Record-High 89% in U.S. Say Government Corruption Widespread • Hacker News Board

Re: Record-High 89% in U.S. Say Government Corruption Widespread

#101

Post by the_gastropod » Sat, Sep 05, 2026, 1:03 AM UTC

jeffbee wrote: post #17

swed420 wrote: post #5

Related: New High of 45% in U.S. Identify as Political Independents (January 12, 2026) https://news.gallup.com/poll/700499/new-high-identify-politi...

An "independent" in America is a person who greatly desires everything Trump is doing but realizes that makes them a bad person and therefore refuses to admit it.

I know you’re going to get downvoted to hell, but you’re pretty much spot on. There’s something strangely desirable about being seen as the edgy contrarian “not left, not right” person. But 9 times out of 10, that person has approximately the same incoherent worldview most Trumpists have.

Re: Record-High 89% in U.S. Say Government Corruption Widespread

#102

Post by ThunderSizzle » Sat, Sep 05, 2026, 1:03 AM UTC

irishcoffee wrote: post #67

Loughla wrote: post #54

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The half that supports this nonsense genuinely believes this level of corruption has always existed. They're just happy it's their team this time. I simply do not understand American politics.

Nobody does. The amount of teenage angst posted in this forum about the current admin is amusingly pathetic. None of it matters. Congress constantly gets a free pass while we focus on a figurehead largely enabled by a passive and embarrassing congressional electorate. “We found the scapegoat, blame that guy!” It’s really embarrassing

Corruption has been rampant under multiple administrations. I actually had hoped Trump might root out more corruption in his 2nd term, but two things happened: Congress wouldn't go afraid the corruption that was being found, and Charlie Kirk was assassinated in broad daylight...after 2-3 assassination attempts on Trump himself too.

It's easier to start looking the other way when bullets start flying.

Having said that, I'm not saying Trump was a saint, but it seems this board forgets we just had Obama and Biden running their corruption rings for 2 decades too...

Re: Record-High 89% in U.S. Say Government Corruption Widespread

#103

Post by rootusrootus » Sat, Sep 05, 2026, 1:08 AM UTC

shimman wrote: post #35

estearum wrote: post #13

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Well it’s almost certainly not just more open. But also more common and more intense. There is 100% absolutely no possible comparison to Trump’s personal acts of corruption in any prior White House ever.

Trump is bad, but please let's not excuse corporate neoliberal dems that are totally fine with insider trading, legalized bribes, and are quite proud that their consultant campaign workers get lucrative gigs at corporations/boards due to insider access. I mean we have people like Gillibrand that are openly in bed with the crypto industry while somehow decrying what Trump is doing. Feels like they're upset that Trump…

After reading about Ground News, I am starting to gain a real appreciation for how effective "both sides are bad" is at benefiting the right. It may well be the closest I've seen to 4D chess in reality.

Re: Record-High 89% in U.S. Say Government Corruption Widespread

#104

Post by swed420 » Sat, Sep 05, 2026, 1:10 AM UTC

XorNot wrote: post #98

swed420 wrote: post #29

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Identifying as independent is the first step toward not voting at all (which itself is a type of vote, especially in a rigged system). So definitely not meaningless. It demonstrates increasing amounts of people are tired of pretending our democracy isn't mostly illusory. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Uniparty

[flagged]

> What a childish, stupid opinion.

Democrats lost to a gameshow host. Twice. They just had to be better than that, and they couldn't manage. Pathetic. They also created the conditions for his rise. Twice. The bar is so amazingly low, and yet you can't comprehend how they keep fumbling this. Maybe, just maybe, it's a good cop / bad cop arrangement where only capital interests win, and it's a race to the bottom for everybody else. Or maybe that's just a childish, stupid opinion. Who knows!

Re: Record-High 89% in U.S. Say Government Corruption Widespread

#105

Post by autoexec » Sat, Sep 05, 2026, 1:12 AM UTC

cucumber3732842 wrote: post #88

BLKNSLVR wrote: post #51

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Part of the problem with the open brazenness of the corruption is that the populace of the country will follow the lead. The rot will spread far and wide if it is seen that there is no consequence.

What rots will fall down. Now, if you had some grand master plan to use some part of the federal government to stomp some people in some state for doing it wrong this is probably bad for you. But on a 30-40yr timeline it'll probably just mean a cycle of the feds doing less and the states doing more and the diversity that comes with that. Like we'll all screech about the EPA revoking this or the DOT ceasing to do that…

The EPA is a good example of why this is so bad. Even if 90% of the states pass rules to protect the air and water it takes only a small number of states not following environmental regulations to cause a massive amount of harm to air and water quality and the effects of that can be felt in other states.

It also hurts businesses when they suddenly find themselves forced to follow an inconsistent/conflicting patchwork of state laws instead of a single federal law.

That said, it's still encouraging to see states picking up the slack and passing laws to protect their residents, even though I can't help but feel bad for people who become stuck in states where the government doesn't care about them. I hope that people will be begin to flee states where the government chooses to put corporate profits above the well-being of the public or wants to strip them of their rights, but realistically there will be many people who can't afford to move or who feel compelled to stay because of ties to their friends, family, and community.

