As long as the government is empowered to grant special favors to corporations, it is inevitable that the legislature will sell them, and the corporations will buy them.

As long as the government is empowered to grant special favors to corporations, and election campaigns require so much money, it is inevitable that the legislature will sell them, and the corporations will buy them.

Publicly financed elections would change that.

That depends. Given the number of politicians who have been caught accepting personal bribes, adjusted by the factor of how many that probably means haven't been caught accepting them - well, I don't think it's only election campaigns that cause this effect.

Although I do agree with you that election campaigns are a big part of it, and that publically financed elections would help with that - although there is, it seems to me, a big potential free speech issue with public financing of elections.

There's not really. You let people choose whether or not to accept public money. If they don't they can accept private money, and if they do they can't.

You then fund the private elections a minimum amount plus additional based on the donations recieved by one who doesn't accept private monies.

A couple of states have already done this and it's gotten amazingly positive feedback from most to all participants.

cobra: i might by "... could change that" but not "... would ..." -- alistair is right. many politicians accept bribes from corporations when they are not running for re-election, or when they are not even in elected office.