BLOGSPOT:
CANADA MILITARY NEWS: O
Canada...sigh, Why aren’t there more (visible/invisible) disabled TV Anchors,
Media, Radio, OnLine folks representing us on air and radio AND
POLITICS?-Here’s how 2do it-make the world proud/ #1BRising /UN Peacekeepers
stop raping/OmarKhadr dishonours Canada and our troops who died 4 Afghan
freedom
AND
BLOGSPOT:
CANADA MILITARY NEWS: Disabled have
great sex lives folks and always have/CHINA teaching disabled children
and youth about embracing their sexuality and it's healthy/ SEXTING-
what it means global articles/ PLATO - Asexual- Platonic love and
friendships work and millions and millions like the honesty of
asexality/ MASTERBATION is healthy folks- get used 2 it
http://nova0000scotia.blogspot.ca/2015/07/canada-military-news-disabled-have.html
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VOTE... register, get your life and paperwork in order and be part of this great Canada... pls
True Patriot Love- this old gal wonders... if our youngest and newest will ever know the incredible courage and history of this amazing and incredible young nation... called Canada... pray they do.... in the meantime.... cherish the fact that in our War Baby WWII growing up years.... honour and respect and knowledge of all things Canadian meant so much... especially those who ensured our freedom... and 2 often those who paid so dearly.... WWI and WWII were horrendous times looking around at how many we lost in our huge landscape of God's perfect nature and very small number of population.... and the raw courage and duty and selflessness devoted 2 those carrying the flag and the banner of this great Canada... True Patriot Love... thank u. thank u... God is lucky... and He knows it.
Royal Canadian Air Force
The memorial to the 50 escapers who were executed by the Gestapo in the aftermath of the Great Escape. It was built by prisoners of war in the forest outside Stalag Luft III by permission of the camp commandant, a Luftwaffe colonel, who was ashamed of the murders committed by the Gestapo.
Photo: Lieutenant-Colonel (retired) Alex Fieglar
https://www.facebook.com/rcaf1924/photos/pcb.10152741514946237/10152741514546237/?type=1&theater
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May 12- Nova Scotia Canada...Liberal majority of Nova Scotia just passed a budget that cut social services/nurses /film/unions (we all knew that) ... and dissing the environment.... WTF???
Council Of Canadians Encourages Voting In Upcoming Election
By MNN. Last updated: 2015-05-12 09:32:10The Council of Canadians is concerned with a 30-trend towards lower voter turnout in federal elections, especially among young voters, and has partnered with union and entertainment representatives on a cross-Canada public forum tour to encourage participation in the process. National Chairperson Maude Barlow cites job losses, healthcare privatization, falling wages, environmental neglect, and austerity as reasons for change, and will be joined by Trailer Park Boys star Cory Bowles.
The forum will be making its only Nova Scotia stop next Tuesday at 7:00PM at the Bridgewater Best Western.
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O CANADA- BEST QUOTE: But she's uninspired by her
options. "People of my generation, we want to see a politician commit 100
per cent to a brighter future," she said. "I will not be out knocking
for a political party until there's one [whose vision] I can buy into."
And there’s your trouble... Julie Van de Valk is just the type of young person that Canada's major progressive political parties want to attract. There's just one problem: she's not impressed by any of them.
Young Voters Could Defeat Harper, So Why Don't They?
Research suggests
the answer is deeper than apathy or laziness.
Julie
Van de Valk is just the type of young person that Canada's major progressive
political parties want to attract. There's just one problem: she's not
impressed by any of them. Van de Valk, 20, is a third-year geological
engineering student at the University of British Columbia. In her spare time
she helps run a campaign to divest the school's endowment from oil and gas
companies. Climate change is so urgent that "it's not something we can
wait another day to address," she told The Tyee.
Van
de Valk does not fit the prevailing stereotype of Millennials: lazy, apathetic
and uninformed. She's so passionate about global warming she spent a recent
Saturday knocking on doors in Vancouver as part of a Storm
the Riding campaign to raise awareness of climate solutions. But Van de Valk
refrained that day from endorsing a specific political party. None of them, in
her opinion, "are addressing climate change with the type of leadership
that people who understand the issue want to see."
