Fix? It's working perfectly for them, what's to fix?
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We could actually fix everything. We outnumber all of them and we could do what France is doing.
But we won't.
France will likely be fascist (and broke) within a year.
βCoulda woulda shoulda she dida!β - Lesley Nelson
Tale as old as time.
βJust give us the power to fix everything!β
is given the power to fix everything
βOoo, this is nice. I donβt wanna change anything and lose all this power.β
This implies they recognise what is wrong which is not true.
The problems are their GOALS. Also they wouldnβt be in power if they didnβt share this view.
Campaign finance legalizes bribery and enables foreign nation states such as Israel to completely own American politicians - it must be dramatically reformed. While weβre at it, the insider trading congress gets to gorge themselves on must be stopped.
2 party system gives the illusion of choice but is actually used by the owner class to divide and conquer. Get rid of FPTP, abolish the electoral college, and make ranked choice voting a national standard states must abide by in order to enable actual representation of real American citizens.
SCOTUS is heavily compromised by partisan hacks. Either recall them all, or restructure the court and add at least 5 more justices.
Corpos have way too much power. Bring back the CFPB, give it teeth, and massively regulate them. We are asked to sacrifice our health and livelihoods for corporate greed, and it is wrong. Make this easier by eradicating monopolies - bring back FTC trust busting in a big way, and start with that prick Larry Ellisonβs media empire.
Add competency tests, age limits, and term limits - for all federal offices.
Tax reform in a massive way. Right now itβs totally regressive and upside down - sin taxes, income tax on the bottom 50%, and property taxes pay for almost everything. Turn this upside right - tax the richest among us at significantly higher rates. That goes for corpos too. It should be graduated in a way that makes it impossible to become a trillionaire, and virtually impossible to become a billionaire. The richest among us will still have hundreds of millions - theyβll be fine. The rest of us can then finally begin to rightfully enjoy the fruits of our labor as we begin to close the gap between worker pay and productivity which have diverged increasingly since 1971.
There is so much more wrong that we need to address, such as universal healthcare, affordable housing, eradicating the prison state, environmental protections and work to reverse climate change. However, the above would go a very long way to restoring proper representation and putting the people back in charge of our alleged democracy.
The big problems today cannot be solved easily without making a lot more problems. We don't need to pretend otherwise to criticize how they are being addressed.
No one is trying to fix anything. People just want to make their lives better while making the opposition's lives worse and pretending it's moral by making up lies about about the opposition.
They break us into rivaling groups that are convinced they are enemies, even though they have the same needs and would benifit/suffer equally form the same policies. Republican vs Democrat, Liberal vs Conservative, MAGA vs Woke, its all made up so we don't join hands and exercise our collective power. Until we put our personal differences aside, we're fucked.
Classic centrist take. "Until we hold hands with both nazis and leftists, we'll all be rivals."
That's not at all what I'm saying. And I'd be happy to have an honest conversation with you, but I'm not going to exchange jabs and insults.
You don't think it's about the Dems?
That what's about the dems?
They could've prosecuted trump, they could've refused to confirm his nominations. They chose not to. They could have pushed through universal access to healthcare. They chose not to. They could choose to condem Israeli genocide. They chose not to, and continue to choose not to.
All I'm saying is, I hope they start making different choices.
But that is precisely what I'm getting at. They chose not to implement policies that would improve our(you and me, the peasants) lives, and instead chose to increase defense spending, send money to Israel, increasing ICE funding, and allow our democracy to decay further, because those policies benifit the elites, and both of our political parties do what is best for the elites.
That is not to say I think both parties are "equally bad", I essentially voted DNC party line this year, because I think the Republican party has gone entirely insane. But just because they're better doesn't mean they're good.
Fundamentally, if we want real change, that benifits us down here in the working class, we must unite, and yes, that even means my annoying Trump supporting coworker Andy who I want to punch. Because we all suffer and benifit equally from the same policies. It is the fiction that working class people must fight and struggle agaist eachother to win that keeps the elite in power.
The corporations are in charge
Mamdani entered his office on his first day on the job, and when he moved all that stacked up paperwork from past Mayoral Bums, he found a red button that said Something Good. He pressed the button, and Something Good happened. So he pressed it again. And again.
