The sudden spike coincides with the Citizens United and SpeechNow SCOTUS decisions.
Study: Congress literally doesn’t care what you think. The preferences of the average American appear to have only a miniscule, near-zero, statistically non-significant impact upon public policy.
Submitted 4 months ago by return2ozma@lemmy.world to aboringdystopia@lemmy.world
https://act.represent.us/sign/problempoll-fba
Comments
ZombiFrancis@sh.itjust.works 4 months ago
UnderpantsWeevil@lemmy.world 4 months ago
It’s been trending for some time. Chomsky’s “Manufacturing Consent” describes a host of national policies that were intensely disliked when they began and only became normalized after years of mass media manipulation.
The Drug Wars, opposition to the Civil Rights and Women’s Rights movements, most of our wars after WW2, our large scale claw backs of social spending and ballooning security state budgets, our habit of subsidizing sports stadiums and toxic waste sites, etc - all need regular continued media investment for fear of a popular turn.
SCOTUS widened the spigots for political spending in pursuit of these goals. But it’s not like the WSJ or AM Radio or the cable news companies weren’t already flush with propaganda before the CU decision.
ZombiFrancis@sh.itjust.works 4 months ago
No the decisions weren’t necessary for all that, but for the one simple graph tracking campaign costs it was particularly salient.
poorlytunedAstring@lemmy.world 4 months ago
I understand that this is a doomer sub but man. When you manage to get away from all this social media bullshit for a while then try to poke your head in you realize how relentlessly negative it is at all times, because nobody wants to actually do anything about anything, including go the fuck outside and forget about it for a bit, and everyone with any ambitions of sanity leaves.
Could we start discussing credible strategies to reverse this situation, or at least improve that number somehow? Absolutely the fuck not, never, ever ever. The shit is very literally crazy, I don’t know what I was trying to expect.
But this post is so much like the other posts on the rest of the site it took me a minute to notice where I was. Might as well stop acting like this is just one community, it’s everything.
ameancow@lemmy.world 4 months ago
Could we start discussing credible strategies to reverse this situation, or at least improve that number somehow?
I say this constantly, and everyone nods along happily when I say it, but almost nobody does it. What is it? It’s getting involved in your local politics.
The federal government, the US congress and senate and all the executive branch… they’re all supported and propped up by powerful institutions within the states that got powerful because nobody paid it any attention and still don’t. People get elected to represent us who run without opposition and then we wonder why nothing seems to change.
If you get involved with knowing who in your neighborhood, your school district, your city, your county and your state represent you, and then challenging that representation in any way you can, from actually running all the way to just getting on those horrible neighborhood forums and holding yard-sales to get to know your neighbors.
GET TO KNOW YOUR NEIGHBORS. Jesus, this country is terrible about this one huge thing that could change everything, which is reforming communities. We scream and cry how bad the world is and make ZERO effort to make it better by forming support systems within neighborhoods. I mean fuck, most suburban neighborhoods have nothing else to do, might as well have some bake sales and yard sales and jogging groups and other things to help get to know each other, right? Or has all our cynicism completely overshadowed any possible chance of ever forming friendly communities in the US?
Ultragigagigantic@lemmy.world 4 months ago
GET TO KNOW YOUR NEIGHBORS.
I move every year because my rent keeps going up and I can’t afford to stay. In some places ive been they offer a discount the first year then it goes up to the “normal rate”.
Sorry my MAGA neighbor that broke my headlight, I can’t stay to educate you.
kibiz0r@midwest.social 4 months ago
Get involved with Represent.Us, the site that was linked to.
They have a pretty good strategy, and they have been making progress.
Governance is discouraging because it’s complex. And when things are complex, it’s difficult to see progress and it’s easy to predict that there will be problems.
It’s also difficult (and unrewarding) to have serious conversations about this stuff on social media.
The posts get too long, with no satisfying simplistic conclusion, and even if you make an incredible magnum opus of a post that acknowledges enough complexity to be realistic while also being short and snappy enough to catch people’s attention… it drops off of the trending posts algorithm after a day.
