On 01/23/2012 04:45 PM, Nicholas Leippe wrote: > I read a stat years ago that there were on average 1000 lobbyists to > every elected official. That's 3 favors (just meals? yeah right.) a > day year-round. How anyone could fail to see the problems with this > scenario--or worse, think that there is no problem--that democracy (of > the people, not lobby sponsors) is still actively functioning is > beyond me.
Well it's a good thing, then that the supreme court opened the door for unlimited campaign donations to offset the lobbyists. Oh wait. On the topic of corruption, unlike most other countries, the United States' problems with corruption are mainly at a middle to high level (still very bad). At a local level, corruption is very much less than in many other countries. For the most part police and fire departments generally work for the welfare of the local community. This is not the case in many many countries. As well, high-level corruption isn't quite so much politicians, as the civil service. Bureaucracy takes on a life of its own, and is very good at manipulating elected officials, even very high ones. Witness the TSA and DHS. In short, governing is as much done by bureaucracy as it is by elected officials. Hindsight 20/20 and all... My favorite sitcom of all time is called, "Yes, Minister" and it's sequel, "Yes, Prime Minister." Anyone who is interested in government should watch this show. It is British, and some Americans may not understand the intricacies of the parliamentary system, but nonetheless will prove educational, as well as painfully funny. And we can learn a thing or two. One final thought is that while the circus that is congress is entertaining and distracting, and though presidential races are exciting, that's not really not what democracy is all about. Democracy is first and foremost a local thing. I can say without reservation that democracy in most states is completely and utterly broken. Very few people know anything about the local candidates and issues. Even worse, most people seem to prefer to vote straight party (certainly in Utah). Then they complain and whine about how their local city counselor is behaving, or how they hate certain bylaws and city policies. Of course they could have voted for the other candidate who just might fix those issues, but of course that person is the wrong party. Nevermind the fact that in Utah they probably both go to the same LDS ward. Maybe the problem is the balloting system. Perhaps local, state, and federal elections should be at different times. Not sure. /* PLUG: http://plug.org, #utah on irc.freenode.net Unsubscribe: http://plug.org/mailman/options/plug Don't fear the penguin. */
