Carol Warren of West Virginia Citizens for Clean Elections notes the state's recent run-ins with scandals and urges the legislature to make passing the West Virginia Public Financing Act a priority in this op-ed for the Charleston Gazette.

Warren is right on the money -- quite literally -- in arguing that for all noise made about what it would cost to publicly fund elections, the public is already paying for the private system in scandal, and in favors given out to wealthy donors:

The question is not whether the public will pay for campaigns, but how they pay.

In fact, if the public does not pay, then the current practice will continue with corporations, PACs and wealthy individuals supplying the money for election campaigns. It is ludicrous to argue that the hundreds of thousands of dollars spent to gain a $15,000 seat have no influence on public policy. Citizens pay every day for the way our officials finance their campaigns.

And as with most political topics, the answer depends on the question. If the question is, "Would you give $5 or $6 of your tax money each year for a system that curbs the power of special interest money and makes your representatives accountable only to you?" the citizen response is likely to be positive. Five or six dollars per household is roughly what the program costs in the states that have public financing.

Which would you rather pay?