Treczoks@lemmy.world 4 months ago
If sad facts just bring you down instead of making you act to fix them, then you are part of the problem.
Moneo@lemmy.world 4 months ago
Ok, so now what? You’re going to shit on people for being depressed about the state of the world and feeling powerless because of how powerless they are?
If you want people to engage in solutions I’d recommend not belittling them for succumbing to apathy in the face of overwhelming opposition.
Thteven@lemmy.world 4 months ago
As long as there is money to be made in politics the common man will be trodden upon. Good luck getting the people making all the money to change the laws.
Maggoty@lemmy.world 4 months ago
Expand the house. Drop the ratio to something much closer to the original one, (1 representative for 30,000 people). It’s theorized that a ratio around 1:100,000 is low enough to provide more accountability. It would mean a house around 3600 representatives but they’d be very responsible to their local communities. And we could institute a system where only senior members are in D.C. with others joining them only for very sensitive meetings that couldn’t be held using the secure intranet the military has.
This expansion would obliterate party control and lobbying. There’s just too many representatives at that point and too many seats to fund. The price tag of campaigning would drop precipitously, making elections intensely local again.
fuck_u_spez_in_particular@lemmy.world 4 months ago
I mean that is basically how social media and news etc. work. Negative emotions are the strongest, and possibly produce the most reactions. And that’s what all of this lives from. Probably one of the reasons why the human world is slowly gonig to shit (well there I did feed it^^). I think though it’s really difficult to combat this shitty political situation we’re in basically worldwide, it’s almost self-driving into a well not so human-friendly (nor life at all) world.
But I obviously agree. Just actually do stuff that doesn’t feed this downward spiral. I.e. do stuff with friends, pursue hobbys, do sports etc. Be a good example for others (e. g. show that a more climate friendly life doesn’t need to degrade happiness, or could even be helpful). That IME leads to much more happiness, healthier life (physically and psychological), less misanthropism etc.
LodeMike@lemmy.today 4 months ago
That’s because y’all won’t fucking VOTE
Moneo@lemmy.world 4 months ago
VOTE VOTE VOTE VOTE
Municipal, provincial, federal. I don’t fucking know how your country works just fucking vote. Pretty pleaaaaaase.
Ultragigagigantic@lemmy.world 4 months ago
I did, and the primary to. Then the people who I voted alongside of talked massive shit about me because I didn’t smile hard enough while voting for “the most pro-labor president”.
Then they didn’t do anything to fix the First Past the Post voting system and the spoiler effect that comes along side it. Despite lecturing people over and over about its mathematical flaws whenever anyone mentioned voting outside the two party system.
Veraxus@lemmy.world 4 months ago
For what, exactly? The parties choose who we’re allowed to vote for. Until we abolish FPTP and implement RCV, there will be no democracy in America.
LodeMike@lemmy.today 4 months ago
They won’t be aligned to your interests unless you vote.
Sanctus@lemmy.world 4 months ago
I remember watching this nearly 6 years after release and how relevant it still was. It still is relevant. End Citizens United if you want to even begin to take our country back.
AsherahTheEnd@lemmy.world 4 months ago
Isn’t there something we as a people are meant to do when the government fails to serve us? 🤔 Asking for a friend.
Ultragigagigantic@lemmy.world 4 months ago
You don’t vote for people who don’t represent you.
Our first past the post voting system is mathematically flawed to always result in a two party system through strategic voting.
People are not free to vote for who best represents them because they would let someone who represents them even less win the election.
Maggoty@lemmy.world 4 months ago
For that first part to work we must vote for better candidates at the lower level and stop voting for the media selected consensus candidate in primaries.
Otherwise we’re just disengaging from the system and letting two people pass the presidency back and forth.
barsquid@lemmy.world 4 months ago
Take a moment to stop focusing on the day-to-day so we can go out and water our trees.
Crikeste@lemm.ee 4 months ago
2nd amendment. 😎
cultsuperstar@lemmy.world 4 months ago
Duh? We know already know this. Their main concern is staying in office for as long as possible and see how badly they can fuck up the country.
