Eh… There are a variety of end-runs around this mechanism.
Hiring politicians on as lobbyists or allowing friends and family to sit on private run boards and trusts can create a back channel for money to flow into a politician’s pockets. Public money can be funneled into private profits for which the supporting politicians are also stockholders. And politicians can receive discounted/free services from friendly private sector constituencies. FOX News, the classic example, is a multi-billion dollar network dedicated to running Republican-friendly media. But when corporate lobbyists and political strategists can be found everywhere from the boards of NPR/PBS to the guest chairs of MSNBC to the editorial rooms of the WaPo/WSJ/NYT, there’s really no safe spaces left.
You can mitigate the direct “bag of cash for favors” effect that, say, John Boehner cutting tobacco lobbyist checks on the floor of the House has produced in the past. But you can’t keep public sector administrators from finding ways to receive kickbacks via private sector channels unless you completely divorce these institutions.
Eh… There are a variety of end-runs around this mechanism.
There are any number of hypothetical end-runs around just about anything you can think of, that doesn’t make protections, mechanisms, controls, or safeties useless.
In the US, political bribery is nearly 100% legal. I’d rather have some hoops for corrupt officials to jump through. We don’t even make them break a sweat in this country.
Sure, but that doesn’t mean that even discussing real or hypothetical measures to reign in corruption is inherently worthless because you can sometimes get around some of them.
I hate the US “either we solve everything, or nothing is worth doing” mindset that’s pervasive in this country, and the only reason I responded is because you’re providing a good example of it.
I do not life in the US. However because of US hegemony and my country being a suck up to the US i have to follow what is going on there.
But in case there is any doubt. The country i live in, which is Germany is corrupt and authoritarian with a complicit public and private media as well as the “center” parties moving further to the right and helping fascism rise faster than ever before. The “liberal” middle class are to a large extent just self delusional racists and the country will become a fascist hellhole in the next ten years.
So if you have the opportunity, please help spread awareness about all the shit happening here too.
I don’t know, Labour should win a landslide next week in the UK. And Conservatives will become a party #3 or even #4 for the first time since forever. Tories also ran out of money, lol.
You mean Keir “Tony Blair without the charisma and leadership abilities” Starmer’s Labour? Fat lot of good THAT pack of ideologically bankrupt liberals are going to do other than freeing the UK from the even worse Tories! 😮💨
It is, expect everything to lurch to the right for the foreseeable future. Get ready for more humanitarian crises as we in the west increase sending climate and conflict refugees back to countries of origin or 3rd countries for “asylum processing” as climate change really starts to bite.
Also, I hope you enjoy Cold War 2: Arctic Summer Melt.
Yes, that’s right. The last European elections at the latest showed impressively that those dull people who are unable to see through the PR campaigns of the powerful are not an exclusive US problem. It is of course absolutely right that we in Europe rely far too much on the Americans and should set stricter limits to their capitalism, which in my opinion is completely out of joint. But I fear that we have already gotten too far into this quagmire. This is precisely why it is all the more important to raise awareness of this and to name those who are actually responsible for falling living standards and growing inequality - the US-type opportunists, the hangers-on and especially the blatant fascists in the ranks of our politicians and our societies. I am not at all convinced that the reasonable people have a shot, but I sure will continue to make an effort.
Politics shift to the right when people feel disparity, and their future looks break. Politics shift left when people feel optimistic about their future.
Which is absolutely fucking stupid because we need leftist politics when the future looks bleak and when the future looks rosy that is the time to be more conservative about change…
But we’re just human, we do everything ass backwards :/
The country i live in, which is Germany is corrupt and authoritarian with a complicit public and private media as well as the “center” parties moving further to the right and helping fascism rise faster than ever before. The “liberal” middle class are to a large extent just self delusional racists and the country will become a fascist hellhole in the next ten years.
The funniest part is that this has been brought about by the common belief that idealism is stupid and dangerous and leads to fascism, while cynicism is very smart and realistic. One good thing about idealism is that it gives you a reason to fight and sense of good and evil.
What I mean is that idealism, say, 20 years ago would be associated with extremism, neo-Nazis, unreformed Bolsheviks, sect members, radical Islam. But somehow the actual fighting forces sporting all such ideologies work without it too.
As if that “sail” filled not with wind, but with popular emotion were worse than lack thereof, because without it your “boat” wouldn’t be moved from the right (presumably) track. Turns out the “boat” also has “oars”. Evil doesn’t have to be charismatic, although it was that in the 1930s. It can do just fine with apathy and half-consent.
You realize that “you people” includes you, correct?
Or are the mega rich treated just like everyone else where you are?
If so, where is this magical land of fairness?
https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/party-financing lots of countries limit how much can be given to politicians
Eh… There are a variety of end-runs around this mechanism.
Hiring politicians on as lobbyists or allowing friends and family to sit on private run boards and trusts can create a back channel for money to flow into a politician’s pockets. Public money can be funneled into private profits for which the supporting politicians are also stockholders. And politicians can receive discounted/free services from friendly private sector constituencies. FOX News, the classic example, is a multi-billion dollar network dedicated to running Republican-friendly media. But when corporate lobbyists and political strategists can be found everywhere from the boards of NPR/PBS to the guest chairs of MSNBC to the editorial rooms of the WaPo/WSJ/NYT, there’s really no safe spaces left.