Millennials
like Van de Valk have become the largest demographic in North America. Study
after study suggests 18 to 34-year-olds are more progressive than members of
older generations on many issues -- including climate change. Yet they're the least
engaged with the current political system. Less than 40 per cent of young
people cast a ballot in Canada's 2011 federal election. If 60 per cent had
voted, pollster Nik Nanos has calculated, Stephen Harper likely wouldn't have
won a majority government.
The
implications go further. "The decline of voting in the 21st century may
become as striking a phenomenon as the decline of church attendance in the
latter part of the 20th," read a recent Globe and Mail op-ed. Van de Valk
plans to vote in the 2015 federal election. But she's uninspired by her
options. "People of my generation, we want to see a politician commit 100
per cent to a brighter future," she said. "I will not be out knocking
for a political party until there's one [whose vision] I can buy into."
'Within
our reach'
Van
de Valk grew up in Waterloo, Ontario. All throughout high school she was
"keen on environmental sustainability," she said. After moving west
for university, she began working with UBCC 350, an offshoot of the global
climate change network 350.org.
Van de Valk liked that the group's ultimate goal of limiting global warming to
safe levels was paired with tangible short-term actions -- like pressuring UBC
to divest from oil and gas firms. "The theory of change made sense to
me," she said.
Her
convictions grew stronger last March, when a group of 70 academics released a
report arguing that it's feasible for Canada to make a full
transition to clean energy by 2035. "It isn't out of reach," she
said. Many other members of Van de Valk's generation feel the same. A Strategic
Communications poll from last year suggested
that 42 per cent of Millennials in B.C. "strongly agree"
the province can both grow the economy and fix the climate, as opposed to 32
per cent of people over age 55.
That
finding is supported by a survey of Millennials just released by the Broadbent
Institute. About 56 per cent of young Canadians think the environment should be
prioritized over jobs, it suggested, compared to 46 per cent of people above
age 35. Millennials also voiced strong support for socially liberal governments
that increase spending on education and health care. "More young voters
support elements of a progressive political agenda than older voters," a
report on the polling data read.
Its
author wasn't surprised to see a generation gap in political attitudes. What
truly struck University of Saskatchewan political studies professor David
McGrane was how uniform Millennial respondents were in their thinking.
"Youth, no matter where they lived were to the [political] left of the
national average," he told The Tyee. Yet this generation is also the least
likely to make its voice heard during elections. Why? "We've been having
trouble finding an answer to that question," McGrane said.
'Relevant
to youth'
So
has pollster Nik Nanos. Last year, he worked with former parliamentary budget
officer Kevin Page to guess what the outcome of Canada's 2011 election might
have been if more youth had actually voted. A 20 per cent increase in
Millennial turnout could have prevented Harper from winning a majority, they
calculated. It might also have broadened the political conversation. "What
we find is that [young people's] concerns are much more diverse than older
Canadians," Nanos told CBC last year.
But
instead of that happening, only 38 per cent of people below age 30 bothered to
cast a ballot, compared to 60 per cent of the broader population. Elections
Canada later commissioned a study to better understand why youth turnout was so
low. "[Millennials] were generally less interested in politics, less
likely to view voting as a civic duty, and more likely to feel that all
political parties were the same and that no party spoke to issues relevant to
youth," its National Youth Survey concluded.
This
isn't unique to Canada. A major survey last year from the Pew Research Center suggested 50 per cent of U.S. Millennials see
themselves as "political independents." Under 40 per cent of older
respondents felt the same. By and large, Boomers grew up in an era when
personal identity was more closely associated with specific political parties.
"I don't feel that connection," Van de Valk said. "In my
lifetime I've never really seen leadership in any party that extends past the
four year election cycle."
Canada's
2015 election is no exception, she said. At least, not when it comes to climate
change. Harper's Conservatives have warned climate action could be
"job-killing." But the Liberals and NDP haven't offered Van de Valk a
very inspiring alternative. Neither party has
clearly articulated to her how it would drastically reduce carbon emissions and
shift Canada to clean energy. Meanwhile, both have offered qualified support to
the oilsands. "That doesn't do it for me," she said.
