After the initial rush of "Tea Party's", which were groups of people getting together in order to protest tax hikes and government spending in America, it seemed to die down a bit, although during the 4th of the July weekend it seems people have been coming back together and creating more of these Tea Party's. Is it really fair of people to rally under a cry like Taxation Without Representation, when it seems like most of them don't know what that actually means and the government actually is attempting to move in their best interests, or are these people correct in attempting to protest more government taxation in a time where money is tight and people face losing their homes and income?
You do definitely get the idea that they don't understand the historical significance of the Boston tea party, and what a true lack of representation is. I mean.. fair election, and... you lost.
That said, there is a system of election that I think is far better then the one in the U.S.A. which includes a form of proportional representation.
I remember watching some of the UK election coverage of the EU elections a few months back - it was an interesting system where the votes get split between parties & representatives in an area by almost.. 'urchasing' the seats with their votes. After they get one seat, they throw a mathematical formula at it & their number of votes decreases, and potentially allows other parties to get seats as well, and be represented in a parliament. The winning party still winds up having more seats (as it has more votes with which to gain those seats) but the other parties can (and do) gain representation in ridings or districts that otherwise, all of the seats or representation for that district would go to the winning party.
Perhaps it's time for the U.S.A. to think about some election reform; after all, the loyal republican population in the states are not being properly represented. They may be spread across the states such that they can't actually win the seats in senate or congress, but they're still there, and they deserve to have their voices heard in congress.
I think it's ridiculous to be calling them tea parties. Totally different than back then. These people just want something to complain about, the people in the Boston Tea Party actually had a problem.
Perhaps it's time for the U.S.A. to think about some election reform; after all, the loyal republican population in the states are not being properly represented. They may be spread across the states such that they can't actually win the seats in senate or congress, but they're still there, and they deserve to have their voices heard in congress.
I agree. What seems to be the biggest problem is the electoral college. It was created because there was no way to quickly relay information about the election to the people, so would have to vote while not properly informed. The electoral college fixed this by basically installing the idea that that if enough people vote for this person, they're probably right. Now days however people can get information in minutes from the internet, newspapers, television, radio, etc. We aren't stupid anymore (at least not in that sense) and we can be trusted with our own vote. In addition, the electoral college has the potential to cheat the people, as demonstrated in the 2000 Bush vs Gore election. The majority had voted for Gore, but thanks to the electoral college Bush won the presidency. It almost defeats the purpose of elections when that happens.
The irony of these tea parties is that they were protesting paying taxes with which the very bridges they were standing were paid for... so yeah complete hypocrites =P
Why does everyone think so badly of taxes? The government needs money for internal improvements...
Why does everyone think so badly of taxes? The government needs money for internal improvements...
Traditionally, republicans feel that the government should stay out of the economy, and should stick to 'small' government. As such, the government should not be raising taxes to spend money on internal improvements.
So just leave potholes in roads? If a bridge collapses... oops? No... that doesn't work... taxes are a necessity. These tea parties are being done by people who don't understand that, and are being named by people who don't remember history. The last I checked, you can still vote for your representatives
I remember watching some of the UK election coverage of the EU elections a few months back - it was an interesting system where the votes get split between parties & representatives in an area by almost.. 'urchasing' the seats with their votes. After they get one seat, they throw a mathematical formula at it & their number of votes decreases, and potentially allows other parties to get seats as well, and be represented in a parliament. The winning party still winds up having more seats (as it has more votes with which to gain those seats) but the other parties can (and do) gain representation in ridings or districts that otherwise, all of the seats or representation for that district would go to the winning party.
And why do you think the 2 UK parties have not adopted this if it is such a good system? The First Past the Post system benefits both of the main prties giving them an inflated number of seats. The same problem exists in the US. No one wants to change electoral systems for fear of giving up power to fringe parties. I'd like to see an STV system myself, but I doubt it'll ever happen in my lifetime.
So just leave potholes in roads? If a bridge collapses... oops? No... that doesn't work... taxes are a necessity. These tea parties are being done by people who don't understand that, and are being named by people who don't remember history. The last I checked, you can still vote for your representatives
That's 'no' government. They want 'small' government.
And yes... you can vote for your representative, but the manner in which it's representing the vote is done fairly poorly. Let's take - Georgia's Senatorial election result.
49% voted for the republican canidate, and 46% voted for the democrat (3% went to libertarian). So, the seat goes to a republican - in that state however, that means that there are 1.7 million people who voted democrat, whose concerns regarding state legislature are now completely unrepresented - near half of the vote.
I'm not saying an STV system is perfect, but it might be a step in the right direction.
An ineffective government is often just as bad as no government. An underfunded government is just inches from being ineffective.
And even though yes, those 1.7 million democrats' ideas are not being represented by the senator, they still benefit from the use of the tax money... It is not a parallel situation to the historical one! Colonists' tax money was being used entirely across the ocean in Britain. These protesters' money is being circulated into their community, or at the very least, their country.
An ineffective government is often just as bad as no government. An underfunded government is just inches from being ineffective.
Small is not ineffective. Small is often more effective. I agree with the underrepresention for the Georgia thingy, but it's still the majority of the voters voting republican. The people are misrepresented, but the voters aren't. Sort of like a double whammy. Unfair? Yes. Legal? Yes.
An ineffective government is often just as bad as no government. An underfunded government is just inches from being ineffective.
One man's opinion. Keep in mind that republicans have no interest in being 'underfunded' as you call it. They just don't want to spend *as* much as the democrats do on social programs & the like.
And even though yes, those 1.7 million democrats' ideas are not being represented by the senator, they still benefit from the use of the tax money... It is not a parallel situation to the historical one!
That would entirely depend on how that senator decides to use the tax money. And also - I don't recall saying it was a parallel situation to the historical tea parties, so don't point fingers at me - you should note that on the first page where I stated to the contrary in my original post...
