Comments on: Free Idea Friday – Political Bounties http://www.strayhawkeye.com/2010/02/05/free-idea-friday-political-bounties/ Two parts show and tell, one part soapbox. Sun, 25 Dec 2011 19:11:31 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3 By: Kearn http://www.strayhawkeye.com/2010/02/05/free-idea-friday-political-bounties/comment-page-1/#comment-3867 Kearn Tue, 09 Feb 2010 05:06:02 +0000 http://www.strayhawkeye.com/?p=1846#comment-3867 So, the idea would be that it would just stay there waiting, basically forever, until someone makes a law to claim it. So after it didn't pass the first time, it would just sit and wait, until maybe 10 years from now when there's a more underwear-free friendly climate in politics, and someone else introduces a law to pass it, and so on, and that way, if other people also thought no underwear Friday was a good idea, they could put their $100 in over the years too, or you could add $100 each year, so maybe in 10 years, the bounty would be up to $2,000 or something. And don't forget the dirtiness of politics that if it doesn't pass the first time, someone could still sneak it into some unrelated "must pass" piece of legislation so it would pass with that. I think a "it's stuck forever" clause would also help (at least a little) to keep people from putting it towards goofy / dumb things just to see if it would pass - like a "put Steven Colbert on Mt Rushmore" bounty. Though I suppose that could also backfire with it building over time. On the other hand, I suppose you could attach expiration dates to them, so they would have to do it within a year, and then maybe you could pick some other bounty to put it towards. Or they expire each election cycle (6 years for US Senate, 2 for US Reps, etc) though that gets messy too if you don't care if it gets introduced in the House or the Senate. I'm kind of open to either. This one's admittedly not all that definite. So, the idea would be that it would just stay there waiting, basically forever, until someone makes a law to claim it. So after it didn’t pass the first time, it would just sit and wait, until maybe 10 years from now when there’s a more underwear-free friendly climate in politics, and someone else introduces a law to pass it, and so on, and that way, if other people also thought no underwear Friday was a good idea, they could put their $100 in over the years too, or you could add $100 each year, so maybe in 10 years, the bounty would be up to $2,000 or something. And don’t forget the dirtiness of politics that if it doesn’t pass the first time, someone could still sneak it into some unrelated “must pass” piece of legislation so it would pass with that. I think a “it’s stuck forever” clause would also help (at least a little) to keep people from putting it towards goofy / dumb things just to see if it would pass – like a “put Steven Colbert on Mt Rushmore” bounty. Though I suppose that could also backfire with it building over time.

On the other hand, I suppose you could attach expiration dates to them, so they would have to do it within a year, and then maybe you could pick some other bounty to put it towards. Or they expire each election cycle (6 years for US Senate, 2 for US Reps, etc) though that gets messy too if you don’t care if it gets introduced in the House or the Senate.

I’m kind of open to either. This one’s admittedly not all that definite.

]]> By: Laura http://www.strayhawkeye.com/2010/02/05/free-idea-friday-political-bounties/comment-page-1/#comment-3861 Laura Mon, 08 Feb 2010 19:53:50 +0000 http://www.strayhawkeye.com/?p=1846#comment-3861 So, I'm fond of Free Idea Friday... and read this one... and here's my question. Ok- I give my bounty or $100 or whatnot to some legislation that, oh, I don't know... requires everyone to wear no underwear on Friday (okay- only good looking people). It doesn't pass. What happens to the $$? How long does a politician get to make the thing happen before that money is just gone? and where did it go? So, I’m fond of Free Idea Friday… and read this one… and here’s my question. Ok- I give my bounty or $100 or whatnot to some legislation that, oh, I don’t know… requires everyone to wear no underwear on Friday (okay- only good looking people). It doesn’t pass. What happens to the $$? How long does a politician get to make the thing happen before that money is just gone? and where did it go?

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