If you could change some things about the USA's political system, what would they be? How could they realistically be changed? What would we need to get these kinds of changes?
I would add a viable third party that can practice what they preach. The Libertarians, preferably. Watch gov't spending go down, and people have more personal accountability. The Dems and Republicans are doing a good job of making their rise inevitable. The Dems through sheer political incompetence and the Republicans by forgetting the concept of fiscal responsbility.
What do you mean by "more personal accountability"? Less frivolous law suits? Personally, the judicial system is something I'd like to see some changes in. I don't like judges being appointed for life - they lose all accountability. Also, in trials it shouldn't matter how much your lawyer costs. It's ridiculous that people can get away with murder(OJ) if they can afford to pay for the best lawyer. And innocence should come through whether you have a good lawyer or not. I don't think a viable third party will ever exists in the United States. That's mostly because of a cultural thing though, many people prefer it to be a black & white issue. I think both parties will continue to fall until some changes are made, it's just a question of when and who will make them.
No, I mean less reliance upon the government to solve people's problems. Fewer special interests, fewer hand-outs.
I too would love to have a more visible 3rd party but I would prefer it to be the Constitution party. Like NoLimit said, pretty soon people will get so fed up with the incompetency of the established political parties new ones will rise to take their place. In the mid 1850s the Whigs gave way to the Republicans because the new Republican platform was to keep slavery just in the south and many whigs were attracted to this so the Whig party died. The same thing will happen with our current political parties due to fiscal irresponsibility and too much bureaucracy/central governemnt power.
Gotcha. So what about kids and old people? I think the government should rely more on the goodness of people and charities. There are millions of charities in this country. If people want help, they can get help. It just seems to me that special interests programs & hand-outs don't work (as in, I agree with you). Economically, it's better on the country for people to help other people through theirselves or charity than to go through the government. I like that the govt gives tax incentives to donate to charities, but I think more needs to be done.
Here is what Jefferson had to say about the judiciary. This first one isn't really about the judiciary but the Supreme Court does have unlimited powers and is the one who decides what is or what is not "constitutional" in this country and they are allowed to legislate from the bench, Judicial Activism. So we are in essence submitting to "a government of unlimited powers"
i dunno about the political system, it is pretty good. the problem is with the voters. i cant think of a way to improve the system, at least not off the top of my head. this is off topic, but one thing i do think is really important is drug legalization. enforcement is such a terrible waste of resources, and i feel terrible for people who are locked up for drug offenses. when i watch "cops" on tv and they are busting non-violent normal peeps for having drugs, i weep for america and my tax dollars going to this travesty. and these smug bastard cops preaching to users really piss me off. (i do not, nor have i ever done any serious drugs, but i have friends who do drugs and they seem to really enjoy it in a quite healthy fashion)
I can go w/ you on the War on Drugs, Martin. The resources dedicated to a futile effort are simply absurd. I have no problem with going after serious drugs that take a major toll on society (e.g. heroin and crack), but seeing people locked up for years for having weed is just ridiculous. I, for one, am pissed off that my paycheck is less every two weeks cops/politicians can keep pushing a rope.
Definitely the emergence of a centrist, moderate third party. The Dems and the GOP are severly polarized and seem to be run by their most radical members. And America suffers as a result. For this to happen another important change has to happen first--election reform. 1. The Electoral college is an 18th century relict that has to go. The "winner takes all electors" method is designed to keep third parties from emerging. In the 21st century with the impact of vast money and mass communication, a candidate that doesn't win in New Hampshire and Iowa is out of the race before the other states get to put an opinion in. 2. The campaign is too long. Campaigning in Britain is not permitted to start before 12 weeks ahead of the election. Long campaigns, especially when the primaries are essentially over in February, lead to the kind of polarization and mudslinging that we saw in the last election. Most people had made up their minds months previously. Long campaigns are a waste of money and dignity. 3. Corporate contributors, Political Action Commitees, lobbyists and other special-interest influence peddlers have to be removed from the campaign so that the power of the independent citizens vote is not diminished.
