Answers to political problems that are a little too convenient..

First off and my initial reason for the post, anyone else realize that most of the proposed fixes for corruption , just make it cheaper to buy off politicians???

Just as a disclaimer, I am making no argument against the proposal, just pointing out an obvious symptom of that proposal..


Term limits: well is it cheaper to buy off a long standing senator or a rookie senator??

Well obviously the rookie..

So is it cheaper to buy off a 4 term senator, or an 8 term senator??

I’m betting it is way closer, but still more expensive to buy off the 8 year vet..




State vs. Federal government:

Is it cheaper to buy off a state elected official or a federal official of the corresponding rank??


The state official right??

Way more state officials than actual congressmen/senators ..


Hell bet you could buy off a state official in some rural area for a few grand...


Just looking at it from the POV of billionaire wanting to swing policy...


Most proposals just make politicians cheaper to buy off...



On a slightly separate note, I think it is super curious when other the fixes to societal problems are a little too convenient..


Everyone is always SUPER fast to sacrifice anything they do not personally use at the alter of “just in case..”



Wanna stop school shootings??


Maybe ban violent video games!! Says everyone who never plays video games.....



Maybe restrict gun purchases!! Says everyone who doesn’t really care to buy or shoot guns I fhe first place.....


I would say it is a universal truth to not believe anyone offering to sacrifice something that means nothing to them, but it is technically possible for those 2 things to both be true...



But I doubt if any of us ever see it.

a reply to: JustJohnny

Banning things simply doesn't work, so any proposals to ban things are illogical. School shootings are probably made worse by attempts to ban guns at schools, seems like they all take place in "gun free zones" where guns are banned. Sort of like how banning coc aine and cracking down on it just made it more expensive and led druggies to find a cheaper alternative in the form of meth. Cocaine prohibition caused the meth epidemic.

a reply to: JustJohnny

As far as buying of politicians goes...
When you get one in your pocket it's pretty easy to keep them there.
Having evidence of their acceptance of bribes keeps them in line for decades.

We the people are no better.
We cheer when our politicians bring lucrative goverment contracts to our districts even if it would be cheaper or more beneficial for them to go to other districts.
Everyone is guilty of this behavior.

How about this; attempt to grow a society where ethics and morality are given a priority? Someone who believes in ethics and that have a moral compass are less likely to go outside of those boundries. That does not mean that people won't, it just means they will be less likely to.

Also, it is easier to suss out someone who is feeling guilty than it is to suss out a sociopath who doesn't give a #.

a reply to: Fools


We had that exact thing in the past.
Before feminism.
Prayer in school.
Abortion was illegal.
Men supported their wives.

Things have changed.
Better or worse is subjective.

originally posted by: Bluntone22
a reply to: Fools


We had that exact thing in the past.
Before feminism.
Prayer in school.
Abortion was illegal.
Men supported their wives.

Things have changed.
Better or worse is subjective.

Yes, they have, now the powers that be tell us that moral actions are all decided by your genitals and where they feel the moistest at any given moment. They also tell us that words are louder than action. Upside down clown world.

originally posted by: Fools

originally posted by: Bluntone22
a reply to: Fools


We had that exact thing in the past.
Before feminism.
Prayer in school.
Abortion was illegal.
Men supported their wives.

Things have changed.
Better or worse is subjective.

Yes, they have, now the powers that be tell us that moral actions are all decided by your genitals and where they feel the moistest at any given moment. They also tell us that words are louder than action. Upside down clown world.

Agreed..

a reply to: Bluntone22

Proud to say that I have reversed (for the most part) the brainwashing of two of my three children. The last one is an adult. He seems to thinks it's ok to be a drug addict and mooch off of everyone because of his "feelings". None of us understand his feelings. His feelings are very important. Apparently no one elses are. Nor are their bank accounts. Nor the work they have done their entire lives to save up for retirement and so on. As long as he has his feelings hurt or not hurt that is all that matters.

His next step is being homeless. I should buy him a one way ticket to the west coast.

I will say this:
buying one 8-year official might cost more, but buying four 2-year officials increases the chances that you'll be called out... four fold.
Covering up four times as many crimes.

Plus, a lot of the career criminals politicians would think twice about taking that path when it meant finding a new position every two years.

Politicians and diapers both need to be changed often, and for the same reason.

originally posted by: lordcomac
I will say this:
buying one 8-year official might cost more, but buying four 2-year officials increases the chances that you'll be called out... four fold.
Covering up four times as many crimes.

Plus, a lot of the career criminals politicians would think twice about taking that path when it meant finding a new position every two years.

Politicians and diapers both need to be changed often, and for the same reason.

There is also the idea that a certain psychological profile is attracted to power. Usually one that is criminally minded in my estimation. This is why morals and ethics taught to the young is imperative. Real ethics, real morals. Not pretend "feeling" morals and ethics.

I think that its too late for this generation (or all of us for that matter), but if at some point it does go forward then maybe humanity might actually have a true "golden age".

originally posted by: Fools

originally posted by: Bluntone22
a reply to: Fools


We had that exact thing in the past.
Before feminism.
Prayer in school.
Abortion was illegal.
Men supported their wives.

