This is bad citizenship, plain and simple, and a gross abuse of the political system rooted in the ability to abuse it in proportion to one&#x27;s ability to pay for that abuse. We cannot hope to have local&#x2F;state&#x2F;national government by and for the People, and even hope to have a chance of it being above reproach, if we do not immediately take steps to actually prioritize and protect the People&#x27;s will.<p>I get that handling this on the national level is a much more difficult problem to find an amicable solution that appeals to everyone&#x27;s ideological sensibilities. But, at the state and local level, the abuse that money brings to the equation should be--nay, <i>is</i>--much easier to solve. It requires but a few sensible rules that permit the greatest possible latitude for citizens to participate in, guide, and organize their local governments to their notions of what constitutes good government and social policy, while protecting their local and state governments from outside influence. That state legislatures do not enact these rules is, in my opinion, but a reflection of the corrosive and perverting effect of money--and the desire for it--on all political activity.<p>- For all local and state-wide policies--especially coercive public policies--one must be a resident of the local&#x2F;state entity to participate in any way, be that financial, putting one&#x27;s boots on the ground, or having any other recognized part in the process.<p>- Make it illegal to <i>hire</i> an out-of-state company who brings in out-of-state <i>workers</i> to collect signatures for your desired proposal. Need to collect signatures? You must only use residents of the state in which the proposed policy will take effect. Require that they must be unpaid volunteers. Interrogate the signature-collection process, and invalidate all signatures collected by anyone who is not a resident of the local&#x2F;state entity that will be affected by the policy.<p>- No more allowing wealthy citizens, who are not residents of the local&#x2F;state entity affected by the proposed policy, to donate to the cause. Completely remove the ability for wealth to escape its local boundaries. There is no reason a wealthy resident of Oklahoma should be able to involve themselves in the local and state issues happening in New York. This requires a real, sensible definition of being a resident—not, say, owning a home in a place you do not actually spend your time living. Want to weigh in on a local issue? Better be a resident of the city limits.<p>There are plenty of reasonable ways we could protect states and cities from being overwhelmed by the unbalanced competition for mind- and vote-share that comes from allowing moneyed interests stepping into local&#x2F;state political and social issues.<p>Perhaps once we tackle protecting government by and for the People at the local and state levels, we could then work together to tackle the same issues at the national level.