Asafum@feddit.nl 4 months ago
Duh? We know already know this. Their main concern is staying in office for as long as possible and see how
badly they can fuck up the country.much they can grow their own bank accounts.The destruction of the country is just a byproduct of their greed. :(
Takina_sOldPairTM@lemmy.world 4 months ago
MJ’s “They Don’t Care About Us”, still relevant to the times.
UnderpantsWeevil@lemmy.world 4 months ago
George Bush doesn’t care about Black People
Semi_Hemi_Demigod@lemmy.world 4 months ago
Same with Stevie Wonder’s “You Haven’t Done Nothin’”
We are amazed but not amused
By all the things you say that you’ll do
Though much concerned but not involved
With decisions that are made by you
Ultragigagigantic@lemmy.world 4 months ago
AVincentInSpace@pawb.social 4 months ago
This study is bunk.
Researchers critiquing the paper found that middle-income Americans and rich Americans actually agree on an overwhelming majority of topics. Out of the 1,779 bills in the Gilens/Page data set, majorities of the rich and middle class agree on 1,594; there are 616 bills both groups oppose and 978 bills both groups favor. That means the groups agree on 89.6 percent of bills.
That leaves only 185 bills on which the rich and the middle class disagree, and even there the disagreements are small. On average, the groups’ opinion gaps on the 185 bills is 10.9 percentage points; so, say, 45 percent of the middle class might support a bill while 55.9 percent of the rich support it.
Bashir and Branham/Soroka/Wlezien find that on these 185 bills, the rich got their preferred outcome 53 percent of the time and the middle class got what they wanted 47 percent of the time.
Nimrod@lemm.ee 4 months ago
I think the fact that there are ~40% of bills that both rich and middle class Americans oppose is pretty solid proof that congress doesn’t give a shit about what American citizens want them to pass… or am i misinterpreting this?
meowMix2525@lemm.ee 4 months ago
Also, why the focus on rich and middle class? Is the vast majority of america not “lower”/working class?
masquenox@lemmy.world 4 months ago
This study is bunk.
UnderpantsWeevil@lemmy.world 4 months ago
the rich got their preferred outcome 53 percent of the time and the middle class got what they wanted 47 percent of the time.
Okay, but there’s a large third traunch of voters you’re neglecting
BarrelAgedBoredom@lemm.ee 4 months ago
The poors aren’t people silly!
AVincentInSpace@pawb.social 4 months ago
They were also neglected by the people who made the study the link in the post is talking about, so the study is still bunk.
Burghler@sh.itjust.works 4 months ago
What does bunk mean here?
n3m37h@sh.itjust.works 4 months ago
Bullshit
sunzu@kbin.run 4 months ago
Is this the 20 year old study being pulled out for 2024 election cycle?
Fuckfuckmyfuckingass@lemmy.world 4 months ago
Do you think it’s gotten any better?
sunzu@kbin.run 4 months ago
Quality of life getting better, people around me buying houses and having children...
Not
Illuminostro@lemmy.world 4 months ago
They don’t fear us.
Ultragigagigantic@lemmy.world 4 months ago
Perhaps the automated drone army is nearing completion.
Then finally us useless eaters can finally be dealt with.
yokonzo@lemmy.world 4 months ago
Abolish the electoral college
explodicle@sh.itjust.works 4 months ago
And FPTP
Gradually_Adjusting@lemmy.world 4 months ago
The fact that I’m 100% confident this will never happen, and absolutely needs to, convinced me to leave the states.
UnderpantsWeevil@lemmy.world 4 months ago
And the Senate, while you’re at it.
TheReturnOfPEB@reddthat.com 4 months ago
Each congressperson represents too many people.
We need to add seats to the House of Representatives.
Liz@midwest.social 4 months ago
Quintuple the number of seats in each district, use Sequential Proportional Approval Voting to elect the five members of each district.
crusa187@lemmy.ml 4 months ago
Let’s add some seats to the Supreme Court while we’re at it.
