America’s deadly racial gap
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Alien Allen
Froggy the Prick
He Maz
Try going to some of the cities in China and see how you breathe
Our air is pristine compared to Beijing
Try going to some of the cities in China and see how you breathe
Our air is pristine compared to Beijing
Must be filled with minorities
Must be filled with minorities
Minorities? No. Oligarchs, yes.
Study: US is an oligarchy, not a democracy
A review of the best commentary on and around the world...
Today's must-read
The US is dominated by a rich and powerful elite.
So concludes a recent study by Princeton University Prof Martin Gilens and Northwestern University Prof Benjamin I Page.
This is not news, you say.
Perhaps, but the two professors have conducted exhaustive research to try to present data-driven support for this conclusion. Here's how they explain it:
Multivariate analysis indicates that economic elites and organised groups representing business interests have substantial independent impacts on US government policy, while average citizens and mass-based interest groups have little or no independent influence.
In English: the wealthy few move policy, while the average American has little power.
The two professors came to this conclusion after reviewing answers to 1,779 survey questions asked between 1981 and 2002 on public policy issues. They broke the responses down by income level, and then determined how often certain income levels and organised interest groups saw their policy preferences enacted.
"A proposed policy change with low support among economically elite Americans (one-out-of-five in favour) is adopted only about 18% of the time," they write, "while a proposed change with high support (four-out-of-five in favour) is adopted about 45% of the time."
On the other hand:
When a majority of citizens disagrees with economic elites and/or with organised interests, they generally lose. Moreover, because of the strong status quo bias built into the US political system, even when fairly large majorities of Americans favour policy change, they generally do not get it.
They conclude:
Americans do enjoy many features central to democratic governance, such as regular elections, freedom of speech and association and a widespread (if still contested) franchise. But we believe that if policymaking is dominated by powerful business organisations and a small number of affluent Americans, then America's claims to being a democratic society are seriously threatened.
Eric Zuess, writing in Counterpunch, isn't surprised by the survey's results.
"American democracy is a sham, no matter how much it's pumped by the oligarchs who run the country (and who control the nation's "news" media)," he writes. "The US, in other words, is basically similar to Russia or most other dubious 'electoral' 'democratic' countries. We weren't formerly, but we clearly are now."
This is the "Duh Report", says Death and Taxes magazine's Robyn Pennacchia. Maybe, she writes, Americans should just accept their fate.
"Perhaps we ought to suck it up, admit we have a classist society and do like England where we have a House of Lords and a House of Commoners," she writes, "instead of pretending as though we all have some kind of equal opportunity here."
Before a famine takes you on.......
GovBeat: Local food insecurity in America, in 11 graphics
A new report charts the high level of food insecurity in the nation’s counties and congressional districts.
GovBeat: Local food insecurity in America, in 11 graphics
A new report charts the high level of food insecurity in the nation’s counties and congressional districts.
Don't you think you need some Inspirational quotes f
Here...
- “We read to know that we are not alone.” -- William Nicholson, Shadowlands
- “A reader lives a thousand lives before he dies. The man who never reads lives only one.” -- George R.R. Martin, A Dance with Dragons
- “Sometimes, you read a book and it fills you with this weird evangelical zeal, and you become convinced that the shattered world will never be put back together unless and until all living humans read the book.” -- John Green,The Fault in Our Stars
- “If you don’t have time to read, you don’t have the time (or the tools) to write. Simple as that.” -- Stephen King
- “I cannot remember the books I’ve read any more than the meals I have eaten; even so, they have made me.” -- Ralph Waldo Emerson
Here...
The US is not an oligarchy there are checks and balances to prevent any person or group from having much control...while not perect the system is in place thus preventing such control given to a person or group.Minorities? No. Oligarchs, yes.
Study: US is an oligarchy, not a democracy
What in the world?Pieces of global opinion
This man does not like to be disturbed while he's running the US
A review of the best commentary on and around the world...
Today's must-read
The US is dominated by a rich and powerful elite.
So concludes a recent study by Princeton University Prof Martin Gilens and Northwestern University Prof Benjamin I Page.
