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I'm reading a lot of resignation, and I feel it too. Why is it than when SOPA came out or when health care is on the line, people rally super hard, but when el

I'm reading a lot of resignation, and I feel it too. Why is it than when SOPA came out or when health care is on the line, people rally super hard, but when election reform is out, there's almost no effort? Why can't we get passionate about this too?

nindalf 9y ago
I think because there are relatively simple solutions to both the problems you mentioned * SOPA - don't pass the bill. * Health care - spend more, if necessary increase the deficit and we'll figure out the problem later through increased taxes or reduced spending elsewhere. With electoral reform, it's hard to know what the right thing to do is. Everyone wants to stop gerrymandering but what's the alternative? An algorithm based on population and population density? That has its own set of issues. Heck, it's not straightforward even figuring out if a particular district has been gerrymandered or not. And in some cases, such gerrymandering is considered desirable - such as when it creates district where minorities are the majority. When the problem is hard to define, hard to explain tangibly, hard to provide solutions for, it's no wonder that people don't get motivated to solve it.
- NortySpock 9y ago
  I'd prefer the algorithm if it was public and neutral (or at least consistent). See for example the Shortest Splitline Algorithm: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kUS9uvYyn3A https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kUS9uvYyn3A
- moultano 9y ago
  Moreover there are no apolitical choices of algorithms. When one party is urban and one party is rural, your choice of algorithm determines which party will benefit.
- kem 9y ago
  There are pretty low-hanging fruit out there, though. Approval voting or ranking are almost universally agreed to be better than what we have (in most places--some places do have that). That alone would make a huge change. Independent districting commissions would be a big step forward. Election day holidays would help. Actually, a lot of the stuff in this proposed bill would help. You're right that there's open questions out there, but it's not like there aren't solutions that are obvious first steps. Re: healthcare, I think that's probably even more complicated than electoral reform. For example, missing from your example are cost-cutting measures, like requiring more transparency in pricing and charging, and deregulating certain things to increase competition.
aptwebapps 9y ago
SOPA was not a core issue for many members of Congress so it was possible to keep it from passing. Healthcare reform was a core issue for most Democrats, who had the majority at the time, so it was possible for them to pass something. I don't think enough people are exercised about this issue for it to have much chance of going anywhere any time soon.
- macawfish 9y ago
  I think that's what makes stuff like this so daunting... People are ignorant of the gravity of these things, and write them off as technicalities, but really they skew the entire dynamic of our political system so that existing polarizations are more readily exploitable, and so that attempts at working across the isle are unstable. I'm not saying there aren't other elements at play, but the election system needs major reform...

nindalf 9y ago

I think because there are relatively simple solutions to both the problems you mentioned * SOPA - don't pass the bill. * Health care - spend more, if necessary increase the deficit and we'll figure out the problem later through increased taxes or reduced spending elsewhere. With electoral reform, it's hard to know what the right thing to do is. Everyone wants to stop gerrymandering but what's the alternative? An algorithm based on population and population density? That has its own set of issues. Heck, it's not straightforward even figuring out if a particular district has been gerrymandered or not. And in some cases, such gerrymandering is considered desirable - such as when it creates district where minorities are the majority. When the problem is hard to define, hard to explain tangibly, hard to provide solutions for, it's no wonder that people don't get motivated to solve it.

NortySpock 9y ago
I'd prefer the algorithm if it was public and neutral (or at least consistent). See for example the Shortest Splitline Algorithm: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kUS9uvYyn3A https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kUS9uvYyn3A
moultano 9y ago
Moreover there are no apolitical choices of algorithms. When one party is urban and one party is rural, your choice of algorithm determines which party will benefit.
kem 9y ago
There are pretty low-hanging fruit out there, though. Approval voting or ranking are almost universally agreed to be better than what we have (in most places--some places do have that). That alone would make a huge change. Independent districting commissions would be a big step forward. Election day holidays would help. Actually, a lot of the stuff in this proposed bill would help. You're right that there's open questions out there, but it's not like there aren't solutions that are obvious first steps. Re: healthcare, I think that's probably even more complicated than electoral reform. For example, missing from your example are cost-cutting measures, like requiring more transparency in pricing and charging, and deregulating certain things to increase competition.

aptwebapps 9y ago

SOPA was not a core issue for many members of Congress so it was possible to keep it from passing. Healthcare reform was a core issue for most Democrats, who had the majority at the time, so it was possible for them to pass something. I don't think enough people are exercised about this issue for it to have much chance of going anywhere any time soon.

macawfish 9y ago
I think that's what makes stuff like this so daunting... People are ignorant of the gravity of these things, and write them off as technicalities, but really they skew the entire dynamic of our political system so that existing polarizations are more readily exploitable, and so that attempts at working across the isle are unstable. I'm not saying there aren't other elements at play, but the election system needs major reform...