The U.S. Supreme Courts\u2019 2010 Citizens United decision–combined with the more recent McCutcheon ruling–\u00a0eviscerated the last vestiges of campaign-finance sanity and fairness. But those rulings also sparked a quest for a better way to fund our political system. In February 2014, Congressman John Sarbanes (D-MD] introduced a creative idea in a bill that many have found intriguing. The bill, H.R. 20, has been dubbed the Government by the People Act of 2014<\/a>. In this case, that\u2019s not an Orwellian title. The bill\u2019s stated goal is \u201cto o reform the financing of Congressional elections by broadening participation by small dollar donors.\u201d According to an op-ed by Joe Nocera of New York Times<\/a>, the bill has three main components:<\/p>\n The inspiration for the bill is New York City\u2019s public-financing system, which provides public funds to match small donor contributions. The New York City plan specifies<\/a> that:<\/p>\n In exchange for abiding by strict spending limits, candidates may be eligible to have contributions from individual New York City residents matched with taxpayer dollars. The Program matches each dollar a New York City resident gives, up to $175 per contributor, with $6 in public funds, for a maximum of $1,050 in public funds per contributor. To qualify for public funds, candidates must be in compliance with all Program requirements, be on the ballot, have an opponent on the ballot, and meet a two-part financial threshold that demonstrates a basic level of community support.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n The New York City program, which has been used for city-wide and city council races since 1980, has gotten very positive reviews from candidates. A report published in May 2014 by the Brennan Center for Justice<\/a> notes that:<\/p>\n \u2026[candidates] have told us that by pumping up the value of small contributions, the New York City system gives them an incentive to reach out to their own constituents rather than focusing all their attention on wealthy out-of-district donors.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n