Democracy: Would you prefer to have more of a say?

amother

Thu, Oct 22 2020, 11:43 am

Some users here seem frustrated about bipartisan politics. They don't like that they vote once in a while, and then everything else is left up to the elected politicians.

So would you prefer a system where the population can have their say more often, can decide whether to build a new hospital for X Million $ or rather decrease taxes, for or against alternative parking etc?

If you had a system where you could decide about every minute detail, where you would vote several times per year - would you go and vote? Or would you get bored?

ChanieMommy

Thu, Oct 22 2020, 12:50 pm

Well, I guess in the countries where the population is called to the polls all few months, turnout is much lower than in coutries like the USA...

So what do people really want?

DrMom

Thu, Oct 22 2020, 1:16 pm

I think having a representative democracy is a better system in the long run than having every single decision up to a general referendum. Educating oneself about every single issue on the table is a full-time job and I am happy to elect someone to do this. Also, I'd worry that all major issues would quickly become highly susceptible to populistic appeals.

In Israel, I feel that the system is in worse shape than in the US, because elected officials have very little accountability because we vote for a party and not an individual. There's no "write your Congressman and ask him to support this bill." Once they get elected, they do whatever they want and are loyal to their party, and do not care about the citizenry.

#BestBubby

Thu, Oct 22 2020, 1:29 pm

Democracy would be the poor and even middle class demanding more and more $$$ from the rich. I.e. mob rule.

Even in a republic promising more freebies is how democrcats get half the votes

amother

Thu, Oct 22 2020, 1:31 pm

#BestBubby wrote:

Democracy would be the poor and even middle class demanding more and more $$$ from the rich. I.e. mob rule.

Even in a republic promising more freebies is how democrcats get half the votes

Actually that is not the way it plays out in countries practicing direct democracy...they tend to be fiscally conservative... and overall conservative...

keym

Thu, Oct 22 2020, 1:34 pm

The problem with voting over every single issue I think is logistics and practicality.
Should we put up a hospital? Yes
Should we put up a park? Yes
Should we put up a library? Yes
Should we raise taxes? No
How does that work. Simple example. But it's the truth. Our legislation (local, county, state, federal) have to make the decisions within the budget.
And local and state do put things to a referendum if they are undecided or if it's highly political to add or change the law- ex marijuana, abortion, LGBT rights, drinking age, etc.

ChanieMommy

Thu, Oct 22 2020, 1:39 pm

#BestBubby wrote:

Democracy would be the poor and even middle class demanding more and more $$$ from the rich. I.e. mob rule.

Even in a republic promising more freebies is how democrcats get half the votes

I love your use of the words "democracy" and "republic"...

So you are for republics, but against democracy?

Do you happen to be well-off?

amother

Thu, Oct 22 2020, 1:42 pm

keym wrote:

You are right. If the population is not repsonsable, they might take contradictory decisions which would make it completely impossible for politicians to do anything...

On the other hand, in countries with direct democracy, people tend to understand that if they want their park, hospital and library, they have to pay for it via taxes...

So it happens in those countries, that either the park gets rejected because it is too expensive, or that people vote in favor of a tax raise...

keym

Thu, Oct 22 2020, 1:52 pm

amother [ OP ] wrote:

I actually don't disagree with direct voting on local issues. Township, County. Because the cause and effect and direct benefit is clear. If enough of us agree that it's worth raising our taxes for a park, we'll pay but have a direct benefit. A park in our town.
The problem is when direct voting goes on a larger scale- state or federal.
For example, I may not care about raising bridge and tunnel tolls in NJ in exchange for increased libraries. But that's because I use the bridges and tunnels twice a year. It wouldn't be fair for me to vote on that. But someone living in Bergen County, working in Manhattan would care.

#BestBubby

Thu, Oct 22 2020, 2:56 pm

amother [ OP ] wrote:

Actually that is not the way it plays out in countries practicing direct democracy...they tend to be fiscally conservative... and overall conservative...

Aren't there more poor people than rich?

Which countries have direct democracy?

In ancient Greece the poor couldn't vote.

#BestBubby

Thu, Oct 22 2020, 3:02 pm

amother [ OP ] wrote:

That only works if government cannot borrow or just print money

If gogovernment can they will bankrupt country to get power. Country eventually collapses and dictatorship takes over.

This is happening in USA. We are broke but democrats are still buying votes out of control spending

When USA collapses democrats will be the dictators.

tryinghard

Thu, Oct 22 2020, 3:08 pm

I like the representative democracy system, just not the two-party monopoly. I wish we had ranked choice voting, and multiple parties representing far fewer issues each. So instead of Republican, it would be the Pro-Gun Party, the Pro-Life Party and the Religious Freedom Party, and instead of Democrat it's the Pro-Choice Party, the Pro-Love Party and the Anti-Gun Party. There are a lot of one-issue voters out there, who feel like they have to choose a party that stands for that one issue, but they disagree with most of the platform. Ranked choice would help third parties.

But it ain't gonna happen.

amother

Lavender

Thu, Oct 22 2020, 3:10 pm

amother [ Amethyst ] wrote:

I'd like to have a vote on mandatory masks outdoors. I feel like at least 75% are against it outdoors, so how can they get away with it?

People shouldn’t get to decide whether they can harm others or not by not masking

Fox

Thu, Oct 22 2020, 3:20 pm

One of the biggest problems is that most of us don't pay enough attention to local elections. We get our collective undies in bundles over national elections that actually have much less impact on our day-to-day lives.

If we were smart, we'd forget about Trump versus Biden and worry about who is running for city council, water commissioner, and county treasurer. Those are the people who raise our taxes the most and determine our quality of life to a great degree.