Mods: I was unsure if a politics-related rant was ok. If not: sorry!
Over the last month and a little, we’ve watched the disruption and/or dismantling of key US government programs and agencies - fundamentally undermining the power of Congress and the balance of power in the federal government. We’ve also started to see the Executive Branch ignore court orders - undermining the Judicial Branch and further erroding the balance of power.
We are watching this happen while our Congressional leaders take no meaningful action. There is no plan to restore balance to the federal government, no call to action for citizens to take, no one steering the ship. Our leaders have failed us in a spectacular way.
How did we get here? Well… everyday Americans are falling behind - driven by low wages, high cost of living, and economic instability. And we are watching big business and the rich influence our leaders in ways that are actively harmful to individual Americans.
In November people were given the option between the status quo or dramatic change. And people voted for change - albeit bad change. Desperate people do desperate things.
But the vast majority of Americans don’t want to get rid of democracy. They don’t want to break the international order. They don’t want someone who doesn’t meet the requirements to become president to boss the actual president around.
This is, at its core, a nonpartisan issue. We want the government to work for us again: of the people, by the people, for the people.
On several occasions I’ve seen or heard people asking “what can we do?” In the absence of direction from our leaders, I thought I’d share specific things that I am asking my representatives to actively support. Maybe, if enough of us ask, we can create the pressure and momentum required to enact change:
Re-assert Congressional power Enact a law (or laws) that increase transparency, demand accountability, and strengthen checks and balances. Override a veto if necessary. Why: this reestablishes the balance of power intended by our founders.
Limit or eliminate political donations Limit maximum annual donations (to candidates, parties, PACs and Super PACs) to $2k/year per entity or person - or get rid of them all together. Why: this ensures that our leaders are influenced by their constituents and not the highest bidder.
Set Congressional term and age limits Limit years in Congressto no more than 20 years and no older that 75. Why: this creates an ongoing rotation of leaders rather than people clinging to power.
These things won’t solve all of our problems, but will allow the American people to begin an actual dialogue without influence - from which we can tackle issues affecting the country.
Thank you for coming to my TED talk.
Someone is definitely steering the ship.
Right into the rocks.
I meant in opposition to the rocks guys. Democtat leaders are a bunch of ineffectual boobs. Hakiem Jeffries is inarticulate and bereft of ideas. It is infuriating…
They’re very good at citing legal documents and fist shaking
What if you organized and nobody paid their income taxes? Since it’s all such a shit show, could they get it together to chase everyone down?
For sure the IRS is not staffed to process that many delinquent returns. The challenge is that often federal taxes are taken out of our paychecks. Theoretically, we could change our withholding to not pay. We would have to save that money because in the event things get sorted out, they would still owe the tax money. This is an interesting idea to hang onto though.
I’m seriously considering changing my withholding to ensure I owe taxes next year, because I’m not sure if we’ll get refunds in a timely manner. Yes, I’ll have to make sure to keep some on hand to pay, but I won’t have to worry about waiting for a deposit.
I’m mulling the idea over more, and its not illegal to pay your taxes quarterly or at the end. This is sounding more and more interesting.
The challenge is that often federal taxes are taken out of our paychecks
I’m a self employed dumb dumb and totally forgot how it worked lol. I usually owe a shit ton at the end of the year.
We can’t even get at two-thirds of people to show up once every four years to vote for the most visible position in the country, much less their local reps.
Any plan that involves everyone in the country getting together and agreeing to do something that’s likely to bite them in the ass if it doesn’t created widespread change is doomed to failure.
The biggest hurdle, I’d say, is ensuring that people can take care of themselves while causing disruption. That they have a roof over their heads, food to eat, intellectual stimulus… without that, all you’ll get is a bunch of fractured fanatics who’ll never agree on what to do.
They are steering the ship, right into a stone cliff. This ‘administration’ has planned this whole thing. It’s meant to make the Titanic look like a sunny Caribbean holiday compared to what we will end up with. This was what people voted for. Project 2025 can be read by everyone. Welcome to the utter hell christians have dreamt of inflicting on America for decades.
Agreed. But my complaint is actually with the opposition (Democrats and anyone else opposed to this administration). They are completely feckless.
Pass laws that the executive won’t follow or enforce? Why bother?
Personally I feel we’re past the point of fixing it from within the system. Since they won’t play by any of the rules you outlined, there are few other solutions beyond violence. You’re still trying to play the game, while the other guys are flipping all the tables.
It’s honestly getting exhausted watching everyone panic and become desperate to somehow fix the system using the system. Roughly 20 years ago was the last point in time that was possible.
Everything else up till now has been watching as everyone else slowly starts to realize that violence is basically the only answer left. Ffs the founding fathers expected and planned for there to be more revolutions from time to time to weed out corruption. It’s literally baked in
