Digital cash and campaign finance reform

[Steve Schear]

At 09:28 AM 9/9/2003 -0700, Tim May wrote:
>On Monday, September 8, 2003, at 08:39  PM, Steve Schear wrote:
>
>>At 04:51 PM 9/8/2003 -0700, Joseph Ashwood wrote:
>>>----- Original Message -----
>>>From: "Steve Schear" <s.schear at comcast.net>
>>>To: <cypherpunks at lne.com>; <cryptography at metzdowd.com>
>>>[anonymous funding of politicians]
>>> > Comments?
>>>
>>>Simple attack: Bob talks to soon to be bought politician. "Tomorrow you'll
>>>recieve a donation of $50k, you'll know where it came from."
>>>Next day, buyer makes 500 $100 donations (remember you can't link him to any
>>>transaction), 50k arrives through the mix. Politician knows where it came
>>>from, but no one can prove it.
>>
>>Not so fast.  I said the mix would delay and randomize the arrival of 
>>payments.  So, some of the contributions would arrive almost immediately 
>>others/many might take weeks to arrive.
>
>Why are you not addressing the more direct attack, the one I described 
>yesterday?
>
>"The contributions you receive for $87.93 came from our members."
>
>Unless the amounts are consolidated by a third party or dithered (so much 
>for digital money being what it claims to be), this covert channel 
>bypasses the nominal name-stripping.

Sorry, I replied to this but apparently forgot to cc cypherpunks....

Limiting each individual contribution to fixed amounts (say $1, $5, $10, 
$20 and $100) should close that loophole.



>--Tim May
>
>"According to the FBI, there's a new wrinkle in prostitution: suburban 
>teenage girls are now selling their white asses at the mall to make money 
>to spend at the mall.

I guess I must not look like a potential client 'cause no young 'ho ever 
came up to me and solicited for a 'party'.

steve

A foolish Constitutional inconsistency is the hobgoblin of freedom, adored 
by judges and demagogue statesmen.
- Steve Schear