You can mitigate the direct “bag of cash for favors” effect that, say, John Boehner cutting tobacco lobbyist checks on the floor of the House has produced in the past. But you can’t keep public sector administrators from finding ways to receive kickbacks via private sector channels unless you completely divorce these institutions.
There are any number of hypothetical end-runs around just about anything you can think of, that doesn’t make protections, mechanisms, controls, or safeties useless.
In the US, political bribery is nearly 100% legal. I’d rather have some hoops for corrupt officials to jump through. We don’t even make them break a sweat in this country.
Not even hypothetical. We just had the SCOTUS kick down the door on legal bribery in Snyder v United States.
I mean, if we’ve got a magic lamp I can do better than a few hoops. But the system is of the corrupt, by the corrupt, for the corrupt.
At some point, you’re forced to recognized the farce of democracy at work.
IIRC, people were talking about places in this thread that aren’t the US.
As stated, political bribery in the US is nearly 100% legal. You can even study it in school and make a career out of it.
The Canadian system has it’s own share of corruption and bribery. Just check out Rob Ford, ffs.
Sure, but that doesn’t mean that even discussing real or hypothetical measures to reign in corruption is inherently worthless because you can sometimes get around some of them.
I hate the US “either we solve everything, or nothing is worth doing” mindset that’s pervasive in this country, and the only reason I responded is because you’re providing a good example of it.
I’m not a big fan of people wish casting naive solutions and then getting hostile when they hear the solutions aren’t viable.
I do not life in the US. However because of US hegemony and my country being a suck up to the US i have to follow what is going on there.
But in case there is any doubt. The country i live in, which is Germany is corrupt and authoritarian with a complicit public and private media as well as the “center” parties moving further to the right and helping fascism rise faster than ever before. The “liberal” middle class are to a large extent just self delusional racists and the country will become a fascist hellhole in the next ten years.
So if you have the opportunity, please help spread awareness about all the shit happening here too.
Feels like the whole world is on the same trajectory.
I don’t know, Labour should win a landslide next week in the UK. And Conservatives will become a party #3 or even #4 for the first time since forever. Tories also ran out of money, lol.
I can’t imagine how nice it must be having more than two parties that’re viable to vote for.
It’s still FPTP here, it’s just that people got sick of Tories. Even billionaires got sick, imagine that.
You mean Keir “Tony Blair without the charisma and leadership abilities” Starmer’s Labour? Fat lot of good THAT pack of ideologically bankrupt liberals are going to do other than freeing the UK from the even worse Tories! 😮💨
Are you on drugs?
Not right now, no. Why, you selling? 😛
It is, expect everything to lurch to the right for the foreseeable future. Get ready for more humanitarian crises as we in the west increase sending climate and conflict refugees back to countries of origin or 3rd countries for “asylum processing” as climate change really starts to bite.
Also, I hope you enjoy Cold War 2: Arctic Summer Melt.
Hopefully, the UK is going to take a couple of steps to the left shortly.
If it does, it’s not because the country is moving left but because the right fucked up.
Yeah, it’s a great first few steps. Really hoping LibDem becomes the official opposition and it’s just two Left™ parties driving each other leftward.
Current Labour concerns me with how it’s moved rightwards, but Daddy Starmer has my vote regardless
Yes, that’s right. The last European elections at the latest showed impressively that those dull people who are unable to see through the PR campaigns of the powerful are not an exclusive US problem. It is of course absolutely right that we in Europe rely far too much on the Americans and should set stricter limits to their capitalism, which in my opinion is completely out of joint. But I fear that we have already gotten too far into this quagmire. This is precisely why it is all the more important to raise awareness of this and to name those who are actually responsible for falling living standards and growing inequality - the US-type opportunists, the hangers-on and especially the blatant fascists in the ranks of our politicians and our societies. I am not at all convinced that the reasonable people have a shot, but I sure will continue to make an effort.
At least I heard that world war is unpractical thanks to nato…
Politics shift to the right when people feel disparity, and their future looks break. Politics shift left when people feel optimistic about their future.
Which is absolutely fucking stupid because we need leftist politics when the future looks bleak and when the future looks rosy that is the time to be more conservative about change…
But we’re just human, we do everything ass backwards :/
We are the smartest of all the dumb animals in this world. Nothing more.
The funniest part is that this has been brought about by the common belief that idealism is stupid and dangerous and leads to fascism, while cynicism is very smart and realistic. One good thing about idealism is that it gives you a reason to fight and sense of good and evil.
What I mean is that idealism, say, 20 years ago would be associated with extremism, neo-Nazis, unreformed Bolsheviks, sect members, radical Islam. But somehow the actual fighting forces sporting all such ideologies work without it too.
As if that “sail” filled not with wind, but with popular emotion were worse than lack thereof, because without it your “boat” wouldn’t be moved from the right (presumably) track. Turns out the “boat” also has “oars”. Evil doesn’t have to be charismatic, although it was that in the 1930s. It can do just fine with apathy and half-consent.