Or wallstreet for just switching to hiring people to hold the land for them as third party agents.

Impossible before the age of computers, but now it’s just a spreadsheet.

Exactly. I couldn’t have put it better.

Nice username, fam! I’ve not found an Expanse community around here yet, but I see lots of fans

I bet you downvote this!

Edit: shit! I meant to say “won’t!” I bet you won’t downvote this!

I only said that because I’m pretty sure 99% of the people here agree with me, you included but are downvoting as a kneejerk reaction.

It’s greedy and antisocial. You’re a moron. Capitalism is a stain on world history.

“Best I can do is minimum wage and some cheap pizza on labor day.” -somebody

Looks like people think that’s what you said. Maybe you should consider clarifying instead of just saying “I didn’t say that” or “read it again”.

If the majority of people are “misunderstanding” you, maybe you should consider the possibility that the problem is with what you said, not with the people reading it.

Because it’s inaccurate.

It would be correct and proper for the government to pass laws to protect the population and prevent bad outcomes.

Got money?

The greatest flaw in the founder’s reasoning was that they trusted public servants to fight for what’s best for the country. They expected public figures to always attempt to do what’s best for the country and their constituents and built our systems based on a lot of trust.

They never expected there to be half the country that doesn’t care about the rules and only works for their own benefit.

A two party system was one of George Washington’s fear. It breeds division while both sides occupy themselves making us emotional about how much the other side does wrong. Then they get more donations and more power. They don’t care if they aren’t effective because they know we won’t ever go to the other side.

… There’s a great Freakonomics episode on the duopoly formed by the Democratic and Republican parties and how they both benefit while stifling the competition from other parties that could provide more varied perspective.

My takeaway - support rank choices voting and elimination of closed primaries (which encourage extremism in candidates).

Bad example, Trump lost the popular vote both times. Dang electoral college was responsible for that travesty. Also George W. Bush lost the popular vote in his first election too. Thanks again, electoral college.

A maximum age to vote?

Wtf?

So old people should have no voice?

Mine doesn’t have a mouth though, just a small opening

It happens. I’m not concerned about it. I’ve seen that happen first-hand. If people don’t want to acknowledge it, they can learn it for themselves.

“Abstain from votes you feel unqualified for while the unqualified radicalized masses vote every time” isn’t exactly the winning strategy either. Fact is a large portion of the population has no problem voting incompetently and/or under the influence of malicious talking heads.

Removed by mod

Mmm, your entire point can be negated by acknowledging that politicians and elections are usually bought out.

How is anything I’ve posted negated by the fact that corruption exists?

The “Guillotine the rich” crowd sure loves saying they wanna do it but they never have the balls. You talk of politician “ought to’s” yet here you and many others are not executing billionaires. Put up or shut up.

Disolving companies resolves problems only if the people who bought the products dont turn immediately to the replacement.

Even vampires don’t suck this hard.

A great deal of the Safer Communities Act is simply sending more money to municipal and state police budgets. Given the sway these organizations have in electing state and local leaders, its certainly something.

I’m sure that if federal legislation is passed all these fascist militias made up of racists, theofascists, and law enforcement officers will all willingly give up their firearms and comply with the law 🤡.

I get it, it’s not ideal, but that ship has sailed. Additional gun regulations only pass in blue states, and only further weaken our defensive posture. If you truly believe trump and his retarded followers represent an existential threat to democracy in the US (as I do) I cannot understand why you wouldn’t understand the necessity for access to normal capacity magazines and non-nerfed firearms, unless maybe you think Jon Stewart is gonna come rescue you with a witty quip when some fascist has you on your knees in front of a ditch.

You should start believing conservatives when they tell you what kind of America they want to live in and what they’re willing to do to get there, cause although they’re fucking morons, they’re also dead fucking serious.

Did guns stop the Japanese interment camps?

Fun fact, my great grandfather, an immigrant from Mexico, worked on a large Japanese farm during WW2 as a foreman. When fearful citizens came for the Japanese my great grandfather took ownership of the property and kept it running during their detention. Upon their return he relinquished ownership, having kept everything in order all while continuing to pay himself the same wage.

The biggest proof of that is you are not in front of a planned parenthood in Texas ready to battle with it.