Fixing
the system
Canada,
after all, is set to miss its 2020 climate target by 20 per
cent. Van de Valk knows Millennials like her will inherit the consequences of
today's inaction. She also knows decisive climate policies have been
implemented in places like China and Europe -- and that they're possible in
Canada. What she craves is bold leadership. She doesn't care which political
party shows it. "It is a huge fault of our democratic system that we look
at climate change from a partisan perspective," she argued.
Her
statement could apply to a broad range of gridlocked issues. Inequality,
criminal justice, poverty -- the list goes on. "One reason young people
are so disengaged from politics is they grew up in a system that can't seem to
work," said Sam Gilman, CEO and co-founder of Common Sense Action, a
Millennial think-tank and advocacy group with chapters on 40 college campuses
across the U.S. Its logic is simple: make politics about solutions instead of
partisanship, and more young people will engage.
"Our
generation is different from previous generations in the sense that we care
about collaborating," Gilman said. Common Sense Action is explicitly
bipartisan. It recently merged with another Millennial group
called Run for America in the hopes of electing a new generation of
solutions-focused Democrats and Republicans in the 2016 House of
Representatives election. "There aren't leaders stepping across the aisle
to advance solutions to problems we face in our communities," Gilman said.
He
has a long way to go. Youth turnout was just 20 per cent in the recent U.S. midterm
elections, while polarization in Congress is at all time highs. Nothing similar
to Common Sense Action's bipartisan election effort exists in Canada, where the
gulf between left and right is rapidly growing. But if it did, Van de Valk is a
likely supporter -- especially on the issue dearest to her. "We want to
move away from the idea that climate change is associated with a specific
party," she said. "Really it's something that all Canadians care
about." 
Read
more: Federal
Politics, Environment
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BRITAIN- this is also Canada- Step up Canadians.... get ur papers in order (it's the least u can do 4 your families and our Canada) and f**king vote.... it matters.... HONOUR CANADA... AND THOSE WHO FOUGHT/FIGHTING FOR YOUR FREEDOMS... OUR MILITARY, MILITIA, RESERVISTS AND RANGERS ALONG WITH SPECIAL FORCES... it's time.... be a proud Canadian... honour u and honour us all... Please vote.
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THE ENVIRONMENT MATTERS STUPID!!!- not your liberal Californiaaaaaaa tax grabs... Environment.... CHECK OUT SOUTH AFRICA-
SOUTH AFRICA- Do Environmentalists Lack a Theory of Change?
By Saliem Fakir · 15 Mar 2012
Picture: Sabino/Flickr
Environmentalists in South Africa are largely seen as
lone and desperate voices. Often they are perceived to be white and middle-class,
but that is changing slowly.Environmentalists remain at the margins of the mainstream economy and outside of key decision-making channels. Where they cannot control the excesses and harm belched out of the belly of a gluttonous economy, they mop up the aftermath.
Their fire fighting battles range from dealing with issues such as acid mine drainage to rhino poaching and the prevention of shale-gas extraction to exposing heavy polluters.
Despite all of these noble efforts and media wars, environmentalists are losing ground. This is not only due to a lack of resources but also because environmentalists have a tendency to form alliances amongst themselves and only talk to each other.
Take, for example, nuclear energy. The anti-nuclear debate is largely confined to a few environmentalists – some lone figures and others trying to work as an organized formation without any real broad appeal.
Despite some public sympathy, in the more than fifteen years that this debate has been raging, environmental groupings have not been able to build a coherent coalition against nuclear power.
Winning the nuclear debate requires a broad-based alliance that will have to involve labour, business lobbies, religious groupings, agencies and individuals that work within government, and the public in general.
It’s hard work and can’t be done alone.
To succeed one also needs a broader political programme - a theory of change for the development of a new political economy.
The idea of a new political economy can’t be invented on its own. It has to be worked out by engaging others outside one’s own fold.
A new political economy can only emerge out of a new value system that restrains our addiction to consumption. The growth in shopping malls all around South Africa is testimony to this surge in consumptive behaviour despite the fact that our populace is heavily indebted.
So who is to blame?
Economic models are based on lifestyle choices. The greater the wants, the bigger the size of the economy and rate at which it must grow. Add to this the fact that nations also compete with each other for power, wealth and status in the world.
