3 ms·

> we all know that the reality is that our politicians are bought out by the corporations, and the regulators are staffed by ex-employees of the very companies

> we all know that the reality is that our politicians are bought out by the corporations, and the regulators are staffed by ex-employees of the very companies they are supposed to be regulating While some amount of cynicism is probably healthy, it's very important to keep in mind that these observations aren't absolutes. There are many, many politicians who aren't bought, and regulators who are genuinely fine people who want to do their jobs responsibly. It's important to make this distinction, because we can use our voices and votes to increase their power relative to the bad apples, and thereby make the system better. Unfortunately, it's a slow process. But if your cynicism takes over and prevents you from taking even these little steps, then you're part of the problem.

JSavageOne 6y ago
> There are many, many politicians who aren't bought There are some, sure. Alexandria O'Casio-Cortez for example ran a campaign on grassroots donations lambasting politicians taking corporate donations and prioritizing their corporate constituents. But when the average U.S. senator spends 2/3 of the last 2 years of their term fundraising, I don't think this cynicism is unwarranted. Hopefully the takeaway from my cynicism isn't that there is no hope, but that more drastic measures are needed to make real change. All these problems imply serious structural/systemic inefficiencies in our system. Simple telling people to vote has not really gotten us very far as the problem runs deeper.