I’ve taken and thrown punches for my fellow POC and the queer community, I’ve been arrested in protest, and have stood in solidarity when members of my community have required defending. I’ve been shamed for my culture and where I come from, looked down and spit up on for being less than - and I can still hold my head up high and stand with dignity exactly because I’ve always chosen to ‘battle with it’.

You might consider this interaction the next time you accuse someone of inaction just because their experience and principles differ from your own.

It would help if third parties would do something other than put a candidate up for President every 4 years, fail, and then disappear for the next 4 years. That’s a waste of everyone’s time, money, effort, and votes. Parties that do this should be looked on with suspicion.

Get people into city councils, school boards, and county comptroller. Work up to state level government. There is tons of good to be done at that level of government–in many ways, far more than the White House could ever do.

Greens, this is about you, specifically.

Our viable parties are shit because our electoral system is shit.

The 100 year path of wishful thinking that single person who votes will suddenly change their behavior such that they won’t vote strategically hasn’t got us anywhere. Our electoral system needs reform. It is inherently biased to make 3rd parties fail every single time. The game is rigged for 2 parties and only 2 parties.

and then just completely ignore that their view is led

You’re talking about a view different from mine.

All you do by voting for a 3rd party in a FPTP election is take a vote away from the major party you are most closely aligned to. You may as well just not vote

our liberty and economic power has dwindled progressively with each passing election

That’s as much a consequence of legalisms - Bush v Gore invalidating votes in swing states, Tom DeLay kicking off a big wave of legislative gerrymandering, candidates party-flipping starting in the White Flight of the 80s/90s (WV’s governor flipped the day after the '17 election), the banning of earmarks in legislatures and the legalizing of unlimited campaign donations following Citizens United - as voting patterns.

So much power has been consolidated within the hands of party leadership and so much money has flown to affiliated party-loyal business interests that voting no longer shapes political behaviors. When Republicans can’t win an HISD board seat, they turn to the governor to simply take over the entire board by fiat. When someone in the Democratic Primary attempts to unseat an incumbent, the party spends tens of millions to defend them. When a third party bid emerges, they’re cut out of debates and excluded from news coverage save for the yellow journalism designed to dismiss you as a crank. (And, in fairness, there are tons of cranks in the 3rd party scene already).

I don’t think you can strictly attribute this to “not enough 3rd party bids”. We have consolidated political power in the same way we’re consolidating economic power.

Then you might as well not vote. This is not the right political climate to try to make 3rd parties viable.

Unless, of course, you want the country to become a fascist theocracy.

Yeah it absolutely isn’t the only factor, but it’s one of the biggest ones. I neglected to point out it isn’t the only factor.

After FPTP issues, the next biggest one in my mind is the spending rules. I think that all candidates should operate from a “shared pool” of election funds. So if candidate A wants to use 1 million for the election, half of it goes to them, half of it goes to their opponent. No candidate should have a higher spending fund from another. It would drive down campaign spending, make bullshit political ads less frequent, and add a degree of fairness.

That, and there needs to be a full ban on lobbying (read bribery).

As for the few elections in southern states that use run offs, that’s not quite what I’m looking for, and those elections aren’t in a vacuum. The political power the two parties get from surrounding areas is enough to mean 3rd parties still don’t have a chance.

when strong third party campaigns force rival parties to cater to the independent vote to get over the 50% hump.

I’m not saying 3rd parties have zero influence, but they just don’t succeed frequently enough for it to be called fair. The spoiler effect is far too strong for that to happen.

we absolutely do have factions within the main two parties that have regionalized and polarized constituencies that are fighting for control of the national party apparatuses.

Absolutely. But because of the spoiler effect, the two parties are held together with glue. Reforming our electoral system would weaken that glue, and hopefully fracture them enough to make a difference.

That’s true until it isn’t.

The way you change that is election reform. Not thoughts and prayers and spoiler votes when one of the 2 big parties is running a wannabe-dictator.

Think, if fools in Florida didn’t vote 3rd party in 2000 you’d never have bush or the war in iraq, and we might have given a shit about global warming.

Yeah I’m comparing 3rd party votes to voting for the less harmful duopoly + activism, you’re comparing it to doing nothing.

You’re right voting 3rd party is better than doing absolutely nothing. What a high bar

Absolutely. Especially since we just caught them colluding to raise the market price.

So why are you advocating for one?