These wants are not only shaped by the desire to satisfy basic needs, but also by projects of vanity. Thus capitalism thrives because it can exploit our essential needs through a mark-up on the sale of basic necessities and more so because it exploits the human weakness for addiction to a particular lifestyle. Our growth paradigm commits so-called “consumers” to spending more on things they don’t really need.
We live in a world where flawed ideas about modernity drive the growth of new technologies and innovations in ways that are not always best suited to the needs of the planet and all of its people.
All of this unhealthy consumption takes place in the name of finance, jobs and more taxes.
Financial flows from the government purse, investments from government employee pension funds (South Africa’s is among the largest in the world), the decisions of trade union investment arms and the deployment of surplus capital from finance houses and corporations all shape the nature of the economy, where it invests and how.
In the end, the “growth at all costs” approach is the default compromise position between capital, organized labour and government. While capital, labour and government may seem at odds with each other - as they wrangle over the proceeds of wealth creation and its distribution - they are less questioning of the prevailing economic paradigm and the direction it is hurtling us towards.
As a result, contradictions prevail.
Governments perpetuate the dual problem of environmental and labour exploitation as necessary evils by choosing development models that are at odds with their rhetoric of sustainability, poverty alleviation and labour rights.
Firms encourage management and shareholder greed by incentivising the focus on the bottom line such that they end up working against social wellbeing and the planet’s future. They may be investing capital for economic growth, but at the same time, don’t take responsibility for the damage they cause to nature, labour and society.
Trade union investment arms are also not absolved from perpetuating the prevailing system. These investment arms and pension funds could help to shape a new type of economy, if they would just apply their minds to it.
Environmentalists are not entirely innocent either. Many environmentalists are pleased to do philanthropic work or take care of the mop up job when disaster strikes. However, the reduction of environmentalism to a beneficiary of philanthropy and charity demobilises its political relevance and guarantees it’s continued complicity in the prevailing, highly destructive, global economic system.
In this role, environmentalism merely enables the current system rather than disabling it. Without a theory of change, environmentalism is neither able to advance mechanisms for change nor is it able to demonstrate how a transition to a new kind of economy would be better than the existing one.
Thus, instead of just shouting from rooftops, environmentalists require a new theory of change. This can’t be invented through idealising alone but will have to evolve through active engagement with other organized formations where people are encouraged to seek a new ethos and moral compass for the economy.
Without new notions of equality and alliances for change beyond the narrow confines of environmental groupings, new models of economy won’t emerge and environmentalism will continue to remain at the margins, doing its usual mop up jobs, rather than contributing to pro-active change.
How we win a new economic system is partly a function of resistance. It is also the outcome of a new ethic – the ethic of moderation and less affluent lifestyle choices.
Shifts in the way capitalism works will, in the end, largely depend on the transformation of individual consciousness.
This change has to manifest in the real economy. Growth that is wasteful produces greater inequality and weakens the path to inter-generational sustainability.
Thus, the goals of a low carbon future must be melded to goals for better social development. The fight against inequality has to become an intrinsic part of broader environmentalism and in this regard, present-day environmentalists must be challenged to reflect on how embedded and comfortable they are in the current economic system.
Unless we address the central issue - the morality of our economic system - we will continue to trudge along as if the environmental cause is on track, when clearly it is not.
Fakir is an
independent writer based in Cape Town.
Related
Articles
AND..SOUTH AFRICA
Sacrificing Poverty Alleviation for Climate Financing?
Alexander O'Riordan - Green energy could be something of a magic bullet for social and economic justice because it will inevitably erode elites’ grubby hold on energy resources such as coal, oil and gas in much of Africa. Small scale and affordable green energy solutions democratise access to energy because instead of having to broker a deal with an often vested elite, families and small businesses can buy and install their own ‘off the shelf’ solutions without permission needed from anyone....
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f**king useless IMF
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FROM USA- ESSAYS OF YOUTH-Why Don't We Vote-
We received nearly 9,000 entries in our Why Don't We
Vote essay contest. Many young people wrote sincerely and
thoughtfully about why their generation includes so many non-voters. We thank
each and every participant. As voted on by our panel of judges, the winners
of course deserve special congratulations. Here are their essays, preceded by
biographical information.