Re: Record-High 89% in U.S. Say Government Corruption Widespread

#106

Post by stinkbeetle » Sat, Sep 05, 2026, 1:14 AM UTC

I remember when this used to be a far right conspiracy theory.

Re: Record-High 89% in U.S. Say Government Corruption Widespread

#107

Post by matthewdgreen » Sat, Sep 05, 2026, 1:14 AM UTC

kolanos wrote: post #87

2OEH8eoCRo0 wrote: post #61

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's more like a third. > 35% approve, 61% disapprove, 5% not sure https://www.economist.com/interactive/trump-approval-tracker

> The national favorability rating for the Democratic Party sits around 39% to 41% favorable, with unfavorable ratings ranging from 48% to 54% across recent mid-2026 polls. [0] And Congress as a whole... > The approval rating for the U.S. Congress stands at 10%, while disapproval has climbed to 86%, according to data from Gallup. [1] So not sure what this is really telling us? [0]: https://fiftyplusone.news/polls/fav…

People hate Congress but love their Congressperson. It's even got a name: Fenno's paradox: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fenno%27s_paradox

Diffuse organizations like "Congress" or "the party" aren't what you're voting for. Unfortunately Congress really does take it on the chin for the actions of the President in midterms, because that's very recognizable and personalized, and partisan votes (or just staying home) are the only lever people have to express displeasure.

Re: Record-High 89% in U.S. Say Government Corruption Widespread

#108

Post by iamnothere » Sat, Sep 05, 2026, 1:22 AM UTC

jeffbee wrote: post #14

autoexec wrote: post #8

Corruption in the US isn't new, but it's never been done as openly as it has been recently. I don't think it's a good thing. It shows that the government isn't concerned about what the public thinks, which suggests that they believe they no longer have to be. That's not a healthy sign for what's supposed to be a democracy.

Implying that it's always been this way is part of the reason we are now here. For my entire life, bad faith commentators insinuated that the federal government was rife with corruption. When under Democratic control, of course. The time that Al Gore made one long-distance telephone call from his official desk, using his own personal calling card, birthed over 200 New York Times articles, 30 of them on the front page…

The problems that happened during the Clinton admin (with the exception of Whitewater) weren’t so much corruption as they were short-sighted neoliberal trade deals and hostility to organized labor, which accelerated the process of hollowing out the country. But this was also an unusual period in US history due to the end of the Cold War, so this administration could be an exception. Most of the scandals from this period appear quaint.

Re: Record-High 89% in U.S. Say Government Corruption Widespread

#109

Post by autoexec » Sat, Sep 05, 2026, 1:23 AM UTC

grvdrm wrote: post #84

shimman wrote: post #35

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Trump is bad, but please let's not excuse corporate neoliberal dems that are totally fine with insider trading, legalized bribes, and are quite proud that their consultant campaign workers get lucrative gigs at corporations/boards due to insider access. I mean we have people like Gillibrand that are openly in bed with the crypto industry while somehow decrying what Trump is doing. Feels like they're upset that Trump…

Fair take, I think. But we didn’t have to vote DJT into office as a counteracting force. Whether every decision is bad or not, not my point. It just seemed obvious that he wasn’t the right guy. Some people can’t vote against their party. Some people believe write in is the move.

A write in, or even just scrawling "FUCK YOU" across the ballot is at least an active protest. It shows that you aren't apathetic to, or okay with, what is going on. It'd be interesting to see a write in campaign for someone with enough public support to be more than just a protest vote though. It'd be interesting to see someone campaign to the public with no interest in participating in the two party system at all, just asking the public to write them in when the time comes.

Re: Record-High 89% in U.S. Say Government Corruption Widespread

#110

Post by cucumber3732842 » Sat, Sep 05, 2026, 1:23 AM UTC

autoexec wrote: post #105

cucumber3732842 wrote: post #88

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What rots will fall down. Now, if you had some grand master plan to use some part of the federal government to stomp some people in some state for doing it wrong this is probably bad for you. But on a 30-40yr timeline it'll probably just mean a cycle of the feds doing less and the states doing more and the diversity that comes with that. Like we'll all screech about the EPA revoking this or the DOT ceasing to do that…

The EPA is a good example of why this is so bad. Even if 90% of the states pass rules to protect the air and water it takes only a small number of states not following environmental regulations to cause a massive amount of harm to air and water quality and the effects of that can be felt in other states. It also hurts businesses when they suddenly find themselves forced to follow an inconsistent/conflicting patchwork…

You're only looking at the glass half empty side of things.

The environment in the US is very diverse so why is it federally regulated to the degree it is?

Not having to put up with rules that make sense in the arid plains or western deserts is gonna be a huge boon to everyone east of the Mississippi.

The "consistency" argument is like 99% red herring. There's already a huge patchwork because the way federal agencies work is the states do most of the enforcing so you have 50 states worth of precedents and political whims to keep track of. If we're gonna suffer that patchwork it should at least work for the state as they want it rather than just be various flavors of spin on federal rules nobody fully agrees with.

You can run this sort of exercise with just about every federal agency. Stuff like the FRA, DOT and other things where the literal subject matter is flagrantly interstate are where this sort of thing is least true.