5 ms·

How so? Didn't the people elect congress?

gremlinsinc 9y ago
No, the people do not elect congress, until every congressman/woman runs without a single dollar from donors, and uses only public platforms to promote themselves. Money buys politicians, which buys elections which buys what they do/don't do in congress. It's all an organized but legal crime syndicate. Extortion, bribery, etc are legal in politics, because politicians make the rules.
- brucephillips 9y ago
  I agree we should get the money out of politics, but let's be honest with our terms. The people do elect congress, though corrupt money is allowed to influence the people.
- m_alexgr 9y ago
  Yes. Couldn't agree more. Politics in so called democracies is nothing more than legal organized crime syndication. In other words, politicians run legal protection rackets. Mafias.
dv_dt 9y ago
Major Study Finds The US Is An Oligarchy http://www.businessinsider.com/major-study-finds-that-the-us-is-an-oligarchy-2014-4 http://www.businessinsider.com/major-study-finds-that-the-us... > Researchers concluded that U.S. government policies rarely align with the preferences of the majority of Americans, but do favour special interests and lobbying organizations: "When a majority of citizens disagrees with economic elites and/or with organized interests, they generally lose. Moreover, because of the strong status quo bias built into the US political system, even when fairly large majorities of Americans favour policy change, they generally do not get it."
- brucephillips 9y ago
  Sure, so we can say that people vote against their interests. We can't say that the U.S. is a dictatorship. Let's be precise with our terms, rather than contributing to political polarization and blustering.
  - dv_dt 9y ago
    Systematically studying a range of issues supported by voters and comparing them against actual congressional votes is not blustering. It's rather methodical and data driven.
    - brucephillips 9y ago
      The study isn't blustering. Claiming that America "is getting closer to a communist dictatorship" is.
      - dv_dt 9y ago
        Communist dictatorships don't have the characteristic power structure of a close circle of oligarchs that overall decide policy?
        brucephillips 9y ago
        ...who aren't chosen by the people. That's the defining characteristic.
        dv_dt 9y ago
        Neither are the oligarchs in America.
        vorotato 9y ago
        The economic left to right axis, and the authoritarian libertarian axis are orthogonal. I hope this helps.

No, the people do not elect congress, until every congressman/woman runs without a single dollar from donors, and uses only public platforms to promote themselves. Money buys politicians, which buys elections which buys what they do/don't do in congress. It's all an organized but legal crime syndicate. Extortion, bribery, etc are legal in politics, because politicians make the rules.

brucephillips 9y ago
I agree we should get the money out of politics, but let's be honest with our terms. The people do elect congress, though corrupt money is allowed to influence the people.
m_alexgr 9y ago
Yes. Couldn't agree more. Politics in so called democracies is nothing more than legal organized crime syndication. In other words, politicians run legal protection rackets. Mafias.

dv_dt 9y ago

Major Study Finds The US Is An Oligarchy http://www.businessinsider.com/major-study-finds-that-the-us-is-an-oligarchy-2014-4 http://www.businessinsider.com/major-study-finds-that-the-us... > Researchers concluded that U.S. government policies rarely align with the preferences of the majority of Americans, but do favour special interests and lobbying organizations: "When a majority of citizens disagrees with economic elites and/or with organized interests, they generally lose. Moreover, because of the strong status quo bias built into the US political system, even when fairly large majorities of Americans favour policy change, they generally do not get it."

brucephillips 9y ago
Sure, so we can say that people vote against their interests. We can't say that the U.S. is a dictatorship. Let's be precise with our terms, rather than contributing to political polarization and blustering.
- dv_dt 9y ago
  Systematically studying a range of issues supported by voters and comparing them against actual congressional votes is not blustering. It's rather methodical and data driven.
  - brucephillips 9y ago
    The study isn't blustering. Claiming that America "is getting closer to a communist dictatorship" is.
    - dv_dt 9y ago
      Communist dictatorships don't have the characteristic power structure of a close circle of oligarchs that overall decide policy?
      - brucephillips 9y ago
        ...who aren't chosen by the people. That's the defining characteristic.
        dv_dt 9y ago
        Neither are the oligarchs in America.
        vorotato 9y ago
        The economic left to right axis, and the authoritarian libertarian axis are orthogonal. I hope this helps.