LOS ANGELES, CA [HOME] SOUTH HADLEY, MA [COLLEGE] College student Born: 1979 Leila Rouhi is currently a senior at Mount Holyoke College in South Hadley, Massachusetts. She is majoring in Economics and Politics, and planning to attend law school following graduation. Her home is in Los Angeles, California. [Photo by Amy Hoak, Medill News Service] Political inactivity on the part of young Americans stems from one fundamental source -- a general cynicism of the American political process. This disdain for politics is further perpetuated by a lack of voter education and a needlessly archaic voting procedure that creates barriers to voting where they need not exist. While many of these existing problems can be rectified with relative ease through the implementation of programs such as Internet voting and better voter education, such programs create only a partial solution. It will take great strides to create a system in which American citizens will be represented in the political process, and only then will young Americans be truly compelled to vote. One way to achieve this goal is through the adoption of a system of proportional representation. This paired with the implementation of Internet voting, increased voter education, and same day voting will ensure a rise in voter turnouts and youth participation in government. Regardless of the political environment, it is the responsibility of voters to take initiative in becoming politically involved. However, the current electoral system in the United States is not one that fosters voter participation, but instead often discourages voting altogether. This is evidenced through the lackluster voter turnout in the United States, which is amongst the lowest of any democratic nation. While it is convenient to blame this lack of democratic participation on a lazy and apathetic public, the root of the problem lies elsewhere. The current system of winner-take-all elections, strategic gerrymandering, incumbency advantage and governmental unresponsiveness to constituent desires is enough to deter even the most politically conscience person from voting. For many young voters, the realization that their vote is likely to have little impact on the outcome of elections, not surprisingly, prevents them from becoming involved in the electoral process altogether. Only through the removal of these systemic flaws, which cause skepticism about the importance of voting, will voter participation be increased and democracy better achieved. One alternative voting procedure that will alleviate the lack of voter participation is proportional representation (PR). Through the implementation of a PR system, the voice of more American voters can be heard-and a more representative government created. The exorbitant amount of wasted votes that exist under today's system will be greatly reduced. The lower threshold of votes needed to elect a candidate under PR will allow smaller groups to elect representative officials more in tune with their political philosophy without the having to constitute the majority of the voting body. This also translates into the vote of each person carrying a greater weight, thus giving that person more of an incentive to become involved in the political process. By providing a greater number of people voting incentives, paired with the increased likelihood that third-party candidates can be voted in, PR insures a more representative government that will better serve the American people. Furthermore, PR will eliminate much of the opportunity to predetermine elections through the mastery of gerrymandering, again allowing for a more accurately representative government. The system of majority rule is far too static to be adequate for the dynamic needs of the American people, and especially American youth. Proportional representation, on the other hand, allows for the evolution of American thought by creating a governing body that will change with the electorate, rather than one that continually alienates voters by ignoring their demands. Providing a more representative system is the first measure in ensuring that young Americans will take part in the electoral process, but the adoption of PR alone is not enough. Americans, starting from a young age, need to be better educated about the political process and the issues that they will face as voters. The ideological platform of various parties should be introduced to student, so that when they come of voting age they have the background to vote for the parties that will best represent their interests. The better-informed youth are about the facts of issues, the more informed a decision they could make during elections. Education of youth about political matters, then, will prevent them from voting based on propaganda and buzzwords and force them to focus on the reality of the issues at hand. Furthermore, educating young Americans about political issues will not only instill the importance of voting in the minds of future generations, but will also help in getting older Americans to participate in elections. Just as parents can educate their children, children too can educate their elders about the need for political participation, encouraging them to vote. With all of these benefits, it is clear that the education of youth in electoral issues should be given more emphasis. Being informed about the effects of existing legislation, the process of running for office and the current political events are as important as learning about literature and chemistry, and should be regarded as so. Greater ease in casting ballots will also aid in increasing voter participation. While the entire nation has made phenomenal strides in technological advance, it seems that methods of voting have not been improved. While the Internet has the potential to provide a great deal of ease for voters, allowing them to vote from the comfort of their home or even from