I currently don't seem to have much of a choice when voting. I can: A.) Vote for a Republican, who is bought and paid for by a corporation, who will then steal my wealth, but reassure me that it's fair because its the free market doing it, not the corporations. or B.) Vote for a Democrat, who is bought and paid for by a corporation, who will then steal my wealth, thus reaffirming my distrust for government and pushing me to Vote for A or not at all. It seems a bit rigged right now. I can give corporations power directly, or I can make them go through the facade of making the government make poor decisions, to reaffirm why I should give them more power directly. When our politicians are bought and paid for they have little incentive to try to make the government better, but if we destroy the government we give power directly to the people who are responsible for making the government behave poorly. Where's the choice?
Leave the country, get involved to change the parties, run for office, start your own party. Granted most of these are life changing events, but you still have a choice.
agreed, I voted for Obama and a public option but when the corp controlled congress got to it.... we got an individual mandate and exchanges in the end anyways, almost exactly what republicans pitched for it's gonna get even worse with the latest supreme court decisions... in the Money God we trust.... .
Oh please, they are no different from the others, without the support of powerful business people none of them would ever hold office.
You can choose not to play this pointless, manipulative, retarded, criminal, anti-human, abusive, infantile, racketeering, going nowhere farce of marking a piece of paper every few years as though it's a meaningful experience and do something more productive and enriching with your life. Even staring at paint drying is more personally productive than politics. Mod Edit ~ Rule 2/Insulting
Its a good question, many applause. Rationally though why would you believe a businessman has the incentive to make a government behave poorly and not vice versa? Who really benefits from a corrupt government? The politician and his cronies or a business who's best interest is a stable environment in which to prosper? Its a chicken or the egg thing. I always say "Kill the Frickin Egg"!!!
I get your point, probably some truth too there, but I guess I see it more the other way because businesses are spending so much money supporting these candidates, it would seem odd me to blow all this money on something that was working against you. I also don't believe in the notion the companies are looking for a stable environment, I'd think they were going for competitive advantage no matter the method. The end would always justify the means.
Your correct that lobbyists pay dividends. But once again, who's fault is that? The buyer or the person selling influence? If it wasn't for sale it couldn't be bought. Its similar to prostitution. Im not a prude, I personally could care less but who benefits from prostitution? The prostitute makes money, yes there are horror stories but basically the prostitute makes money, some quite a lot I imagine. What does the John get? Yep, he buys a product of his desire. Is that product a tangible? Money is a tangible. Is sex? Maybe. Mostly the John gets what he wants for a very short time and then he's getting back to nothing again. Who's life has been improved? Surely arguments can be made on both sides but only one gets left with cash. Money isn't everything in this world but some seem to think so. A business is in the business of making money. That is their job, their one and only reason for existence. You cant say the same for a politician. Nature says one is more wrong than the other.
Who's going to steal less of your money? Probably the person who wants to cut taxes and spending. That's the one you vote for.
Well if it comes down to that, heres a hint; don't vote for the guy who is friends with a nail bomb terrorist who tried to kill Americans. If anyone needs more incentive than that then voting is the least of your problems.
Too much truth.... Are you really a member here? I watch my wife go through he agony of really believing in these political beast. I watch good people try to work inside the system too. The thing is that in the end its all about what we do, who we follow and what we value, much more than it is about any particular ideology or leader. I don't mean that each individual has the power to sway everyone, but if we resist the sway towards bitterness, anger and vindictiveness at least we can do a little good. At worst we do not add to the calamity. But hey, if you want to rage and knock heads... Have fun on PF.
Well I sure am glad I voted for Barrack Obama in 2012, rather than Mitt Romney. Had Mitt got elected, then he would be selling out the USA with the Trans Pacific Partnership. Mitt would have let General Motors go bankrupt, rather than bailing them out so they could continue to outsource 70% of their industry. And Mitt, being a friend of Big Oil, would have caused the price of gas to skyrocket to $4/gallon. Mitt would have continued the violation of 4th Amendment, the GW Bush Patriot Act by signing NDAA of 2012. Mitt would have been an absentee President, probably vacationing most of the time and making expensive trips to the Cayman Islands. I am also looking forward to the clear choice between Hillary Clinton and Jeb Bush in 2016, which is made really easy by the fact that Hillary would be the 1st Woman US President. I also look forward to the continuation of this Clinton vs Bush legacy for years to come in the future, as the grandchildren and then great grandchildren run against each other until the year 2045, when I will finally be so old that my memory will be mercifully gone.
I think in the next decade or so, independent voters will out number GOP and DNC voters combined. But until that point, the system will be rigged for the two different sides of the same coin parties.
Vote for the party that represents you the most despite if they win or lose, elections are not a pissing contest.
Perfectly valid questions. Personally I think we're just along for the ride and our vote really doesn't change a thing. You get screwed by either side, usually just in different ways. Once this system implodes on itself and we scramble for a fix to hold it all together, maybe then we'll see a transition to something closer to how a system should run. At least during that transition period lots of voices will be heard, much different than today where the citizen voice means so little. The upside is things are spiraling downward at a rapid pace so maybe in our lifetimes we'll see some positive change that pushes the country forward in a way that benefits us all.
