian Ayres. All rights reserved. This book may not be reproduced, in whole or in part, including illustrations, in any form (beyond that copying permitted by Sections 107 and 108 of the U.S. Copyright Law and except by reviewers for the public press), without written permission from the publishers. Set in Minion type by Achorn Graphic Services, Worcester, Massachusetts. Printed in the United States of America by R. R. Donnelley and Sons, Harrisonburg, Virginia. Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Ackerman, Bruce A. Voting with dollars : a new paradigm for campaign finance / Bruce Ackerman and Ian Ayres. p. cm. Includes bibliographical references and index. isbn 0-300-09262-8 (cloth : alk. paper) 1. Campaign funds—United States. I. Ayres, Ian. II. Title. jk1991 .a624 2002 324.7′8′0973—dc21 2001005370 A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library. The paper in this book meets the guidelines for permanence and durability of the Committee on Production Guidelines for Book Longevity of the Council on Library Resources. 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 For guido calabresi, trailblazer contents Free Lunches ix part i. the new paradigm 1 Reforming Reform 3 2 Patriot 12 3 The Donation Booth 25 4 Regulations of Last Resort 45 part ii. the paradigm in practice 5 Mixing Paradigms 57 6 Designing Patriot 66 7 Designing the Donation Booth 93 8 Plugging the Gaps 111 9 Safeguarding the Guardians 128 10 Who’s Afraid of the Supreme Court? 140 11 Patriotic Politics 160 The Model Statute (with Danton Berube) Summary 181 Text: The Citizen Sovereignty Act 186 Appendix a. The Stabilization Algorithm 223 Appendix b. The Secrecy Algorithm 227 Appendix c. Designing Contribution Limits 232 Appendix d. Costs of Administration 241 Notes 247 Index 293 free lunches There are lots of lunches behind this book. Ayres is especially indebted to a fateful lunch with Jeremy Bulow three years ago. Without Bulow’s insights, he would neve