a dorm room seven states away, the possibilities of Internet voting are not being even remotely utilized. States should begin to offer Internet voting and registration as a supplement to already existing options. For those that do not own a computer, vote by mail can also be a plausible and indispensable alternative. Americans are often told that every vote counts but unfortunately in today's system this is false, and a great deal of our votes count for nothing at all. By implementing proportional representation, however, America as a nation will be moving towards actually making every vote count and every perspective heard. Proportional representation, if used in conjunction with programs to increase voter awareness and voting ease, will ensure a more politically involved youth and a more democratic democracy. JIM C. FUNG CUPERTINO, CA (HOME) BERKELEY, CA (COLLEGE) College student Born: 1979 Jim Fung was born on December 30, 1979, in Taipei, Taiwan, and immigrated to California with his parents in 1982. Growing up in the "Golden State", he discovered quite early that it matters who has money to influence the political process and who votes and doesn't vote. In the summer of 2000, he worked as a community organizer for the St. Louis chapter of ACORN, helping to get a living wage initiative passed. He is a junior majoring in economics at UC Berkeley, with an expected minor in public policy. He is active in the Students for Nader club on campus. Other interests include the grittily realistic British soap opera "EastEnders" and the long-running British science-fiction series "Doctor Who." Youth are disillusioned with politics for many of the same reasons that our parents are. If lobbyists and campaign contributors did not have more access to public officials than do regular citizens; if economic democracy in the workplace existed alongside what some would call the "illusion" of political democracy; if elected officials acted more on "bread and butter" economic issues, such as the increasing concentration of wealth and the lack of health insurance for many Americans, than on expanding the prison population and on the military -- most people of all ages would consider their votes much more meaningful. Some who never voted might even vote for the first time. Other forms of political participation -- such as attendance at local government meetings, involvement in interest groups, protest marches, petition-signing, and boycotts -- would also increase, as citizens discovered that the "power of the people" could really make a difference. However, barring these changes above, changes to the electoral system can also increase voting and other political participation - even though taking the influence of money out of politics, via means such as public financing, would be much more likely to change legislative priorities and address voter cynicism. Already, some young people have become much more active in politics recently. Here in California, Proposition 21, a supposed anti-crime initiative, would instead, many teenagers believe, greatly expand governmental authority to lock up their generation, particularly members of ethnic minorities. Whether or not they are right does not concern us here. What does concern us, however, is that many teenagers have responded to this perceived attack by forming groups such as the Third Eye movement and organizing youth wings of activist organizations like Critical Resistance. Young people have been at the forefront of consciousness-raising about P21 - for example, registering voters, and engaging in direct actions at the offices of those who contributed money to get P21 on the ballot. The activists on this issue are but a small minority of California youth, but their energetic involvement's a significantly change from the usual. Their activism sheds light on how participation might be improved among young people overall. P21 activism shows that when an issue is at stake that directly affects young people, they will respond. I also recall hearing of mass youth protests against 209, the anti-affirmative action initiative on the ballot in 1996. These examples have limited wider applications, but they do suggest that initiatives - about specific policies rather than Tweedledee/dum politicians -- stoke more political participation. Expansion of initiative and referendum, otherwise known as "direct democracy," would thus be a good step - though only if, unlike currently, money did not determine placement of issues on the ballot and the outcome of votes on those issues. Also, information about the effects of the "pro" and "con" positions would have to be fairly and widely dispersed. Young people should have acquired most of the education they need to make sound choices in elections by the age of 16; if they haven't, that is all the more reason why 16-to-18-year-olds need to be given the vote, to exercise their suffrage for better schools. Plus, from the example of active teenage political participation on many issues even when they don't have the vote, one can conclude that empowering teenagers with the vote would help them further in their political awakening and mobilization. Youth are already involved in fighting the WTO and on winning affordable housing for students, in addition to the issues mentioned previously. How much more active would we be if we all had the ballot? Given this reality that youth tend to get most excited about issues rather than politicians, alternative electoral systems such as PR, IRV, cumulative voting, and easier third-party ballot access, would only succeed in stimulating us if the third parties involved were ideologically oriented or issues-based parties rather than crass vote-maximizers. The issues of these parties would also need to be relevant to daily life - rather than visions of pie-in-the-sky utopianism. Many of the third parties in America today already fit this