Although Canada has been blessed with a twenty-year streak of good federal governance, I wouldn't say Canadian politicians get more done with their campaign spending.
I would say that their spending is strictly capped at the national and local level by Elections Canada, which means the major political parties simply aren't allowed to get into an advertising arms race. Without the caps - who knows?
Practical, but that sort of tight restriction on free speech is a very, very hard sell down here.
For me, being a citizen and being able to become president under fair rules is important. The whole idea of democracy is that you get to elect a leader and that leader could even be you. You might be a good leader - the best even, but it won't mean a whole lot of you can't generate 1 billion in campaign contributions. Something about that doesn't seem right. Plutocracy is more appropriate - and I don't mean that in a sarcastic way. Sincerely. How is it democratic that a smart, progressive, informed person can't run against someone less informed?
The scarce resource in being a successful politican isn't really money, and it certainly isn't being smart, progressive, or informed. It's the ability to persuade people. Regardless, I think the idea that anyone could be president is kind of sweet but not very relevant. Most people can't or don't want to be elected to president of their high school class, let alone anything bigger. Democracy simply means that you get to vote, not that anyone could be president.
I would say that their spending is strictly capped at the national and local level by Elections Canada, which means the major political parties simply aren't allowed to get into an advertising arms race. Without the caps - who knows?
Practical, but that sort of tight restriction on free speech is a very, very hard sell down here.