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> You may not like what your system of government produces as its outcomes, but it's exactly what it should be producing; a reflection of what its people want.
by thomascgalvin 5y ago
> You may not like what your system of government produces as its outcomes, but it's exactly what it should be producing; a reflection of what its people want.
This is absolutely untrue, because representation is intentionally not proportional to population. Our electoral system produces a reflection of what some people want, and those people are typically from smaller, more conservative, less populated, less economically viable areas.
Because of this, US policy does not reflect the will of the majority on most major issues.
Most people support taxing the ultra-wealthy at a higher percentage of their income, but this is not US policy.
Most people support background checks on all firearms sales, but this is not US policy.
Most voters support campaign finance reform, but this is not US policy.
Most voters support a ban on Representatives actively trading stocks, but this is not US policy.
More than half of voters support at least some form of student loan forgiveness, but this is not US policy.
You can basically walk the link of current important issues, and find that the will of the people is not represented at the Federal level. I don't like what our system of government produces, not because it goes against what I want, but because it goes against what most people want. It is a majority held hostage by the tyranny of a minority, and that is becoming less and less tenable as time goes on.
- TameAntelope 5y agoAgain, nothing I'm saying is "absolutely untrue" in any objective sense; you're saying you disagree with it sure, but it's not objectively false. You claim "most people support" a bunch of things here, but how do you know? A poll conducted on one specific issue, without discussing tradeoffs? "If you could snap your fingers and get this for free with zero downside?" style polling options? They're not realistic and don't give people any stake, which means people will answer in ways they wouldn't otherwise if actually given the choice (and all its downsides). These things you list aren't US policy because people don't actually want those things to be US policy. They trust their selected representative to dive into the details of those issues, and when those representatives do, those reps tend not to support them to the degree that you claim the people do. You're upset your favorite things don't get the attention you want them to get, but that's the point; one person doesn't wholly determine anything in the US government. It's built to keep one group of people from crushing other groups of people, and it's working.