A US Senator once said, “Congress does not regulate Wall Street; Wall Street regulates Congress.” The reason why Congress is so corrupt is that, on average, 91% of Congressional elections are won by candidates who have more financial backing. These supporters are usually big companies, rich people, or interest groups, and their representatives speak on behalf of their own vested interests. So, how do we fix this? Let’s take a look at the various ways in which politicians get their funding. All these topics and more when you visit moderate politics.
Anger and fear are a feature, not a bug
Political scientists have long sought to capitalize on fear and anger. Thus, the idea of scientifically analyzing anger appealed to them. Suddenly, he was reading papers with titles like “Fear, Anger and Risk” and “Anger in the Workplace.” He wondered, who was making money from these topics? After all, he was an academic, right?
Anger and fear motivate citizens to engage in political participation. In a recent study by political scientist Michael Parker, people who felt afraid were more likely to vote for the candidate with whom they agreed the most. Fearful voters, on the other hand, were less likely to vote, based solely on general information. These factors contribute to the polarization of politics, which is why the two emotions are often associated.
Electoral democracy
The US Electoral College is an institution that has been used to elect Presidents since the 1800s. It’s a time-honored process, but political polarization has threatened the self-cleansing process that aims to create reform through elections. Today, the Senate is trapped in a filibuster, and no longer serves as a representative body of American society. As a result, the US presidential election uses a system that has proved incredibly effective over the last two centuries. The US Electoral College is composed of 538 electors, and the winner is the candidate who wins 270 or more of their votes.
Despite its many benefits, however, the US is not an ideal democracy. Its general structure, design, and implementation have all been criticized. Many people around the world believe that the US is not a good example of democratic government, and that we should look to other countries as models. The recent shooting of George Floyd on Capitol Hill revealed the ugly side of American democracy. It exposed systemic racism in American society, spurring protests in the US and worldwide.
Single-member districts
The VRA, which enacted single-member districts, was created to increase the percentage of black candidates in the U.S. House and Senate, and it also paved the way for majority-minority voting districts in the U.S. Today, single-member districts are being criticized for their unintended consequences on national political health. However, a modern analysis of single-member districts shows that these systems do not achieve the goal of congressional representation.
Some states have implemented multi-member districts. While they are not allowed in Congress, several local legislatures elect a few representatives from a single district. Some states, such as New Jersey, South Dakota, and Washington, elect all their lower house members from single districts. Increasingly, the numbers of minority candidates have become so high in some states that the majority-minority voting districts are a necessary part of our electoral system.
Systemic racism
The existence of systemic racism is often misunderstood. While overt racism consists of hate crimes and blatant discrimination, structural racism is a societal system that denies people of color access to opportunities and resources. Such policies and practices deprive people of good health, education, employment, access to safe neighborhoods, and high-quality health care. Further, they prevent people from voting, which is necessary to influence government policy.
It’s easy to dismiss racism in the USA as a smoky issue caused by a few bad apples, but it’s a systemic problem. This animated documentary shows the problem of systemic racism in the United States. It examines the role of the government, police, and other institutions in fostering racism and ensuring that all citizens live in a safe and equitable environment. It argues that systemic racism, which is often a result of structural, institutional, and legal injustices, inevitably leads to racial discrimination and violence.
Millennials
One of the most pressing issues facing millennials is the income disparity. With only three percent of Gen X and Y being nonwhite, this generation needs to be fully integrated into the labor force and become bridges to the younger generations. But how will we achieve that? And what role should millennials play in politics? Here’s a look at the current generational makeup and what we can expect.
Millennials are the largest generation in the United States, responsible for over $200 billion in spending each year. That’s a staggering amount, and estimates place the number at nearly half of all spending in the USA. Their widespread use of technology is the primary driver of life style transformations. In the USA, Millennials are alpha-influencers, codifying new ways of living and forcing change in areas that were previously outmoded.
Generation Z
As the millennial generation begins to reach adulthood, there is a new generation emerging – Generation Z. This group is a generation that straddles two generations: the baby boomers and the silent generation. The baby boomers are the generation that was born after World War II, when the birthrate skyrocketed. The silent generation, on the other hand, is a relatively small group that was born during the Great Depression and ended up giving birth to the 46th president.
Despite this political divide, many young adults feel the divisions in American society are more pronounced than in previous generations. A recent survey by Democracy Fund and UCLA Nationscape shows that political division is the top issue for young adults, outranking environmental issues, gun control, and terrorism. In fact, one Gen Zer said that he or she went to two different high schools soon after the 2016 election, and it seemed that the all-girls school was quite different than the conservative boys’ school. In addition, he or she saw provoking as a political statement.
