Stefanie wrote:

flynn23 wrote:
I was saying all of that. I don't think that simply voting alternative or independent candidates solves the problem. I wish it were that simple.

But what I was more trying to say was that the general populace is no different than the people that they put into office. They all seek to line their pockets. Don't think of the long term nor the common good when making important decisions. And lack the critical thinking and analysis necessary to seek and find real solutions to important problems. Replace they with we. Them with us.

I think it's a passtime to complain and whine. It's what we do best as a society. Because it's easier than making actual change. And until you've walked a mile in that person's shoes, you have no business whining or complaining. Until we start to reject this system and find real alternatives, en masse, then the act of complaining just becomes a post-modern way to make someone else rich, not incite change. Maybe voting alternative candidates changes that, but I doubt it. Change happens within, not from your representative.

I agree that not all citizens and representatives put their country before themselves, when it comes to voting and policy making at the federal level. But, the more the federal government intrudes in the domain of the states and the people themselves, the more the people associate their personal quality of life with government policy. They vote accordingly.

I disagree about not complaining unless we've "walked a mile in their shoes." They are our representatives in government, and as elected officials, they are supposed to be there to serve the best interests of our country (at the federal level). When they fail to do so, we should call them out on it, and we should also vote them out of office.

As for "real alternatives" and "actual change," what are you suggesting? I'm still trying to get the link to Mother Earth News, given the subject matter. Specifically, what is it about the system that you want us to reject? My problem is not with our system, but with the individuals in it (and, as you've mentioned, the people who put them there). The current system works, because we get out whatever we put in. For the past few decades, it's mostly been garbage in, garbage out. Our system allows us to be as great or pathetic as we, as a people, want to be.

I was suggesting that complaining is useless. Your line of "supposed to be there to serve the best interests of our country" is kinda laughable. Politicians serve the best interests of the people that put them in the job. This has always been the case. The original system assumed that the populace would be that "person" but in the last ~150 years it's really been corporations (defined in the US as a "person") so that is who has been the benefactor. This is not a new problem. This has been going on since before the Civil War. That's not to say that "good" legislation benefiting millions of people hasn't occurred, but I think that's a byproduct, not a direct result. I think the problem is more pronounced at the state level, where it's really down to the guy who contributed to your campaign that you have to see at church every sunday if you screw him over and try to do the "right" thing.

Efforts like this help with the nepotism and corruption to some degree (at least by exposing it or making it obvious), but until we either eliminate the problem (campaign contributions tied directly to special interest groups) or make it a financially viable alternative for mainstream entities to support real alternatives to living (admittedly, maybe Mother Earth News wasn't the best choice, but the idea was that there are entire cultures that don't even get a fair shake in the process) then we'll continue to be slaves to people who will steal the value that we produce. I know this is starting to sound like commie pinko rhetoric, so I'll stop there, but I think that the current system does not allow for a proper balance. Only more data and transparency will do that, and that means kissing your precious privacy goodbye.

RE: Looting AIG