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While efforts to regulate campaign finance in the United States of America began during the early 20th century, current policies were enacted beginning in the 1960s and were critically influenced by the Watergate scandal of the early 1970s. American laws are aimed primarily at preventing bribery by large individual contributors, and thus rely heavily upon disclosure of contributions and expenditures. Individual contributions are limited, both in the aggregate and in the amounts that may be given to particular candidates. Contributions from Political Action Committees (PACs) to particular candidates are limited, but total donations are not. Public funding is available only for presidential candidates, and total campaign expenditure limits apply only to presidential candidates who accept public funds. Relatively little attention is given to the state of political competition, or to the question of whether there is enough campaign money, broadly enough distributed. Even less attention is given to extortion: while the legislation, and most public concern, are based on the assumption that donors hold considerable power over candidates, the reverse is more likely the case -particularly for incumbents seeking re-election. Incumbent leverage and disclosure requirements discourage contributions to challengers. Other current issues of concern include "soft money" -funds given to parties outside the scope of the current regulations- and "issue advertising" -media expenditures by interest groups that do not count as campaign contributions. In this paper I explore a range of policy options, including the use of subsidies to enhance competition; the need to raise, but not eliminate, contributions limits; alterations to the disclosure system, including "blind trusts" that would end public disclosure of contributions altogether; and ways of enhancing competition by applying different rules to individual and PAC contributions, and to incumbents and challengers. Campaign finance reforms should enhance the overall openness and competitiveness of politics, as well as prevent bribery and extortion, and must be integrated with broader reforms of the state.