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> For now, Massachusetts’ law is tied up by lobbying and legal fisticuffs. It’s depressing that the will of the people that passed this ballot measure can get

by teeray 3y ago

> For now, Massachusetts’ law is tied up by lobbying and legal fisticuffs. It’s depressing that the will of the people that passed this ballot measure can get pre-empted like this. Before it passes? Sure. But afterward you’re just disenfranchising the voters.

brnaftr361 3y ago
Direct democracy is a threat to order, the unwashed masses know nothing, they're protecting us. I think the saddest part is there probably isn't an auto manufacturer that isn't a participant in the lobbying campaign against bills like this. I can't even vote with my wallet in this situation. At this point I'm hoping I'll be able to buy an electric kit car that can satisfy my minimal needs in the near future so I don't have to deal with modern vehicles and their shithead manufacturers.
- burkaman 3y ago
  You can vote with your wallet by either not buying a car or only buying used cars.
- bethly 3y ago
  Direct democracy is easier to buy than representative democracies for two reasons: first, voters have other things to do with their time than become experts on every bit of law that comes before them. And second, they don’t have the ongoing interest in rule-making, implementation & enforcement an interested legislator does. Reading the book Street Level Bureaucrats was eye-opening for me on why seemingly “common-sense” solutions like Direct Democracy end up either just not working or having the opposite of the intended effect. Laws are less like writing software for a computer and more like designing processes for a team writing software.
mrguyorama 3y ago
State governments pretty regularly ignore citizen initiatives if they don't like it. Our state voted to decriminalize weed and our republican governor filibustered it for the remaining 4 years he was in office and even the democrat governor who replaced him took her sweet time. Right now if you look it up, GOP state governments are working hard to kill the ability for citizens to enact initiatives that could allow them to implement things they want that the state representatives do not want.

by teeray 3y ago

brnaftr361 3y ago

Direct democracy is a threat to order, the unwashed masses know nothing, they're protecting us. I think the saddest part is there probably isn't an auto manufacturer that isn't a participant in the lobbying campaign against bills like this. I can't even vote with my wallet in this situation. At this point I'm hoping I'll be able to buy an electric kit car that can satisfy my minimal needs in the near future so I don't have to deal with modern vehicles and their shithead manufacturers.

burkaman 3y ago
You can vote with your wallet by either not buying a car or only buying used cars.
bethly 3y ago
Direct democracy is easier to buy than representative democracies for two reasons: first, voters have other things to do with their time than become experts on every bit of law that comes before them. And second, they don’t have the ongoing interest in rule-making, implementation & enforcement an interested legislator does. Reading the book Street Level Bureaucrats was eye-opening for me on why seemingly “common-sense” solutions like Direct Democracy end up either just not working or having the opposite of the intended effect. Laws are less like writing software for a computer and more like designing processes for a team writing software.

mrguyorama 3y ago

State governments pretty regularly ignore citizen initiatives if they don't like it. Our state voted to decriminalize weed and our republican governor filibustered it for the remaining 4 years he was in office and even the democrat governor who replaced him took her sweet time. Right now if you look it up, GOP state governments are working hard to kill the ability for citizens to enact initiatives that could allow them to implement things they want that the state representatives do not want.