The socio-economic and political system of the United States is rotten to the core.

[Ardent15]

Seriously, the BP, TransOcean, and Halliburton criminals still at large, the Goldman Sachs criminals empowered, the health insurance criminals empowered, the Bush/Cheney criminals still at large, the Congress's disgusting corruption in general, the crony capitalists who wish to privatize everything from Social Security and education to the fucking MILITARY, the Supreme Court's ruling in favor of corporations, the crackdown on poor people and immigrants, the giving up of this administration on women's rights and LGBT rights, and the media's tabloid propaganda for everything that supports the corporate warfare/welfare state....

Is there still any doubt, anyone who dares say that the socioeconomic, political system of the United States is not ROTTEN to the core? If so, speak now, and try to justify yourself.

[lordsummerisle]

1. k&r n/t

[Skink]

2. read up on Tammany Hall in the 19th century.

same thing different century.

[IndianaJoe]

3. It's extremely dysfunctional. Problems aren't being

addressed.

You can add to the list of problems growing disparities in income and wealth; imperialist wars being fought for phony reasons (Iraq); people being lied to daily by large sections of the mass media; representatives bought out by special interests institutionally positioned to block reform...

Yeah, it is pretty rotten.

[Ardent15]

4. The question is, how do we break through the corruption?

I still don't know the answer to that question, myself.

[IndianaJoe]

5. Part of the problem is systemic.

Instruments tend to turn into institutions. The longer an organization exists the more likely it is to turn into a self-perpetuating fossil. Congress needs a big overhaul beginning with elimination of the filibuster. We should not have to have 60 votes in order to even debate a problem.

The other side of things is what it costs to get elected in this country. Periodically we talk about campaign finance reform, but we do nothing about it. The Supreme Court has never really let political speech get regulated. As a result, whoever can afford to buy enough TV time tends to get elected. This leads to the most venal and shameless -- those most willing to take corporate bribes --getting into office. The costs tend to put a lot of millionaires in office and keep a lot of worthy low-income types out.

There are other problems. The 2-year term in the House is too short. Those elected wind up spending most of their time trying to raise money to win the next election instead of legislating.

And then there's the Electoral College...another idiocy that overrepresents states with small populations at the expense of the others.

[eleny]

6. k&r

[ljm2002]

7. No argument here...

...it is, indeed, rotten to the core.

K&R

[OHdem10]

8. Agreed

[ixion]

9. sad but true

k/r

[Subdivisions]

10. rotten to the core...

that about sums it up.

[William Z. Foster]

11. there is something strange going on

It is as though people are in a trance - "the government can do nothing, the government can do nothing" - and "BP has the equipment, BP has the equipment" and you can't shake them out of that. Refute their statement, and they merely repeat it again as though it had not been refuted - "the government can do nothing." Like zombies or robots or something.

[yowzayowzayowza]

12. "Justify" that the "political system of the United States is not ROTTEN to the core"?

I musta made a wrong turn.

[demosincebirth]

13. What would you replace it with, and how?

Just asking?

[glitch]

14. Roll back taxation and to pre-1980 and enforce all regulations

including those dismantled in the 90s and 00s. IOW return to Regulated Capitalism. Stop the wars, invest heavily in social programs including fixing infrastructure, improving efficiencies and renewable energies. While were at it break up the global banking cartel, nationalize the Fed. Criminalize Disaster Capitalism. Prosecute fraudsters and war criminals.

For starters. Our options are not limited to our present system.

Recommended reading: Naomi Klein, Greg Palast, John Perkins, Joseph Stiglitz, David Korten.
Recommended trashing: Milton Friedman and the Chicago School of Economics.

[emilyg]

15. k/r - good to see you.

[Martin Eden]

16. We are the "single sustainable model of national success" ...

... according to the neocons. In fact, what we have to offer is so good that we are justified in using our military to invade other countries and impose our system at the point of a gun.

It's more than a little ironic that the party whose mantra is that government can't do anything right had a foreign policy based on our government conducting socio-political-economic engineering in foreign nations whose cultures we don't understand.

[indepat]

17. Let me refute your thesis as follows: . Get all that?

:P

[femrap]

18. The politicians are merely

the minions of TPTB. Eventually we might see the minions turn on their masters so to save their teeny weenie balls.

Lots of people will die.

[Overseas]

19. sad K&R. //nt

[Greyhound]

20. K&R. Accurate summary.