3 ms·
They’re using the broadest definition possible, where tax dollars are generally meant to provide public service. But at that point you’re just in an argument o
by cheschire 3mo ago
They’re using the broadest definition possible, where tax dollars are generally meant to provide public service.
But at that point you’re just in an argument over which public services are most important to whom.
So then implying that tax dollars should be used instead of donations is wrong.
- estearum 3mo ago> But at that point you’re just in an argument over which public services are most important to whom. Would be an interesting exercise to poll the public. We could probably break the country up into a bunch of districts, then have them vote to elect representatives to get together in some special location and negotiate how taxpayer dollars are spent. They could put something together like "a budget" and then that money gets actually committed directly to the purposes that our elected representatives negotiated about. Would definitely be an interesting exercise to go through one day!
- bborud 3mo agoYou are skipping a few layers here. Like those who know stuff like «crumbling asbestos air ducts in schools may be a bad idea». Why do so many grown-ups fail civics 101 so blatantly?
- estearum 3mo agoI can't understand what you're trying to say.
- bborud 3mo ago[flagged]
- estearum 3mo agoOh no, it's not because I don't understand the civic structure of my society. It's because your comment is poorly written. Want to give it another shot?
- ChrisMarshallNY 3mo agoShould ask ChatGPT to refactor it (but then it would get flagged as slop).
- bee_rider 3mo agoThey are doing the gag where they just describe representative democracy like it is a novel idea. Practically we also need expert organizations and agencies to help advise the representative and implement their ideas, but I wouldn’t describe glossing over that sort of detail as “failing civics 101.”
- bborud 3mo ago[flagged]
- sbseitz 3mo agoWould be amazing if the reps actually did what we wanted instead of what they are paid by outside entities to do. We should try that!
- estearum 3mo agoAgreed that money should be virtually eliminated from the system. That said, people actually tend to be pretty satisfied with their representatives. It's the other Congresspeople who suck.
- kQq9oHeAz6wLLS 3mo agoHard disagree, my rep is an idiot
- estearum 3mo agoData be damned then! Good point.
- Loughla 3mo agoI bet you'll find that more people don't approve of what their representative is doing than do approve. Low voter turnout allows for bullshit to slip through the cracks by targeting very small blocs of voters. I genuinely believe that most problems in government would be fixed if voluntary voter turnout was around 99%, and that low rates, especially during midterms, is the largest threat to democracy in the United States as we know it to date.
- mlrtime 3mo agoI bet you most voter (not all population) couldn't name their representitive or district if their life depended on it. So if you poll these people it will just be a proxy question of "Do you approve of your government".
- svachalek 3mo ago
- UncleMeat 3mo agoGerrymandering means that the house is a skewed representation of the people. The senate is a skewed representation of the people in its intentional structure. Further, the Trump administration is happily destroying things that are funded by the lawfully passed budgets.
- wat10000 3mo agoThis snide response would be a lot better if climate.gov had actually been taken down by those representatives you mention, rather than illegally destroyed by one man.
- estearum 3mo agoNo no, the snide response works because this shutdown was a violation of aforementioned system. Downstream discussions on “oh hurrr ummm how do we decide what’s worth spending money on?!” are irrelevant. We already have a system to do that, and that system has decided to fund climate.gov
- wat10000 3mo agoClearly not, or it would be funded. The part of the system that’s supposed to decide decided to fund it. Then another part illegally blocked that and suffered no consequences.
- mempko 3mo agoQuick question, what is your mental model of the climate?
- justin66 3mo ago[flagged]
- bborud 3mo agoYou kind of exemplify that drawing on this very topic where a bunch of people sit in a boat that is sinking stern first and the people in the bow section are expressing zero concern because their end isn’t under water. This is why we get people with expertise to figure out what’s important and temper the utterly, utterly childish impulses of easily corruptible politicians.