Any previous mayor could have pressed that button, but they just didn't. Furthermore, there's a button like that on EVERY politician's desk. They could press that button at any time, but they just choose not to.
Mamdani is showing what happens when politicians choose to press that button. We have to convince a lot more politicians to start pressing that button, and it seems like they are starting to hear the message.
Dems supported Cuomo in Dems primary, and then supported Cuomo as the independent in the race. Only reason Mamdani was able to get to the point where he was able to press that button, was because he fought and won against the Dems. He presses it in an opposition to their plans.
It's not that the politicians don't know what happens when the button is pressed. Most of them have been hired to make sure it's not. Until they're rooted out, no change will happen.
Stop criticizing politicians for being horrible people, liars, thieves, and murderers! It's making regular people think voting is pointless! /s
There is no saving your system because it was rigged against you from the beginning. Got to bring it all down and start anew. Shouldnt be too much, considering how americans pride themselves on their independence revolution against oppression?
Shouldnt be too much, considering how americans pride themselves on their independence revolution against oppression?
Itβs been engineered (deliberately and accidentally) to be as hard as possible: https://edgnts.substack.com/p/why-americans-dont-just-do-something
There is probably some positive way to break the system too and it would likely work much better than what i originally thought. I think the clue is in what the oppressors have spent decades in brainwashing the people to hate.
Either that or complete chaos and burning it all to the ground
The problem is that once that positive way starts to gain momentum, those in power will retaliate with violence to suppress and break the movement.

The positive way is organizing a political movement on the spot, since every actually progressive organization was labeled "communist" (synonyms of terrorist), discredited, stunted via infiltration and propaganda implying impotency, and/or had it's leaders assassinated
So that's what we're doing. It's going better than could be reasonably expected (we find out how well in a couple weeks), but it's going to take time. This election we're going from having zero political voice to taking several dozen key seats, and over the next two years we need to leverage these these seats to build public trust that change is possible and overcome a lifetime of propoganda
Burning it all down isn't really an option. Even if the majority of the population was willing to go that route (and we have not suffered nearly enough for that).
If we achieved it, tens of millions would starve and the federal government would survive. There's multiple underground shelter systems where a predefined list of "key leadership" can be stashed for like 2 years
We have a "just in time" economy - both food production and food distribution (at each individual level and category of foodstuffs) operate like cartels, and if these megacorps fall cities will begin to starve after about 2 weeks. Our supply lines can't handle a loud sneeze without snapping, things like COVID or the avian flu caused disruptions that lasted months and have had ongoing effects
In other countries, you could raid the storehouses and organize with the farmers. In ours, the farmers get the chickens from a megacorp, they get the feed from the megacorp, they sell the chickens and eggs to the megacorp. The seeds are bought from a megacorp, the depleted soil requires petro-fertilizers, the "smart" tractors and harvesters can only be maintained with megacorp technicians. Two companies supply almost every institution and restaurant with food, three companies own nearly every grocery chain, two (regional) companies control all the chicken, three control most of the leafy greens, etc
We have independent farmers and farm to table restaurants, but the overwhelming majority passes through monopsonies
Meanwhile, the military is the backup plan for everything. They have contingencies for every apocalypse scenario, including a general uprising or mass starvation, and they all end with "and this is how we restore 'order' and reinstall the government"
Every organization exists to perpetuate itself, but the US Federal government is the most resilient organization ever
TLDR: The only real options are a political takeover against the united will of both political parties, or a military coup. We're trying for the first option
i really hope you succeed
Thank you. People love to shit on Americans (especially on Lemmy), but the truth is my people are suffering, and things will get much worse before they get better. We've got an impossible flight on our hands, and even if we win, we're still living in a collapsing empire
But things can still be better, especially locally...I know it's true, and if I say it enough I hope I'll start to believe it again
So I really appreciate the empathy
My system?
well, i assumed you are american as you post american political memes. But i mean the political system in place there, the whole stupid republicans vs democrats thing. That whole thing has to go
I agree with you about pointless electoralism. But no, I'm not American, I just have a vested interest in what happens there, as do we all.
So you post a meme about nothing changing? Seems weird for someone with a vested interest in what happens. You must be one of those right wing agitators that show up around voting time.
"Everyone I disagree with is a right wing agitator."