This is not news, you say.
Perhaps, but the two professors have conducted exhaustive research to try to present data-driven support for this conclusion. Here's how they explain it:
Multivariate analysis indicates that economic elites and organised groups representing business interests have substantial independent impacts on US government policy, while average citizens and mass-based interest groups have little or no independent influence.
In English: the wealthy few move policy, while the average American has little power.
The two professors came to this conclusion after reviewing answers to 1,779 survey questions asked between 1981 and 2002 on public policy issues. They broke the responses down by income level, and then determined how often certain income levels and organised interest groups saw their policy preferences enacted.
"A proposed policy change with low support among economically elite Americans (one-out-of-five in favour) is adopted only about 18% of the time," they write, "while a proposed change with high support (four-out-of-five in favour) is adopted about 45% of the time."
On the other hand:
When a majority of citizens disagrees with economic elites and/or with organised interests, they generally lose. Moreover, because of the strong status quo bias built into the US political system, even when fairly large majorities of Americans favour policy change, they generally do not get it.
They conclude:
Americans do enjoy many features central to democratic governance, such as regular elections, freedom of speech and association and a widespread (if still contested) franchise. But we believe that if policymaking is dominated by powerful business organisations and a small number of affluent Americans, then America's claims to being a democratic society are seriously threatened.
Eric Zuess, writing in Counterpunch, isn't surprised by the survey's results.
"American democracy is a sham, no matter how much it's pumped by the oligarchs who run the country (and who control the nation's "news" media)," he writes. "The US, in other words, is basically similar to Russia or most other dubious 'electoral' 'democratic' countries. We weren't formerly, but we clearly are now."
This is the "Duh Report", says Death and Taxes magazine's Robyn Pennacchia. Maybe, she writes, Americans should just accept their fate.
"Perhaps we ought to suck it up, admit we have a classist society and do like England where we have a House of Lords and a House of Commoners," she writes, "instead of pretending as though we all have some kind of equal opportunity here."
Wow, flooding the general discussion forum with your hatred of the US .
Looks like I upset you more than I thought in the debate forum and so you fled to escape my commentaries.
Alien Allen
Froggy the Prick
It is pretty close to an Oligarchy if not one
Alien Allen
Froggy the Prick
That and have a lot of money to spend on ads that the gullible buy into. We have been inundated with ads against the presumed democrat nominee for governor here. And this is before there are even primaries. I do admit though the ads are pretty effective.
Maz was referencing that the "poor" needs are not met by representation...as the elite are the shot callers
We have huge programs in place for the economically challenged ...big bussiness may not appreciate higher taxes to be redistributed but the representation there is to protect the poor via aid...tax breaks and such.
But yeah elections are pretty sad in this country. ...who can sling the most crap and lie the best wins.
We have huge programs in place for the economically challenged ...big bussiness may not appreciate higher taxes to be redistributed but the representation there is to protect the poor via aid...tax breaks and such.
But yeah elections are pretty sad in this country. ...who can sling the most crap and lie the best wins.
Alien Allen
Froggy the Prick
And those with money contribute to the lies and mud slinging.
I don't know that I can recall so many tv ads this early in the year...
I don't know that I can recall so many tv ads this early in the year...
LOL ...so the claim is not enough food..but we are also claimed an obese nation as well
Alien Allen
Froggy the Prick
Maz is scraping the bottom of the barrel. Desperate times call for desperate measures. Anything to berate the US
But I can not blame him. He has nothing left to give to defend his Muslim brethren who are so neanderthal
But I can not blame him. He has nothing left to give to defend his Muslim brethren who are so neanderthal
I need to correct that last statement.
It should read:
' He has nothing left to give to defend his misogynist/racist Muslim brethren '
Last edited by a moderator:
Clearly, the prophet is saying "You are all destined for Hell"
What is there to defend for Muslims?? I am not a prophet...maybe you are
Hehe!! Stone has nothing besides ACCUSATIONS... he's a paradigm of Islamophobes and a shitter
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