Contact UsSearch
Click for Search Instructions
Home > Get Involved

Submission GINTOWT-0865 (Online)

Submission By Michael Gintowt
AddressKimberley, BC,
Organization
Date20040715
CategoryDemocratic government
Abstract
I propose that, in addition to voting for a person/party, people take the time to distribute spending among, say, ten key areas. They must assign a number to each area.  [1 page]

Submission Content
I wish to submit the idea that the people of BC vote for party members, but also for how their tax dollars ought to be spent.

When we vote for a party, we vote for people who will spend our tax dollars in the best way possible. We vote for parties that have a philosophy that supposedly translates into the spending patterns we want. Thus, revenue disbursements are intimately linked with voting.

I propose that, in addition to voting for a person/party, people take the time to distribute spending among, say, ten key areas. They must assign a number to each area, and the total must add up to ten. e.g. military, education, health, debt reduction, roads, research, child care, welfare, foreign aid, contingency, etc.

This is the ultimate compromise. Everybody gets to be "King for a day", and the totals are averaged. The result will be a population-generated distribution pattern for expenditures. Whoever is voted in will have to create a budget that matches the people's choice. In subsequent elections, the previous distribution can be shown, and people can adjust it as they wish, considering whether or not to increase or decrease a certain budget category, according to the results of the previous term.

This will ensure a greater degree of voter involvement, and cultivate a sense of empowerment. It will also keep politicians accountable, and shift the focus away from personalities, power and control, towards informing the people, and acting upon their preferences.Groups can gather in pre-election times, to discuss how they should distribute funds. Politicians can campaign in a new way, by showing pie charts, and encouraging voters to shift spending in desired directions. They can show how they succeeded in implementing the wishes of the people. The power will shift dramatically towards the people, where it belongs. The politicians will become secondary, public servants, as they should be.

© 2003 Citizens' Assembly on Electoral ReformSite powered by levelCMSSite Map | Privacy Policy