Hacker News Board Hacker News, browsed like a classic message board
Live data from Hacker News

Show HN: I'm tired of corrupt US politicians, so I created this

politicianmarket.com

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

31–40 of 154 posts

Re: Show HN: I'm tired of corrupt US politicians, so I created this

#31

Post by yequalsx »

scottdw2 wrote: post #16

I don't think that public funding of elections or free advertising (see the bottom of the page) are the solutions to government corruption. That would just force bribers to be more covert. It's analogous to the fact that SOPA wouldn't stop piracy. It seems to me that the real solution is to dramatically limit the size of government, so that there is nothing to be bought, rather then just changing the currency used to…

I think corruption is loosely tied to wealth inequality. I suspect that large variations in the top 5% have to do with this. Humans have a tendency to compare themselves to those who have more. To whoever is at the next level. We tend to want more and desire what another has. When the variation at the top is not so great as it is in the U.S. and other, equally corrupt, nations then political corruption lessens.

The idea behind the website is a nice one. I hope they are successful. The website itself is quite nicely done.

Re: Show HN: I'm tired of corrupt US politicians, so I created this

#32

Post by scottdw2 »

Angostura wrote: post #29
scottdw2 wrote: post #25

Earlier quoted context omitted.

"Reducing the size of government" means to reduce the power of government, not the proportion of representation.

Hurrah, so the people who would be bribed wouldn't be publicly accountable officials - they would be whoever we handed the power to.

I don't think you understand. The point is to either eliminate the power, or make it extremely diffuse. That way, there is nothing to purchase.

Re: Show HN: I'm tired of corrupt US politicians, so I created this

#33

Post by JanezStupar »

wladimir wrote: post #9
kitsune_ wrote: post #5

I know this is a parody, but a model like this could actually work . A frightening thought.

It's no longer a democracy, but at least it'd be transparent and honest.

Democracy in classical sense means participation of the aristocracy, not wide populist participation as practiced in 20th century.

I along with many of people I discuss politics agree that for wellbeing of democracy the civic duties and privileges should be limited and not available to everybody as a universal right.

Ignorance is the worst enemy of democracy. Letting the ignorant majority participate in democratic process on principle alone does nothing for democracy.

Re: Show HN: I'm tired of corrupt US politicians, so I created this

#34

Post by andrewcooke »

scottdw2 wrote: post #16

I don't think that public funding of elections or free advertising (see the bottom of the page) are the solutions to government corruption. That would just force bribers to be more covert. It's analogous to the fact that SOPA wouldn't stop piracy. It seems to me that the real solution is to dramatically limit the size of government, so that there is nothing to be bought, rather then just changing the currency used to…

that doesn't solve the real problem, though, which is that some entities are much more powerful than others. by removing the government, which can work as a (limited, imperfect) balance, you give other powerful institutions (ie big corporations) even more power.

it won't be the government searching your laptop, it will be the airline, as part of a conglomerate that includes media companies.

government exists for a reason. you need to fix it, not throw the baby out with the bathwater.

Re: Show HN: I'm tired of corrupt US politicians, so I created this

#35

Post by toyg »

wladimir wrote: post #9
kitsune_ wrote: post #5

I know this is a parody, but a model like this could actually work . A frightening thought.

It's no longer a democracy, but at least it'd be transparent and honest.

From one-head-one-vote to one-dollar-one-vote. We should call it "pecuniacy".

(Note: "pecunia" is Latin for "money"; I know, the right way to do this would be to use the ancient greek equivalent for "money" and replace it for "demo", but I couldn't find it.)

Re: Show HN: I'm tired of corrupt US politicians, so I created this

#37

Post by vectorpush »

scottdw2 wrote: post #16

I don't think that public funding of elections or free advertising (see the bottom of the page) are the solutions to government corruption. That would just force bribers to be more covert. It's analogous to the fact that SOPA wouldn't stop piracy. It seems to me that the real solution is to dramatically limit the size of government, so that there is nothing to be bought, rather then just changing the currency used to…

dramatically limit the size of government

Any specifics? "Limit the size of government" is a trite platitude that anyone could agree with on some level. Shove 100 random people in a room and you have 200 conflicting ideas about the appropriate role of government.

Re: Show HN: I'm tired of corrupt US politicians, so I created this

#38

Post by david927 »

scottdw2 wrote: post #16

I don't think that public funding of elections or free advertising (see the bottom of the page) are the solutions to government corruption. That would just force bribers to be more covert. It's analogous to the fact that SOPA wouldn't stop piracy. It seems to me that the real solution is to dramatically limit the size of government, so that there is nothing to be bought, rather then just changing the currency used to…

The wealthiest countries in the world have large governments and don't have these problems.

Still, if we can bank online, we can vote online. I see nothing stopping a proposal where if 25% of the public vote online, the result is accepted over what Congress voted. No advertising allowed. Suddenly, bribing/lobbying Congress would no longer make sense.

Re: Show HN: I'm tired of corrupt US politicians, so I created this

#39

Post by rrhm »

toyg wrote: post #35
wladimir wrote: post #9

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's no longer a democracy, but at least it'd be transparent and honest.

From one-head-one-vote to one-dollar-one-vote. We should call it "pecuniacy". (Note: "pecunia" is Latin for "money"; I know, the right way to do this would be to use the ancient greek equivalent for "money" and replace it for "demo", but I couldn't find it.)

Perhaps "plutocracy" would work. The root "ploutus" is the ancient greek word for "wealth".

Re: Show HN: I'm tired of corrupt US politicians, so I created this

#40

Post by scottdw2 »

andrewcooke wrote: post #34
scottdw2 wrote: post #16

I don't think that public funding of elections or free advertising (see the bottom of the page) are the solutions to government corruption. That would just force bribers to be more covert. It's analogous to the fact that SOPA wouldn't stop piracy. It seems to me that the real solution is to dramatically limit the size of government, so that there is nothing to be bought, rather then just changing the currency used to…

that doesn't solve the real problem, though, which is that some entities are much more powerful than others. by removing the government, which can work as a (limited, imperfect) balance, you give other powerful institutions (ie big corporations) even more power. it won't be the government searching your laptop, it will be the airline, as part of a conglomerate that includes media companies. government exists for a re…

No.

Government is force. Airlines, like most businesses, are subject to market forces. If Delta said "we have to search the data on your computer before you can fly", you can choose not to fly. Someone would have a strong incentive to provide a mode of travel that did not involve laptop searches.

I didn't say "no government". I said "small government". There's a difference. You need the force of government to protect property rights, and to enforce contracts, for example.

Post reply on HN