My sublime padlet by https://padlet.com/karmaakabaneredhead/ntpth4edast6lh07 en-us 2023-11-30 03:25:37 UTC 2023-12-13 00:27:06 UTC hello@padlet.com The two party system is a tool for the rich karmaakabaneredhead https://padlet.com/karmaakabaneredhead/ntpth4edast6lh07/wish/2808408856 The two party system has been used as a tool to allow the rich 1% to control a large amount of policy decisions and use the government for their own gain, while keeping the hatred away from them by divide the 99%. Using the two party's to make the general public resent each other over a few issues, when they agree on most policies.]]> 2023-11-30 03:27:58 UTC https://padlet.com/karmaakabaneredhead/ntpth4edast6lh07/wish/2808408856 Despite appearances amplified by partisan news organizations making money from divisiveness, the majority of American politicians agree on most issues. Additionally, most of the politicians from both parties actually land on the “right” side of the political spectrum. There are very few politicians in leadership roles who are staunchly “left wing.” (https://dansidd.medium.com/americas-stunted-political-spectrum-38097e1f2233) karmaakabaneredhead https://padlet.com/karmaakabaneredhead/ntpth4edast6lh07/wish/2808422697 2023-11-30 03:41:40 UTC https://padlet.com/karmaakabaneredhead/ntpth4edast6lh07/wish/2808422697 Why is it important to me karmaakabaneredhead https://padlet.com/karmaakabaneredhead/ntpth4edast6lh07/wish/2808434043 As someone who has been interested in and studied politics most of my life, seeing the unjustified hatred of “the other” coupled with a deficient understanding of true political facts leads first to frustration and then a feeling of hopelessness. If people only looked a little further into issues they might realize that under our current system, nobody but the super rich are truly in a position to enjoy everything our country stands for. The rest of us are all in the same boat, and we’ll never make things better for ourselves by arguing with each other.]]> 2023-11-30 03:54:01 UTC https://padlet.com/karmaakabaneredhead/ntpth4edast6lh07/wish/2808434043 Class reading karmaakabaneredhead https://padlet.com/karmaakabaneredhead/ntpth4edast6lh07/wish/2808446528 One of the class readings that talks about this issue is in chapter 17.4, where Wright Mills is mentioned to believe “…the power elite use government to develop social policies that allow them to keep their wealth.”

The current equivalent is exemplified by big lobbying companies passing laws to benefit only them, while politicians act as mascots to distract the public from who’s actually in charge.]]> 2023-11-30 04:09:54 UTC https://padlet.com/karmaakabaneredhead/ntpth4edast6lh07/wish/2808446528 Reputable source 1 karmaakabaneredhead https://padlet.com/karmaakabaneredhead/ntpth4edast6lh07/wish/2808495833 We all know that lobbying groups have an extreme amount of sway over our politicians, after all money talks. But according to the research paper Stacked Deck by David Callahan & J. Mijin Cha (https://www.demos.org/sites/default/files/publications/StackedDeck_1.pdf)
Politicians care about the rich more than the average American. As quoted in the paper,
“...the priorities of low income Americans tend to be ignored by elected leaders—even when those priorities enjoy strong public backing.” This is illustrated in the graph above, highlighting the differences in policy preferences of the wealthy and general public. (Benjamin I. Page, Larry M. Bartels, and Jason Seawright, “Democracy and the Policy Preferences of Wealthy Americans,” Perspectives on Politics [italicized] 11:1, pp. 51-73.)

As you can see by these results, policy preferences are very different between the wealthy and general public; however, even though the wealthy make up a minority,  a lot of the policies they support that the general public doesn’t support have been implemented by our politicians. For example, even though a majority of Americans want food, clothing and shelter to be guaranteed, it very clearly isn’t:  homelessness is a major crisis nationwide, and food poverty continues to hurt many communities. The government could allocate money to programs to end these issues, however that would mean less money for the corporate backers.]]> 2023-11-30 05:01:21 UTC https://padlet.com/karmaakabaneredhead/ntpth4edast6lh07/wish/2808495833 Source 2 karmaakabaneredhead https://padlet.com/karmaakabaneredhead/ntpth4edast6lh07/wish/2809488094 According to bls.org in 2011, 73.9 million American workers age 16 and over were paid at hourly rates, representing 59.1 percent of all wage and salary workers. Among those paid by the hour, 1.7 million earned exactly the prevailing Federal minimum wage of $7.25 per hour. About 2.2 million had wages below the minimum.

This is despite the fact that about 78% of Americans support the provision of a livable minimum wage, which is obvious proof that while the majority of Americans agree that you should be able to live off of a minimum wage salary, wealthy employers are able to keep the minimum wage low despite the public calling for it to be raised. This would seem to indicate that, despite what they may say in speeches, members of neither party has the general public’s interest in mind more then the interests of their donors.  And with the lack of a 3rd party that is independent and non reliant on wealthy people and companies, the general public will continue to have very little influence on our politicians.]]> 2023-11-30 18:51:04 UTC https://padlet.com/karmaakabaneredhead/ntpth4edast6lh07/wish/2809488094 Race karmaakabaneredhead https://padlet.com/karmaakabaneredhead/ntpth4edast6lh07/wish/2809498004 Our political system is also undermined by racial bias, which has led to decades of suppression of minority voices and votes. Poor neighborhoods, which are often minority communities, have been subjected to lopsided districting policies and unseemly polling practices such as ID restrictions and reduced opportunities for mail-in ballots, leading to reduced voting. 

By making voting harder and preventing minority voices in these communities from being heard, these communities receive even less representation with each successive voting cycle, their true needs moving ever further from being met.]]> 2023-11-30 18:59:25 UTC https://padlet.com/karmaakabaneredhead/ntpth4edast6lh07/wish/2809498004 What is the 2 party system and where did it come from karmaakabaneredhead https://padlet.com/karmaakabaneredhead/ntpth4edast6lh07/wish/2811132632 The two party system has been entrenched in the United States since its founding. The history and evolution of our two party system is explained succinctly in the video linked above. But, to summarize, America’s current two party system is comprised of the Democratic and Republican parties. No other political party holds any significant power in our government. ]]> 2023-12-02 06:01:09 UTC https://padlet.com/karmaakabaneredhead/ntpth4edast6lh07/wish/2811132632 Summary karmaakabaneredhead https://padlet.com/karmaakabaneredhead/ntpth4edast6lh07/wish/2812349797 In summary, the Two Party system is just another way in which the flaws in our political system are taken advantage of and abused, to benefit the rich while hurting everyone else. Despite this reality, we’re told to hate each other making stopping this corrupt system almost impossible due to the infighting of the general public. ]]> 2023-12-04 04:57:36 UTC https://padlet.com/karmaakabaneredhead/ntpth4edast6lh07/wish/2812349797