Hacker Read

cranesnake · 2021-07-22 04:38:25

This country allows people to buy more power than our elected officials have.

short_circut | karma 238 | avg karma 2.77 · | 2012-12-20 14:58:56+00:00

Politicians thrive on control and power. All of this is a way of controlling people.

kevin_thibedeau | karma 19088 | avg karma 2.16 · | 2021-09-13 11:44:28

The power resides in generational wealth not some commoners who got lucky. These people don't need to hold elected office because they can buy whatever they want, including manipulating government in their favor.

aridiculous | karma 661 | avg karma 2.73 · | 2011-03-27 16:21:13+00:00

It's kind of funny how willing the populace is willing to give more power to those who already have the most power.

diegoholiveira | karma 327 | avg karma 1.51 · | 2019-10-10 13:35:37

Why give more power to politicians? I really don't get that.

fredsir | karma 849 | avg karma 2.35 · | 2016-10-19 15:02:26+00:00

Say what you want. Your government and your election is controlled by money and corporations.

You are correct that USAs leaders have much more power than the leaders of my country. I will give you that. Your elected officials are probably better power people than mine, but I think that my elected officials are probably much better people than yours.

That is not a compliment in favor of your country. Quite the contrary.

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sonicanatidae | karma 921 | avg karma 1.35 · | 2024-01-12 11:08:28

Officials are not in power, Money is in power.

bluescrn | karma 3241 | avg karma 3.08 · | 2022-04-14 09:04:18

While governments technically have the power, they are easily manipulated by interests with large amounts of money.

tetris11 | karma 3878 | avg karma 2.52 · | 2022-05-26 13:35:19

Because they can privately buy the regulators who can then make them even richer. If you place that much influence in the hands of anyone, it will be misused for personal gain.

newen | karma 520 | avg karma 0.59 · | 2020-09-14 21:56:23

Too true. In most other countries, no one office holds this much power.

cscurmudgeon | karma 2720 | avg karma 1.34 · | 2023-04-26 21:55:53

Politicians have much more power than CEOs.

burntsushi | karma 13683 | avg karma 4.52 · | 2013-05-08 23:25:49+00:00

People who think "throw more politicians at the problem" really frustrate me: they are a bunch of random people seeking more power for themselves.

markus_zhang | karma 5615 | avg karma 1.76 · | 2021-05-13 20:41:52+00:00

The real problem is that ordinary people do not have power and (secretly) they do not want power.

singularity2001 | karma 3503 | avg karma 1.5 · | 2022-02-28 02:16:23

If they have money they have power

dv_dt | karma 8277 | avg karma 2.82 · | 2021-08-23 23:58:13

The only reason government politicians are worth buying out is that the power of government is the only check to even larger power accumulations. If you eliminate government then that capital power just does directly does what it wants with no transparency of even a politicians bought vote.

vinay427 | karma 3274 | avg karma 1.75 · | 2021-02-10 08:21:28+00:00

Considering the loose political funding and lobbying regulations in the US (etc.), both de jure and certainly de facto, the wealthy seem to purchase political power on key issues that benefit them. This isn't the same as the power in a constitutional monarch, but in aggregate it may actually be worse than one.

jjackson21 | karma 4 | avg karma 0.44 · | 2020-10-13 21:32:00

It is a feature of our democracy. Incumbents buy power, power maintains power. Technology and innovation suffer.

kevin_thibedeau | karma 19088 | avg karma 2.16 · | 2021-10-23 20:27:23

They are the puppets of the people who hold true power. People so fabulously wealthy that they would never need to hold public office to get what they want. They can just buy it.

renewiltord | karma 12072 | avg karma 1.39 · | 2021-06-23 12:39:24

It’s not just power-grabbing politicians. It’s what the populace desires. Look at the overwhelming support for something like universal health care. That is a massive expansion of federal power.

A large number of Americans desire massive federal power.

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spoonjim | karma 4772 | avg karma 2.01 · | 2021-07-18 22:47:48

This is why you’re not a head of government. Heads of government realize that a public display of power and consequence is much more valuable than a few hundred K revenue that you can shake down out of anyone.