Discussion question: is The American Experiment a failure?

Great Debates
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As a comparison, the two major Canadian political parties raised $8m and $4m over the last three months, with an average donation around $100. In the US, a guy like (the late) Sheldon Adelson (or any of dozens of other people or companies) easily donated more than tens of thousands of Canucks.

I think keeping money out of politics to the extent possible is hugely important to democracy.

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According to this article from the Hill Times, required reading for Canadian federal politics junkies, the five main parties spent $82.9-million in the 2021 election.

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With a 38.3 million population that comes to about $2.17 spending per capita. For comparison, in the US 2020 election our two parties spent $14.4 billion for a 331 million population or $42.60 per capita.

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Twenty times as much, per capita?!?

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A bit more. Twenty three times?

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And presumably the canadian figure is in CAD and the American one in USD, which would probably increase the multiplier even more.

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This is true, so make it thirty.

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WaPo weighs in. And gives some reasons. Long, analytical article.

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The failure has multiple origins, including a collapse of trust in institutions. But one of the most significant is a collision between forces both old and new.

The old dates to the writing of the Constitution — debates and compromises that resulted in representation in the House based on population and in the Senate based on equal standing for the states; the odd system by which we elect presidents; and lifetime appointments for Supreme Court justices. In general, the founders often distrusted the masses and sought to create structural protections against them.

The newer element, which has gathered strength in recent decades, is the deepening polarization of the political system. Various factors have caused this: shifts within the two parties that have enlarged the ideological gap between them; geographic sorting that has widened the differences between red and blue states; a growing urban-rural divide; and greater hostility among individuals toward political opponents.
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This is the first in a series of reports examining what is fueling the visceral feeling many Americans have that their government does not represent them.
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