4 ms·

The system is broken because people don't vote. There are plenty of votes out there to override the powerful, but people who give up and say it's hopeless are p

by donarb 6y ago

The system is broken because people don't vote. There are plenty of votes out there to override the powerful, but people who give up and say it's hopeless are part of the problem.

erentz 6y ago
There are two parties and they both represent the interests of the large corporations that fund them. The media are all large corporations that benefit from this system, and get funding from those same large corporations in ad revenue. The over 45 demographic only watches that media and so only hears what that media wants them to hear so are extremely low information voters. The PACs and committees of the respective parties are insanely powerful and run by people who are mostly grifters there to get their paycheck. They don’t care about policy. And if you step out of line too far against them they’ll throw millions against you in a primary to get rid of you. The system is broken because at the moment in most districts you just can’t compete against who has the money.
- ralston3 6y ago
  +1 here
alpha_squared 6y ago
While you're not wrong, there are plenty of inactive voters, I sincerely doubt they'd vote in any way that isn't already highly consistent with how votes are already allotted. Say there are 40% of inactive voters (the number is much higher in the US) and you get them all to vote somehow. I'm willing to bet those votes don't dramatically shift election outcomes in any significant way (beyond ~1%). Sure, that'd help in close races, but not much else.
hi_im_miles 6y ago
I don't buy this. Even if everyone voted, you'd still end up with policies that continue to advantage whichever voting blocs have the largest influence. The system is broken because it's a zero-sum game; privileging those who are represented by the system at the expense of those who aren't is a feature of democracy, not a bug.

4 ms·

The system is broken because people don't vote. There are plenty of votes out there to override the powerful, but people who give up and say it's hopeless are p

by donarb 6y ago

The system is broken because people don't vote. There are plenty of votes out there to override the powerful, but people who give up and say it's hopeless are part of the problem.

erentz 6y ago
There are two parties and they both represent the interests of the large corporations that fund them. The media are all large corporations that benefit from this system, and get funding from those same large corporations in ad revenue. The over 45 demographic only watches that media and so only hears what that media wants them to hear so are extremely low information voters. The PACs and committees of the respective parties are insanely powerful and run by people who are mostly grifters there to get their paycheck. They don’t care about policy. And if you step out of line too far against them they’ll throw millions against you in a primary to get rid of you. The system is broken because at the moment in most districts you just can’t compete against who has the money.
- ralston3 6y ago
  +1 here
alpha_squared 6y ago
While you're not wrong, there are plenty of inactive voters, I sincerely doubt they'd vote in any way that isn't already highly consistent with how votes are already allotted. Say there are 40% of inactive voters (the number is much higher in the US) and you get them all to vote somehow. I'm willing to bet those votes don't dramatically shift election outcomes in any significant way (beyond ~1%). Sure, that'd help in close races, but not much else.
hi_im_miles 6y ago
I don't buy this. Even if everyone voted, you'd still end up with policies that continue to advantage whichever voting blocs have the largest influence. The system is broken because it's a zero-sum game; privileging those who are represented by the system at the expense of those who aren't is a feature of democracy, not a bug.