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

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

#461

Post by anon84873628 »

budman1 wrote: post #417
ModernMech wrote: post #149

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's recent enough that people living today knew former slaves. That's not ancient history at all, so I think the comparison is not good. I'm sure Brazil also has to deal with fallout of their practices, but I don't see how it changes how the fallout of US slavery impacts the US.

I don't know any former slaves. I don't know anyone that has spoken to a former slave. And most people of color in the US's ancestors were not slaves in the US south. They came as immigrants from other countries. The issue is not slavery. It might be racism. But it is not "I can't have slaves anymore"

A full 76 of current serving US Senators were born before the passing of the landmark Civil Rights Act of 1964 (which officially ended segregation and the Jim Crow era).

That certainly means it's recent to me. My own parents (both still alive) grew up while "separate but equal" was still law of the land.

So, yes, it's definitely racism. Or shall we say, the lasting imprint of slavery and the Confederate ideology more generally. Reconstruction failed and therefore allowed the Confederate ideology to persist for 100 years of Jim Crow and right on into today.

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

#462

Post by collingreen »

bregma wrote: post #377
collingreen wrote: post #236

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Do those conservative people keep voting for Trump? Will they support his blatantly unconstitutional third term run? If so I think we need more words for nuances around what conservatism has come to mean.

Do you really think he'll bother running for a third term when all he needs to do is declare the election results invalid and stay in office?

I'm sad to say I don't feel like I have a good handle on what is going to happen in the near future. Between the ongoing daily "flood the zone" from the administration and how fast AI is moving I have no idea what happens even a few months out from here.

Do I think he will run? I don't know - he said he wants to, regardless of constitution, and I think he would love the vanity of it if he was sure to win. They've done a lot of work to be able to suppress votes, throw out mail in votes, and declare the election invalid, plus the legislature seems inexplicably spineless, so I don't know if he would run again or not. Anything but release the epstein files I guess?

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

#463

Post by anon84873628 »

bawolff wrote: post #181
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.

People who feel lost and disaffected would rather see the whole thing burn down than continue with the status quo even if it is objectively worse for them. And its clearly been building for a while. Trump and Obama are about as opposite as possible, but they both won by campaigning on "change". This is true in most political systems. Its how most revolutions start. The commoner is always screwed but they still suppor…

Don't know why you're being down voted. I can't believe there are people who didn't vote for Harris because she wasn't anti-Israel, as if Trump would somehow be better for the Gazans.

(Well I can believe it, it shows a limitation of rational thought and second order effects, which our electoral system exploits. And some of them are outright "accelerationists" which is a looney strategy itself.)

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

#464

Post by dennis_jeeves2 »

hakunin wrote: post #195
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.

Saying “US corruption isn’t new” is a truism. There are probably isolated incidents, and many unproven theories, but everyone is quick to agree with this statement because it’s a common feeling everyone has now for some reason. The reality of corruption is likely much smaller and more boring than people think. What we’re witnessing now is what should be called corruption. That corruption that everyone has been scream…

>There are probably isolated incidents, and many unproven theories,

Depending on how/what you calculate, cumulative taxation is between 50% to 70% of an average person's income. This is all that you need to know.

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

#466

Post by pjc50 »

potamic wrote: post #348
pjc50 wrote: post #307

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Did shareholders get bailed out? Which bank? The UK and Ireland bailouts did not do that.

Not directly, but indirectly by declining any punitive actions. Ideally the banks earnings should've been used up towards the bail out punishing shareholders in the spirit of the free market. But if I remember at that time, execs paid themselves large bonuses immediately following the bail out.

"Not directly" = no. Plenty of bank shareholders got zeroed out entirely! Like RBS.

Please name a bailed out bank which didn't hit shareholders.

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

#467

Post by rootusrootus »

estearum wrote: post #450
patagurbon wrote: post #329

Earlier quoted context omitted.

They help launder this idea that every issue has two reasonable sides. Which is patently false There is some kernel of value to seeking out information from diverse sources. But groups like Ground News pervert that to mean that the left and right are on equally good terms with fact and reality (nevermind that collapsing politics and news media down to left and right is balderdash)

Huh... I'm super liberal (not so progressive necessarily) and I enjoy Ground News a lot. I don't feel like it gives an impression of both-sideism at all, and that's something I'm quite sensitive to?

That is their stated purpose, though? To give equal parts left & right so that you can supposedly be better informed. But the implicit assumption is that left & right are equally truthful & fact based, which is not the case, so the resulting coverage leans right.

Notably, like another allegedly unbiased news source (RealClearPolitics and related), Ground News is run by conservatives. They know precisely how it works and are taking advantage of sensible people who think they must be getting biased news and want more exposure to the other side, with the intention of ratcheting the Overton window ever more to the right.

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

#468

Post by estearum »

rootusrootus wrote: post #467
estearum wrote: post #450

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Huh... I'm super liberal (not so progressive necessarily) and I enjoy Ground News a lot. I don't feel like it gives an impression of both-sideism at all, and that's something I'm quite sensitive to?

That is their stated purpose, though? To give equal parts left & right so that you can supposedly be better informed. But the implicit assumption is that left & right are equally truthful & fact based, which is not the case, so the resulting coverage leans right. Notably, like another allegedly unbiased news source (RealClearPolitics and related), Ground News is run by conservatives. They know precisely how it works…

No, I don't believe that is their stated purpose. It's to share stories from across the spectrum and then emphasize how differently they're reported or not-reported.

That does not necessarily imply giving equal airtime or equal legitimacy to the different sides at all.

Eh, to the extent that I care about it being "run by conservatives" it's only in whether it creates a distorted perception of reality. As someone with a very varied media diet I don't really find them to be distortive, so I don't really care whether the founders are conservative or not.

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

#469

Post by bawolff »

anon84873628 wrote: post #463
bawolff wrote: post #181

Earlier quoted context omitted.

People who feel lost and disaffected would rather see the whole thing burn down than continue with the status quo even if it is objectively worse for them. And its clearly been building for a while. Trump and Obama are about as opposite as possible, but they both won by campaigning on "change". This is true in most political systems. Its how most revolutions start. The commoner is always screwed but they still suppor…

Don't know why you're being down voted. I can't believe there are people who didn't vote for Harris because she wasn't anti-Israel, as if Trump would somehow be better for the Gazans. (Well I can believe it, it shows a limitation of rational thought and second order effects, which our electoral system exploits. And some of them are outright "accelerationists" which is a looney strategy itself.)

That's another good example. Personally i was thinking of lower income people voting for trump because they thought he would improve their plight.

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

#470

Post by dinfinity »

mitxela wrote: post #277
blooalien wrote: post #275

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> On the flip side, let's keep pointing to all the specific Trump examples. "They" (the cult that worships Trump) would simply presume "TDS" over such an idea, but the fact here is that Trump absolutely is "off his rocker batshit insane" (to a degree we've not seen before in any U.S. president yet), and anyone who claims that he's "good for America" is just as (or more) insane than he is (or they genuinely do hate th…

What can a single person legally do about corruption though?

Protest. Insistently try to convince people around you to join you. Initiate and organize these things.

The have been many, many protests throughout history. Some did nothing, some changed history. Many of them were done under much, much more dangerous and difficult circumstances than a protest today in the US. Yes, some American protesters have already died at the hands of the authoritarian government, but that is only going to get worse and worse if you let it.

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