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I suggest it's not as simple as just saying "vote" given the massive disparity in funding capabilities between the average citizen and the average Fortune 500 c

by skh 8y ago

I suggest it's not as simple as just saying "vote" given the massive disparity in funding capabilities between the average citizen and the average Fortune 500 company. Money is powerful and greatly influences elections. Now due to media consolidation, Facebook, etc. it's also easy to manipulate at a grand scale. Politicians who vote the right way can guarantee very high paying jobs when they are out of office. It seems to me that democracy has been hijacked in the U.S. From my perspective, regardless of reason or solution it remains that corporations are not paying enough for the maintenance of society. Given that we have had free elections for some time it appears that the answer is more complex than just saying in theory we can vote out the scoundrels. In actuality this hasn't occurred and this suggests that something is wrong with the system.

theevilsharpie 8y ago
> I suggest it's not as simple as just saying "vote" given the massive disparity in funding capabilities between the average citizen and the average Fortune 500 company. Money is powerful and greatly influences elections You can find examples in almost any election of a heavily-funded initiative being defeated at the polls. Here in California, a recent example I can think of off the top of my head is the continual defeat of policies and politicians backed by charter school advocates, including in the Nov. 2018 election. > It seems to me that democracy has been hijacked in the U.S. Elected officials in the U.S. are in their positions because voters put them there. Unless you're claiming that substantial election fraud took place, you can't claim that democracy isn't working just because it didn't produce the result that you agree with.
- skh 8y ago
  I can find examples of a roulette spin landing on 00. However such examples are rare. In the same way one can find examples of where a well funded candidate did not win when going against a relatively underfunded candidate. In circumstances of elections is best to talk about probabilities and concentrate on what is normative. ...you can't claim that democracy isn't working just because it didn't produce the result that you agree with. I claim that American democracy is broken because it consistently produces results that are not in the the long term interests of the nation and are not done in the interest of the people. There are lots of reasons to support my belief but none of them have anything to do with me personally not liking the results it produces. Indeed, I'm quite satisfied with the results of the last Presidential election cycle. My candidate won. I might be wrong in my belief that American democracy is broken.

by skh 8y ago

theevilsharpie 8y ago

> I suggest it's not as simple as just saying "vote" given the massive disparity in funding capabilities between the average citizen and the average Fortune 500 company. Money is powerful and greatly influences elections You can find examples in almost any election of a heavily-funded initiative being defeated at the polls. Here in California, a recent example I can think of off the top of my head is the continual defeat of policies and politicians backed by charter school advocates, including in the Nov. 2018 election. > It seems to me that democracy has been hijacked in the U.S. Elected officials in the U.S. are in their positions because voters put them there. Unless you're claiming that substantial election fraud took place, you can't claim that democracy isn't working just because it didn't produce the result that you agree with.

skh 8y ago
I can find examples of a roulette spin landing on 00. However such examples are rare. In the same way one can find examples of where a well funded candidate did not win when going against a relatively underfunded candidate. In circumstances of elections is best to talk about probabilities and concentrate on what is normative. ...you can't claim that democracy isn't working just because it didn't produce the result that you agree with. I claim that American democracy is broken because it consistently produces results that are not in the the long term interests of the nation and are not done in the interest of the people. There are lots of reasons to support my belief but none of them have anything to do with me personally not liking the results it produces. Indeed, I'm quite satisfied with the results of the last Presidential election cycle. My candidate won. I might be wrong in my belief that American democracy is broken.