something we desperately need, like making all political donations illegal.

I don’t know how serious this idea is, but I have questions. Wouldn’t making all political donations illegal favor the rich more than the system already does, especially for small local elections? Could people just gift money to a not-yet-candidate prior to starting any campaigning? If yes, then the person with the wealthiest “friends” wins; if no, where do you draw the line chronologically? Is only cash money considered a donation – are stage appearances fine to “gift” to a political candidate? Can I neutralize a candidate by mailing them cash and reporting them? If no, what is required for them to do with the money?

I think I’d rather just see Citizens United overturned, but I’m very interested in more info on this idea