oren @oren

America needs a new political party. Both of the current ones are bad. Republicans are way too reactionary, Democrats are pro-censorship, and both are getting more extreme. Neither appropriately represents an average person.

May 8, 2023, 3:32 PM
105
View all Parent

comments

Highlighted comment

Okay, same thing that happens in the US in that regard. But within the conservative party, decisions can be made that actually reflect what’s best for the country/what the members of the party want. You can see that with Liz Truss and Boris Johnson, who were both basically destroying the country. In the U.S., someone like George Santos could even become president, and, because he’s also controlled by corporations, he doesn’t have to keep any of his campaign promises to the people and he can do whatever the corporations tell him too.

You’re vastly overestimating the amount of corruption in the US; the Corruption Perceptions Index places it at 24th between Austria and Taiwan. Also, in an ideal system, Johnson and Truss wouldn’t have become PMs in the first place.

They promised some ideals that were appealing to voters, and didn’t deliver on them. But the point is that systems need to be put in place to improve a country’s democratic function when this does happen. 👍

If only there was something that happened once every two years that allow the people themselves to oust representatives they don’t like. Oh well.

Voting, while an important process, does not solve all problems. Also, senate terms are 6 years! (A senator serves for 8% of your life!) Immediate solutions are often required, as in the U.S. candidates aren’t even expected to stick to their promises. They just don’t have to, here, as even if they get voted out in the next election cycle, corporations will just pay another one to repeat the scam again.

You need the basic accountability aspect that the parliamentary system provides.

About the corruption,

"Nearly 20% of Congress members have been trading shares of companies in industries they are supposed to be overseeing as part of their committee assignments — creating major conflicts of interest, a new report finds." (Source: NYPost, NYTimes).

Sources:

https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2022/09/13/us/politics/congress-members-stock-trading-list.html

https://nypost.com/2022/09/13/nearly-20-of-congress-trades-stocks-that-present-conflicts-of-interest-report/