5 ms·

You assume that We, the People, have a say in current US economic policy. We don't. If Ee, the People, are on bitcoin, we have already made the decision to use

by chisleu 12y ago

You assume that We, the People, have a say in current US economic policy. We don't. If Ee, the People, are on bitcoin, we have already made the decision to use a gold-like limited resource as a currency that will absolutely become deflationary at some point. You have no agency in government; no matter how great your use of punctuation.

Frondo 12y ago
Of course you have agency in government. You do vote, don't you? You go and meet your politicians, right? You talk to your fellow citizens and organize among them, right? I, as an individual, have put policy bugs in local politicians' ears just by showing up, shaking hands, making a persuasive case. And that's just from a few years off-and-on involvement, no money changing hands, no campaign funding, etc. I guess if you stay home and do nothing, then yeah, you have no agency.
- dismal2 12y ago
  Go ahead and vote for the next FED chairman!
  - dragonwriter 12y ago
    There is a big excluded middle between "all government officials are directly elected" and "the general public has no agency in government policy".
    - dismal2 12y ago
      So are you going to vote for the guy who opened Guantanamo and started illegal wars that cost thousands of innocent lives of the guy who won't close Guantanamo and uses robots to kill thousands of people with no oversight who end up being classified as enemy combatants as long as they are male, Arab, and of fighting age? Or maybe the leader who illegally spies on all the citizens of his country or the other guy who will do exactly the same thing. Decisions decisions...
      - Frondo 12y ago
        I voted for the guy who pushed a lousy healthcare bill through the system, because if the other guy had won, I still wouldn't be able to afford health insurance as a freelancer. I also voted for the guy who's been pushing, feebly, for better conditions for workers, rather than the guy who joked, "I like to be able to fire people. Hey, nice ponchos, you garbage-bag-wearing peasants!" Did I get everything I wanted? No, of course not. Is any politician perfect? No, of course not. Is there a difference between the two major US parties? Oh yes.
        quadrangle 12y ago
        I love your perspectives here. Very reasonable. I voted for that guy too, but I lost a ton of respect for him (never had full respect anyway) when he refused to recognize the absolutely clear fact that Ed Snowden is a whistleblower and not a traitor. Anyway, the real answer to electoral issues is Score voting (see http://rangevoting.org/ http://rangevoting.org/ ). Also, since you're interested in economic democracy, have you seen the in-progress stuff at Snowdrift.coop ?
Igglyboo 12y ago
We, the People, can elect representatives that do have a say in our economic policy.
- chisleu 12y ago
  If you think your vote means anything to the person you elect, you are part of the problem.

by chisleu 12y ago

Frondo 12y ago

Of course you have agency in government. You do vote, don't you? You go and meet your politicians, right? You talk to your fellow citizens and organize among them, right? I, as an individual, have put policy bugs in local politicians' ears just by showing up, shaking hands, making a persuasive case. And that's just from a few years off-and-on involvement, no money changing hands, no campaign funding, etc. I guess if you stay home and do nothing, then yeah, you have no agency.

dismal2 12y ago
Go ahead and vote for the next FED chairman!
- dragonwriter 12y ago
  There is a big excluded middle between "all government officials are directly elected" and "the general public has no agency in government policy".
  - dismal2 12y ago
    So are you going to vote for the guy who opened Guantanamo and started illegal wars that cost thousands of innocent lives of the guy who won't close Guantanamo and uses robots to kill thousands of people with no oversight who end up being classified as enemy combatants as long as they are male, Arab, and of fighting age? Or maybe the leader who illegally spies on all the citizens of his country or the other guy who will do exactly the same thing. Decisions decisions...
    - Frondo 12y ago
      I voted for the guy who pushed a lousy healthcare bill through the system, because if the other guy had won, I still wouldn't be able to afford health insurance as a freelancer. I also voted for the guy who's been pushing, feebly, for better conditions for workers, rather than the guy who joked, "I like to be able to fire people. Hey, nice ponchos, you garbage-bag-wearing peasants!" Did I get everything I wanted? No, of course not. Is any politician perfect? No, of course not. Is there a difference between the two major US parties? Oh yes.
      - quadrangle 12y ago
        I love your perspectives here. Very reasonable. I voted for that guy too, but I lost a ton of respect for him (never had full respect anyway) when he refused to recognize the absolutely clear fact that Ed Snowden is a whistleblower and not a traitor. Anyway, the real answer to electoral issues is Score voting (see http://rangevoting.org/ http://rangevoting.org/ ). Also, since you're interested in economic democracy, have you seen the in-progress stuff at Snowdrift.coop ?

Igglyboo 12y ago

We, the People, can elect representatives that do have a say in our economic policy.

chisleu 12y ago
If you think your vote means anything to the person you elect, you are part of the problem.