Posts: 3,196
Threads: 108
Joined: Jun 2010
From the Princeton study, normal citizens and citizen groups have little to no influence on politics, even through voting.
quote:
Multivariate analysis indicates that economic elites and organized groups representing business interests have substantial
independent impacts on U.S. government policy, while average citizens and mass-based interest groups have little or no
independent influence. The results provide substantial support for theories of Economic-Elite Domination and for theories of
Biased Pluralism, but not for theories of Majoritarian Electoral Democracy or Majoritarian Pluralism.
You can blame the voters, but smart people don't keep trying to do something that doesn't work or make any difference.
Either get rich and change the system, or work outside of it.
Posts: 4,217
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quote:
Originally posted by HereOnThePrimalEdge
people won't take ownership of their government.
Now would be a good time for our conservative / libertarian / Republican members to post their comments about the travesty of Hawaii's Democratic leadership, and their egregious waste of tax dollars.
... crickets
... local, indigenous crickets
Oh, that's right, the tax dollars in this case are well spent as they're allocated for the over inflated billing charges of wealthy contractors. Those contractors are a part of Hawaii's great success stories, the real winners in our island society. It's what victory smells like in Hawaii.
The wealthy contractors then take their HART checks, buy up another dozen houses from families who can no longer afford mortgage payments, and convert family homes into high priced rental properties.
The homeless meanwhile, get to live under the elevated HART track, provided for them by people who are The Great Succeeders. It'll sure make a nice motivational bedtime story for their keiki, snuggled into a refrigerator box as they listen to the trains rumble overhead all through the long night.
You could never convince a monkey to give you a banana by promising him limitless bananas after death in monkey heaven.
The Hawaii Circle of Life
Liberal Democrats in office
Unions only feed the Democrats
Contractors feed the Democrats
The liberal Democrats feed the contractors
Repeat and raise taxes with every cycle.
Posts: 2,466
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Joined: May 2008
"... average citizens and mass-based interest groups have little or no
independent influence..."
People who believe that are called "sheep".
Puna: Our roosters crow first
Posts: 1,955
Threads: 100
Joined: Aug 2005
quote:
Originally posted by EightFingers
I'll say it once again, elections have consequences.
Voter apathy is a lot worse here than I ever thought.. Kind of sad people won't take ownership of their government.
Wonder when taxes to pay for that thing will start to creep over HERE.
We do pay some - every time a product changes hands there is GET, when a wholesaler on Oahu sells to a store here
Posts: 1,099
Threads: 6
Joined: Nov 2010
quote:
Originally posted by Seeb
We do pay some - every time a product changes hands there is GET, when a wholesaler on Oahu sells to a store here
The wholesale GET is only 0.5%, with no Oahu surcharge for the rail. The rail tax is an extra 0.5% on retail sales, services, and rentals on Oahu, so the rate is 4.5% there vs. 4% on other islands. So no, you're not paying for it through that.