Things have changed.
Better or worse is subjective.

Yes, they have, now the powers that be tell us that moral actions are all decided by your genitals and where they feel the moistest at any given moment. They also tell us that words are louder than action. Upside down clown world.

From what I understand it's ok to grab women's genitals if you are rich and famous. Clown world indeed!!

a reply to: funbobby

So then why do we ban nukes???

Why do we ban C4 or military grade vehicles???

No one is saying ban guns, but the thought that restricting things inherently doesn’t work, is not true..

No one is saying stop restricting everything, and for that logic to work. It would work for everything..

a reply to: Bluntone22

Fair point.. more expensive to buy but maybe cheaper to maintain..

a reply to: Fools

Because ethnics and morality are subjective..


Everyone doesn’t agree on what is ethically ok..


The only thing you can apply to everyone is things that are objectively true..



I personally think it is the fact logic and rhetoric are no longer primary studies for all educated people..


Now logical fallacies and such are only taught in debate and public speaking electives..

If everyone recognized a logical fallacy when they hear one, propaganda is monumentally harder..

a reply to: Bluntone22

You mean men legally raped their wives..

Segregation was in full force..

Young girls were using coat hangers rather than admit mistakes to their parents..


Electro shock therapy for gays..


Faith healers were rampant..



The good old MORAL days lol

a reply to: Fools

So you really don’t think the generations that came before this one were worse?!?! Lol

We just hear every crazy story now..



Do you think pedophiles were molesting LESS children before protective services?!!?



Hell 150 years ago was slavery and EVERY single attractive female would have been raped regularly.... and not just black slavery... for all of human history before then..

a reply to: JustJohnny

It might be cheaper to buy off a rookie or 4 year congressman, but it is easier to buy off an 8 year one. The longer they are in the more corrupt they become. First and second termers are usually still idealistic and truly want to represent their constituents fairly as they were elected to do but after several years they know that backroom wheeling and dealing is how things get done and monetary gain is the name of the game.

Absolute power corrupts absolutely!

originally posted by: funbobby
a reply to: JustJohnny

Banning things simply doesn't work, so any proposals to ban things are illogical. School shootings are probably made worse by attempts to ban guns at schools, seems like they all take place in "gun free zones" where guns are banned. Sort of like how banning coc aine and cracking down on it just made it more expensive and led druggies to find a cheaper alternative in the form of meth. Cocaine prohibition caused the meth epidemic.

In the UK we have had zero school massacres since 1997, forgive my ignorance but do American schools allow guns, schools in the UK are usually for under 16s, is that the same in the US or did you mean colleges, surely under 16s should not be allowed to own a gun let alone take one to school

originally posted by: JustJohnny
a reply to: Bluntone22

You mean men legally raped their wives..

Segregation was in full force..

Young girls were using coat hangers rather than admit mistakes to their parents..


Electro shock therapy for gays..


Faith healers were rampant..



The good old MORAL days lol

I did say it was subjective.

Are you saying spousal abuse is a thing of the past? My dad didnt rape my mother during their 50 year marriage.
Racism no longer exists?
Do transgenders not have an extremely high suicide rate even with todays acceptance?
Did mass and school shootings increase or decrease in the last 50 years?

Has pedophilia increased or decreased in the last 50 years.. (actually I dont know) maybe they just get caught more today.

All I was staying in my above post was that things change, some better, some worse.
One of the worst in my opinion in the disappearance of the family unit.
But again, that's just my opinion.

a reply to: JustJohnny

Johnny, you just made a very interesting and thought-provoking thread! Good points all around.

I will counter with a few counterpoints.

I would say it is indeed cheaper to buy off long-term politicians, but then again the cost of maintaining them would increase. That first payoff is high because the possibility exists of the target deciding to call in the FBI and set up a sting since they have little or nothing to lose at that point and a lot of votes to gain. Once they take a bribe, they have a lot to lose and the cost goes down. Someone buying off politicians would thus have to make that high payoff several times instead of once. Also, once a Senator leaves office, they are essentially worthless. and actually become a liability. That's why so many wind up in lucrative job titles; their payoff was not just an initial cash outlay, but a promise of a nice cushy income afterward... think of it as a retirement plan for the corrupt. That's no big deal if you have to support one Senator for life after he gets so old being in the Senate that he'll die soon anyway, but when you have to support several who were forced to retire early? That's a whole new level of costly.

I also agree it is cheaper to buy off state politicians, but the reason why is that as long as the Federal politicians are being bought off, the likelihood of a state politician being caught reduces close to zero. Take away that protection from above by making it more costly to buy off Federal politicians, and you reduce the likelihood of state politicians taking that chance.

It boils down to transparency. As long as the people maintain power and demand to see what their politicians are doing, those politicians can't get away with much. But when politicians have decades to build a power base, it is fairly easy to hide corruption. They become so powerful that they can simply stonewall any attempts to be held accountable.

TheRedneck