Bill Maher Explains the Problem with Trumpism 5 Years Ago

[pgerman]

Originally Posted by JurisDictum [You must be logged in to view images. Log in or Register.]

Accountability at a state and local level is far below that of the national level. There is a complete lack of voter interest in anything below a gubernatorial election. The turn out for local level elections is something like 20% at HIGHEST. Government corruption at the city level is famously common.

There are no examples of any country with high GDP per capita and low wealth inequality that use our decentralised system. As far as I can see, this system works great for a divide and conquer strategy by large corporations. It creates a "race to the bottom," where states and municipalities are competing with each other to offer the most subsidies and tax breaks to potential "job creators." It's pretty common for them to use up their subsidy package and then move on to the next state.

Ask Daywolf how happy he is with that super accountable state government in California*. Where the Democratic party is the only game in town -- so you get rich assholes like Gavin Newsom running the show. Watch that dumbass try to stand up to a guy that barely graduated high school:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=42wbI7LxRns (Adam Carolla)

I'm not going to get into to Republican state corruption unless someone implies it isn't there.

Look, states made sense in the 1800s. People in each state had a lot more in common then, and the federal government wasn't nearly as accountable as it is now. When we were using horses for travel I don't think I would have been a big fan of federal government. And it is not that I'm a "big fan" now, its just that I recognize that it is the only tool powerful enough to actually stand up to elites. And we know the sword can cut both ways...we just need the right wing to know that too.

*for some reason I think Daywolf is from CA, I can't remember why and don't want to take the time to confirm.

Edit: There is no "individual" in control of the U.S. government. All a president can do is try to get CONGRESS (535 people all over the country) to pass a law. That law must be upheld by 9 Justices. It is far easier to prevent something from happening in our government than it is to make something happen. That's the way it is designed.

Another reply.

All governments are easily corruptible that is true. That is really the point behind no centralized power.
Individual corrupt powers are still divided in their ideas , and have limited power to rape the people.

As soon as you give the federal government 100% control, they have 100% power, and only one source needs to be bought and paid for. Instead of screwing around paying off 50,000 different local officials. They can go straight to Hillary Clinton and get what they need.

You have to assume the worst of humanity, and put road blocks in place to just slow the process of corruption down. You will never stop it.

The worst places on the planet, are where human governments have existed the longest. The USA is still young, and the deathgrip on its people is not set in stone yet.