Really though, I'd like nothing more than for you to prove me wrong, and for the Dems to actually hold the fascist oligarchs and politicians accountable, once they win both houses. Do it!
I'd love for you to become SLIGHTLY less ignorant, but that ain't gonna happen, clearly.
"There is plenty of time for that later" turned into "we don't have enough time".
These comics fucking suck, man. Like some edgy teenager that just learned about politics just making sarcastic points with no substance. Zero effort made on any of this shit. They're not nice to read, not nice to look at, and don't make anyone think.
I'd love to be proved wrong, there's no excuses if they win back both houses.
There will always be the rotating villain Dem that won't support the party and allow them to get away with not even attempting to do anything.
If you're ignorant how it all works, sure. A Government 101 class would help disabuse you of that notion.
if they win back both houses.
This is close to impossible regarding the senate btw. So even when the red faction of the uniparty is in one of its worst moments, the blue faction still can't win anymore.
Although I wouldn't be surprised if their inorganic echo chamber is promising a big win, as always.
and donβt make anyone think.
Well then why don't you show us an example of your work that does make people think?
When was the last time they actually had a filibuster proof majority? Oh yeah, that was in Obama's first term nearly 20 years ago.
And how did they use it?
Passed obama care, and they were only 2 or 3 votes away from universal Healthcare
I love how Democrats need a "filibuster proof majority" before they even pretend that they are doing something for the working class. But with a slight majority, they immediately bow down to help the Republicans.
Thats not what was said or what happens. If you want sweeping changes, you need a majoeity big enough to overcome the filibuster that will vote for that change. If you only have a simple majority, you need to go through reconciliation which may only be used for budgetary issues, must pass the judgement of the parliamentarian, and the secure at least 51 votes in the senate for the budget to pass, and may only be done twice per congressional period. Those are the rules the government factually operate by. And some of these can be changed, but again require enough elected members who want to change those rules in order to pass a specific law that would not otherwise have the votes. Which still means that we need to vote in as many democrats as possible to achieve reform. Something we have not had anything resembling since Obama's first term, nearly 20 years ago, under an entirely different political paradigm
If you want sweeping changes, you need a majoeity big enough to overcome the filibuster that will vote for that change.
You mean the thing that the Republicans never have before their sweeping changes?
If you only have a simple majority, you need to go through reconciliation which may only be used for budgetary issues, must pass the judgement of the parliamentarian, and the secure at least 51 votes in the senate for the budget to pass, and may only be done twice per congressional period.
Actually, half of that you don't need. Democrats do stuff all the time without going through that, but only when it's what their doners want. When it's the working class that wants it, suddenly they pretend that their hands are tied.
Which still means that we need to vote in as many democrats as possible to achieve reform.
Something that they've had plenty of opportunities to do, but keep pretending that they can't do. Also, why would I want to vote in as many people in a party that fights against things like healthcare for all, or supports genocide, or bombs kids?
Something we have not had anything resembling since Obamaβs first term, nearly 20 years ago, under an entirely different political paradigm.
And what did Obama do with it? He screwed over the voters, bombed a bunch of innocent people, gave handouts to his rich friends, and increased spending to the military.
Biden had similar opportunities, and just followed Obama's playbook.
Citation needed, a dozen times over. But also, the Republicans have been absolutely breaking the law these past 2 years nonstop.
Citation on what? That the Democrats don't deliver? Or that Biden backed down on his campaign promises? Or that he Democrats don't need to answer to unelected officials who have no actual authority? Or that Biden bombed a bunch of innocent people?
https://api.politifact.com/article/2025/jan/14/did-joe-biden-keep-these-99-promises-we-reviewed/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Parliamentarian_of_the_United_States_Senate
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-56205056
But also, the Republicans have been absolutely breaking the law these past 2 years nonstop.
So have the Democrats. In fact they've both been doing that for far longer than 2 years. I don't understand what that has to do with anything.
People donβt wield power. Power wields people.
If your model of change is focused on the behavior of individuals instead of systems, youβll never get anywhere.
Yeah, focusing on the system is important. But there are very clear an obvious examples of individual people who could have worked on making things better, and chose not to.
It's important to point out their unwillingness. Some might even say that to focus on why they keep doing that, is to focus on the system.....
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