bill, addressing issues like the environment, workers' rights, and healthcare. In addition, judging from the example of European democracies using PR, the presence of such a system tends to encourage ideological or issues-based parties. Thus, an alternative electoral system should be seriously considered. Internet vote, same-day voter registration, and an Election Day holiday, would not, I believe, actually add new voters. Although these reforms would make voting more convenient, and would increase turnout in any given election, they would not increase the number of voters over time. Barriers to voting are not so high that a non-criminal person, who wants to vote, can't. Unicameralism - only one chamber of Congress - and/or a parliamentary system would concentrate power in the hands of the party or parties in power at any given them. While this system would allow policy to be implemented faster, the advantage of checks and balances should not be denied. Young people might become politically involved because they would have a more direct impact, but perhaps at the cost of trampling on minority rights. Shortening the period between elections and allowing recall of all elected officials would increase accountability to voters. These changes could spur much more enthusiasm on the part of the body politic. Another move increasing accountability would be expansion of the size of U.S. House, so that each congressman represented a smaller district. But overall, reforms within the current system, in addition to being more likely to happen, could also attack cynicism better than any of these electoral alterations discussed above. Money is power; take money out of the electoral system, and you take away the corporations' power. Then representative democracy could really have a chance to work again. As the grass-roots support for Ammiano, Wellstone, and Ventura have shown, youth will respond with energy in the instances (currently far too rare) when they perceive a candidate to be free from the corporate taint. It is that simple. MATTHEW CARLSON SNOHOMISH, WA Now at COLLEGE IN OHIO High school student Born: 1981 Matthew Carlson graduated from Monroe High School in Monroe, Washington in 2000 and is now attending Oberlin College. He is earning two degrees concurrently: a B.A. in philosophy and a B.Mus in tuba performance. He also has strong interests in sociology and political science. An intrinsic element in the success of a democratic society is the willingness of the people to be self-governing. In modern America, to say that we have a government that is for, by, and of the people does not mean that each citizen is autocratic and simply 'takes the law into his or her own hands,' but rather that each citizen has the responsibility to actively participate in this large-scale experiment known as American Democracy. Therefore, the problem of declining voter participation is a serious one indeed. Several reasons for this enigmatic conundrum of voter apathy have become apparent in recent years. In many presidential elections, numerous Americans have found themselves compromising their views and voting not for the candidate with whom they resonate best, but rather for the candidate who they dislike the least. This compromise that is forced upon the electorate is a result of the two-party system on which we rely for voting simplicity. Additionally, many voters are discouraged that their views are not represented by their elected government officials, and consequently, that they have no real power in their government. An anonymous Vermont farmer, when asked by an NPR reporter which presidential candidate he would be likely to vote for in the 2000 election, responded by stating that he honestly did not care who the president was because they were essentially all the same, and none of them would represent him effectively. While American democracy is arguably the best system of government in the history of the world, it is far from perfect. In order to make this fragile experiment a long-term success, we must make fundamental changes to the statutes and processes that govern the workings of the government. These changes should include: the abolition of the Electoral College, a more simple process by which to register to vote, and proportional representation of partisan views in governing bodies. The Electoral College is an institution of the Federal Government that has outlived its usefulness and should be abolished in order to promote democracy in the United States. At its conception, the Electoral College was considered necessary because it emphasized the rights of individual states and made the process of counting ballots less onerous. In a true federal system, the electorate should vote in national elections as citizens of the nation, as opposed to citizens of their respective states. However, the winner-take-all system of the Electoral College that we currently use is not only non-federal, it is undemocratic as well. Since the popular vote is counted in each state individually, and the winner of each state receives all of that state's votes, it is theoretically possible for a candidate with a greater percentage of the popular vote to lose the election. The Electoral College effectively renders the votes of the state minority meaningless because the majority receives all of the Electoral College votes, as if the vote was unanimous in favor of one candidate. This is clearly not democratic. If the Electoral College were to be abolished, then all national elections could be based upon the popular vote of the national electorate; a true representation of the views of the nation. Our current system of voter registration should be changed so that registration is a simpler, faster process in order to increase the level of voter participation. If the process of registering to vote were simpler, greater numbers of people would register and, consequently, vote. