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If I wanted to cede control to unelected CEOs and unaccountable corporations I'd go around telling people not to exercise the power they have to influence polit

If I wanted to cede control to unelected CEOs and unaccountable corporations I'd go around telling people not to exercise the power they have to influence politics too, because I'd know damn well that powerful corporations and industry groups aren't going to "stop engaging in the political process". They'll stay very busy spending huge amounts of time and money bribing politicians, writing legislation for them, and manipulating the public's perception to further their own interests and profits at the expense of everyone else. How frustrating it must be when the serfs interfere by exercising their rights to self-govern when they should just let their corporate masters run the show instead of insisting on a government that is "of the people, by the people, and for the people"

bravetraveler 2y ago
Yea - I'm not advocating to stop participation entirely; just with the hacks/opportunists. We are so incredibly beyond the government serving the people. They don't reside in the same plane of existence. The average DC rep would be shocked to live like I did, the average person.
- Retric 2y ago
  There’s no meaningfully “average” lifestyle. Most Americans get some form of healthcare subsidy be that directly or through their parents. However rural hospital subsidies, Medicare, Medicaid, low income subsidies on the market, or pretax from your employer are all very different and none of them really impact VA benefits. Living on 30k/ year is meaningfully different than 50k or 500k etc. A 20 year old and a 60 year old don’t just average to a 40 year old. 0 kids is different than 1 kid which is different than 3 kids.
  - bravetraveler 2y ago
    Sure, but let's not ignore that a certain 'class' of people make up our representatives - and it's not representative. Despite their pandering. It's ridiculously uniform by comparison to the populace I don't mean to overstate it; reasonable arguments can be made for, against, or as - some of that's implicit. Power/election makes a class. That's not what I'm talking about. I was grandstanding when I got to talking about average. The class is 'crook', or hack/opportunist if we want something more modern. To close, back to my hypothetical: the shock they feel implies that a representative person should be able to adjust. The ones we have couldn't. They'd literally have a coronary - they manage to be several deviations off in terms of age and fitness in addition to moral sensibility. I know every experience is different. Christ. Tree, meet forest. The problem is a lack of representative difference in the counterpart. I harp on that word because it's important.

bravetraveler 2y ago

Yea - I'm not advocating to stop participation entirely; just with the hacks/opportunists. We are so incredibly beyond the government serving the people. They don't reside in the same plane of existence. The average DC rep would be shocked to live like I did, the average person.

Retric 2y ago
There’s no meaningfully “average” lifestyle. Most Americans get some form of healthcare subsidy be that directly or through their parents. However rural hospital subsidies, Medicare, Medicaid, low income subsidies on the market, or pretax from your employer are all very different and none of them really impact VA benefits. Living on 30k/ year is meaningfully different than 50k or 500k etc. A 20 year old and a 60 year old don’t just average to a 40 year old. 0 kids is different than 1 kid which is different than 3 kids.
- bravetraveler 2y ago
  Sure, but let's not ignore that a certain 'class' of people make up our representatives - and it's not representative. Despite their pandering. It's ridiculously uniform by comparison to the populace I don't mean to overstate it; reasonable arguments can be made for, against, or as - some of that's implicit. Power/election makes a class. That's not what I'm talking about. I was grandstanding when I got to talking about average. The class is 'crook', or hack/opportunist if we want something more modern. To close, back to my hypothetical: the shock they feel implies that a representative person should be able to adjust. The ones we have couldn't. They'd literally have a coronary - they manage to be several deviations off in terms of age and fitness in addition to moral sensibility. I know every experience is different. Christ. Tree, meet forest. The problem is a lack of representative difference in the counterpart. I harp on that word because it's important.