Asafum@feddit.nl 4 months ago
We can’t do that or Republicans will never have control of government.
I mean that’s a good thing, and we’ll finally have some semblance of representation, but it’s exactly why we can’t do it. :(
ramble81@lemm.ee 4 months ago
And a lot of this comes from not fucking voting. I seriously wonder how things would be if voting was mandatory and everyone was given appropriate time off to do it.
Viking_Hippie@lemmy.world 4 months ago
CitizenKong@lemmy.world 4 months ago
In Germany we only vote on Sundays and it’s super easy, barely an inconvenience. We’re still lucky when more than two thirds vote. People are in general are lazy and stupid.
samus12345@lemmy.world 4 months ago
“Super einfach, kaum eine Unannehmlichkeit!”
Crackhappy@lemmy.world 4 months ago
Ryan, that you?
inclementimmigrant@lemmy.world 4 months ago
Yeah, it’s not like the public pays particularly well unlike bribery, I mean lobbying groups.
S_H_K@lemmy.dbzer0.com 4 months ago
In the last 5 years alone, the 200 most politically active companies in the U.S. spent $5.8 billion influencing our government with lobbying and campaign contributions. Those same companies got $4.4 trillion in taxpayer support — earning a return of 750 times their investment.
An no one bats an eye… you should be rioting in the streets
Ultragigagigantic@lemmy.world 4 months ago
If we replaced first past the post voting with a more representative electoral system, we could inject competition into the electoral process.
Then maybe they would have to care.
bloodfart@lemmy.ml 4 months ago
~stop voting for politicians who don’t align with your values and politics~
TheReturnOfPEB@reddthat.com 4 months ago
They don’t like it if you tell them that you hope their family dies in a bloody revolution because they are were too cowardly to vote to convict Trump, though.
cumskin_genocide@lemm.ee 4 months ago
Keep voting blue and hope things change.
Mediocre_Bard@lemmy.world 4 months ago
Yeah, no shit.
Snowclone@lemmy.world 4 months ago
No one with power will ever pass laws to reduce their power, but a direct democracy work be very posible with modern technology.
_number8_@lemmy.world 4 months ago
yeah no fucking shit, can we stop pretending this system is effective or worth defending?
A Congressman is a hog! You must take a stick and hit him on the snout! - Henry Adams, 1906
Etterra@lemmy.world 4 months ago
There was s study about this year’s ago. They compared popularity of bills and how they were passed and there was no difference; Congress just did what they want. I suspect if your redid the study to compare bills passed to corporate interests you’d get much more revealing results.
Melvin_Ferd@lemmy.world 4 months ago
Y’all should check out Doug Ford and the Ontario Science center shit show if you like this type of story.
MapleEngineer@lemmy.world 4 months ago
www.youtube.com/watch?v=5tu32CCA_Ig
Go to 5:40
corsicanguppy@lemmy.ca 4 months ago
I want to understand what Skippy says, but when ‘literally’ is the best adverb available I just don’t want to hear any more.
Fades@lemmy.world 4 months ago
thank you citizen united
Lighthouse@lemmy.world 4 months ago
And this is why Ronald Reagan was right: “I’m from the government and I’m here to help” - Not.
Pacmanlives@lemmy.world 4 months ago
Man that picture is old AF! John Boehner has not been in office since 2015…
dohpaz42@lemmy.world 4 months ago
Shit, y’all could’ve saved a ton of time and effort if you’d have just asked me; I’ve been saying this for years. And it’s only worse when you’re the one speck of blue in a red sea.
Viking_Hippie@lemmy.world 4 months ago
It’s one of those things that are obvious to reasonable people but it’s nice to have proof for when you run into unreasonable people who deny it.
_number8_@lemmy.world 4 months ago
i love getting scolded about voting when even if I personally managed to pull off a miracle and convert one thousand people to vote for biden, it wouldn’t make a bit of difference.
dohpaz42@lemmy.world 4 months ago
As if voting for president makes any difference, when it’s the electoral college who makes the final decision. And they’ve proven in the past that they’ll do what they want.