Bryan Caplan on the contradictions of US citizens: we’re for spending restraint, but won’t identify any specific cuts. 64% believe spend too much on welfare, but only 26% are willing to actually enforce a 2-year limit if welfare recipients would have to take a “low wage that would make it difficult to support a family.” Fascinating reading.

Micah Sifry and Nancy Watzman in the L.A. Times (op-ed page): After All, it’s a Multiparty System. A sample:

In a pay-to-play political system, Americans’ votes don’t matter nearly as much as cold, hard cash. That’s why we need comprehensive campaign finance reform, including full public financing, to actually change the rules of the game. Under such “clean elections” systems, which are already the law in Arizona and Maine, candidates who collect a large number of small contributions and agree to abide by spending limits receive a public grant to run their campaigns. In that way, public officials are freed from their direct dependence on private donors.
If somebody is going to own the politicians, it might as well be us.

via doc searls The need for reform is clear, after reading articles like this.