CBS' Bob Schieffer: Why we have a Congress incapable of doing what it is supposed to do

In the U.S., campaign contributions are constantly being "capped" and soft money inevitably finds a way around those caps. Other countries limit the amount of money that can be spent on campaigns. The U.S. Supreme Court has absurdly ruled that to be an abridgement of free speech.

In 1995, Steven Hill, of the Christian Science Monitor, reminded his readers why political campaigns in other countries do not approach the obscene prices of those in the U.S.:

The ceiling for legislative candidates ranges from $6200 in New Zealand, $15,000 in Great Britain, $22,000 in Canada, to $75,000 in France. Belgium, Spain and Israel restrict the amount of "soft money" campaign spending by parties. In the U.S. there are no such limits, and costs for legislative races often exceed a half a million dollars.