A Stitch in Haste

Philadelphia voters are deciding today whether to impose campaign finance limits (i.e., restrictions on freedom of speech) in order to prevent corruption and influence peddling in the awarding of municipal contracts:

An individual would be barred from getting a no-bid contract worth more than $10,000 if the person had given more than $2,500 per year to the campaign of a city official. Companies seeking city contracts would be barred from giving more than $5,000 per year.

Of course, an alternative might have been simply to abolish no-bid contracts worth more than $10,000. That way the city would not only curb corruption but might also actually save money through competition.

But I guess that would have been too easy.