595. Why Don't We Have Better Candidates for President?

595. Why Don't We Have Better Candidates for President? | Freakonomics Radio

Рет қаралды 9,608

23 күн бұрын

American politics is trapped in a duopoly, with two all-powerful parties colluding to stifle competition. We revisit a 2018 episode to explain how the political industry works, and talk to a reformer (and former presidential candidate) who is pushing for change.
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Пікірлер: 29

@floydwhatchacallit6823 19 күн бұрын

This is a well put together argument for something so many people instinctually know.

@jerrybarrax5618 11 күн бұрын

This is an enlightening broadcast about a vitally important topic. I'm looking forward to hearing more about these movements.

@Jay-pw7pg 18 күн бұрын

We do. They just get blocked out by the party’s anointed ones. For better or for worse.

@Techelet_Bseder 20 күн бұрын

The two failures of democracy…a n uninformed/poorly informed voting public, and a dearth of qualified candidates. You’re my fave podcast.

@user-et1ht9fx2k 20 күн бұрын

This episode is 🔥

@Lou_Mansfield 21 күн бұрын

It's fair to question Yang's optimism on voting reform, given his track record of losing races and endorsements. However, the fact that there are other organizations pushing for Porter and Gehl's ideas mean it's not largely dependent on Yang to progress. Institute for Political Innovation, Unite America, and Veterans for All Voters are doing a good job organizing and spreading the solution of Final Five Voting.

@weinerdog137 18 күн бұрын

Because you get the politics you deserve.

@Billschneider42 21 күн бұрын

We don’t really know who we are voting for because we don’t know which oligarchs pull the strings of candidates!

@brianniegemann4788 Күн бұрын

I'd just like to say that getting Big Money out of politics is a vital step, in addition to the reforms discussed here. So long as Elon Musk can donate $250 million to the RNC (or other multi-billionaires to give million$$$ to the RNC), these corrupt private clubs will be hard to stop. If the states were to start adopting tough donation laws and tough truth-in-advertising laws for campaigns, it would accelerate the rise of third parties. We need strict limits on donation amounts & a cap on total spending per constituent. Plus laws requiring that political advertisements disclose the names of the individuals and organizations who paid for them. If l were the reform czar, campaigns would be publicly funded with strict spending limits, and it would be a felony for any office holder or candidate to accept private donations.

@DITBC 19 күн бұрын

An interesting read would be the defense arguments and Court conclusions in Wilding et al vs DNC Services Corporation. The DNC admits it has the right to rig primaries and select their candidates privately. The promise in their charter for even handedness isn’t legally binding.

@charleskatz2606 17 күн бұрын

Dr.Pepprr just started to outsell Pepsi

@stephenboyington630 18 күн бұрын

I, as a voter, am neither a Blood nor a Crip. Why do I have to vote for either of them?

@canadianroots7681 20 күн бұрын

I would love to hear realistic approaches to drawing districts in a non partisan way. Democrats in New Mexico made sure SE NM has no voice. On the other hand, we are so sparse that i recognize drawing districts fairly is tough.

@brianniegemann4788 3 күн бұрын

One possibility might be electing candidates statewide through ranked-choice voting. Get rid of districts altogether. It would also give third-party candidates a better chance of getting more that 1% of the vote.

@dweller6065 20 күн бұрын

God bless Alaska

@stp479 21 күн бұрын

For much of the blame we need to look to our professional laptop class and our MSM rendering the precious Fourth Estate a darn ghetto.

@quatroquatroquatroquatro 4 күн бұрын

because we confuse free money with free speech. If it were free speech we'd have more choices.

@hip360hop 18 күн бұрын

Fuck this system, might be the first election I vote third party

@isonlynameleft Күн бұрын

I love Coke 😄

@richdobbs6595 20 күн бұрын

Ranked choice voting only completely disenfranchises half the population and gives a lot of people their secondary or third choice representative. Open primaries are essentially two round voting, which when fully implemented like in France leads to strategic voting where people don't so much select their representative but have a stronger veto against who they don't want to run government. I'm dubious that democracy with an unlimited franchise ends up making good laws. But if you want to implement it, why not allow people to give proxies to who they want to represent them? So my candidate gets 1207 votes out of 45,000,000 votes cast. That's how much his vote counts. And why am I stuck with a candidate who happens to live near me?

@brokenrecord3095 19 күн бұрын

Representative democracy is 18th century technology. In a democracy, it is taken as a given that the best way to govern the nation is in accordance to the popular will. How do we determine the popular will? Now, back in the day Joe Farmer couldn't realistically couldn't cruise on out to DC every week to weigh in on the issues of the day, so it made sense to send someone out to lobby for corn subsidies. These days most of us, especially teenagers, carry the internet in our pocket. Do we want to know the popular will over an interstate highway extension in Kansas? Well we can ask the elected representives, yes, and they will perhaps in turn ask the voters, or more probably the important deciders: the donors. Or we could just ask the people themselves. Which is more likely to give us a good reading of the popular will?

@4terrascorned 19 күн бұрын

Yeah. Why would I want someone that lives on my block representing my block? Someone who has to live in my community representing the interests of my community?

@richdobbs6595 19 күн бұрын

@@4terrascorned Why vote for a national government based on geographical constituencies? I have more in common folks I follow on KZfaq then with the folks around here. Why worry about representing the geographical community and not the professional or political community? It made sense back before we have computers, but not now.

@4terrascorned 19 күн бұрын

@@richdobbs6595 you would really like what Mousollini did in Italy. I mean, it worked great until it didn't. There's also francos Spain and Pinochets Chili.

@richdobbs6595 19 күн бұрын

@@4terrascorned That seems like a non sequitur to me. Maybe you should fill in you reasoning a bit. I'm more closer to AnCap then I am to fascism in outlook.

@justafewquestions3647 20 күн бұрын

Exactly nine years after the cultural thing happened and that's true with almost every there exceptions, but with almost everything it happens in politics it happens nine or ten years after the culture shifts. Seth Godin kzfaq.info/get/bejne/nsthic2altScqmQ.htmlsi=rcUlUwCT7h_dg9pw&t=168