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"Residents with no say in these decisions are stuck with the consequences" - I'm pretty sure that these residents get to vote for state assembly people who obvi

"Residents with no say in these decisions are stuck with the consequences" - I'm pretty sure that these residents get to vote for state assembly people who obviously support the policy, to vote for city council people who support the policy, for US Congress, House and Senate, and for the presidency. Saying that you "don't have a say" when a democratic decision goes against you is pretty misleading - perhaps more accurate to say "some residents, who disagree with the democratically taken decisions at local, state and federal levels..."

TaylorAlexander 8y ago
It’s tough. If economic interests dominate the political scene in that region, then the vote of the people may have little effect on the broader situation. We would do well to remember that the idea of a perfect democracy is certainly a huge simplification that we regularly see proven wrong. So it may well be that the voters of that region are not well represented by their “representatives”.
- AnthonyMouse 8y ago
  "Democracy is two wolves and a lamb voting on what to eat."
  - sremani 8y ago
    Authoritarianism is a wolf deciding what is good for a group of lambs. As flawed as it is, give me democracy.
    - BurningFrog 8y ago
      This looks like a "False Dilemma" fallacy. A third, preferable alternative is that wolfs and lambs alike get to decide over their own bodies and their own affairs. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/False_dilemma https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/False_dilemma
      - cryptonector 8y ago
        What's the mechanism by which the wolfs stop wanting to have lamb for dinner?
        cobbzilla 8y ago
        > What's the mechanism by which the wolfs stop wanting to have lamb for dinner? Lambs exercising their 2nd Amendment rights?
zepto 8y ago
Perhaps there are no candidates who represent the residents views. Then they wouldn’t have a say.
- Alex3917 8y ago
  > Perhaps there are no candidates who represent the residents views. Then they can run themselves. That's sort of the concept of a Democracy.
  - fzeroracer 8y ago
    In order to run as a candidate you need to have a certain amount of capital. If you're in an area that's economically depressed, the only people that are going to be able to run are those attempting to extract as much profit as possible to the detriment of the locals. America is far from a democracy considering only the wealthy are able to actually run as candidates.
    - Alex3917 8y ago
      > In order to run as a candidate you need to have a certain amount of capital. Most political races don't have many more voters than the average class president election. And a lot of those positions have a lot of power.
    - briandear 8y ago
      You raise the capital. That’s how campaigns work. You start with a small office. Then you raise money to go bigger. Joe Biden wasn’t wealthy at all, yet he never lost an election, starting with the New Castle Counsel. Ocasio-Cortez didn’t have a ton of money. Look at Maxine Waters. Plenty of “poor” people get elected. You just have to be smart, organized and have a message. Certainly running for Senate or President isn’t easy, but local races are winnable which springboard you to higher office of you’re any good.
      - zepto 8y ago
        That’s a generic argument. You ignore that we’re talking about running against candidates who are favored by billion dollar businesses, and the people on the other side are not wealthy. Where can they ‘raise’ this capital from?

TaylorAlexander 8y ago

It’s tough. If economic interests dominate the political scene in that region, then the vote of the people may have little effect on the broader situation. We would do well to remember that the idea of a perfect democracy is certainly a huge simplification that we regularly see proven wrong. So it may well be that the voters of that region are not well represented by their “representatives”.

AnthonyMouse 8y ago
"Democracy is two wolves and a lamb voting on what to eat."
- sremani 8y ago
  Authoritarianism is a wolf deciding what is good for a group of lambs. As flawed as it is, give me democracy.
  - BurningFrog 8y ago
    This looks like a "False Dilemma" fallacy. A third, preferable alternative is that wolfs and lambs alike get to decide over their own bodies and their own affairs. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/False_dilemma https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/False_dilemma
    - cryptonector 8y ago
      What's the mechanism by which the wolfs stop wanting to have lamb for dinner?
      - cobbzilla 8y ago
        > What's the mechanism by which the wolfs stop wanting to have lamb for dinner? Lambs exercising their 2nd Amendment rights?

zepto 8y ago

Perhaps there are no candidates who represent the residents views. Then they wouldn’t have a say.

Alex3917 8y ago
> Perhaps there are no candidates who represent the residents views. Then they can run themselves. That's sort of the concept of a Democracy.
- fzeroracer 8y ago
  In order to run as a candidate you need to have a certain amount of capital. If you're in an area that's economically depressed, the only people that are going to be able to run are those attempting to extract as much profit as possible to the detriment of the locals. America is far from a democracy considering only the wealthy are able to actually run as candidates.
  - Alex3917 8y ago
    > In order to run as a candidate you need to have a certain amount of capital. Most political races don't have many more voters than the average class president election. And a lot of those positions have a lot of power.
  - briandear 8y ago
    You raise the capital. That’s how campaigns work. You start with a small office. Then you raise money to go bigger. Joe Biden wasn’t wealthy at all, yet he never lost an election, starting with the New Castle Counsel. Ocasio-Cortez didn’t have a ton of money. Look at Maxine Waters. Plenty of “poor” people get elected. You just have to be smart, organized and have a message. Certainly running for Senate or President isn’t easy, but local races are winnable which springboard you to higher office of you’re any good.
    - zepto 8y ago
      That’s a generic argument. You ignore that we’re talking about running against candidates who are favored by billion dollar businesses, and the people on the other side are not wealthy. Where can they ‘raise’ this capital from?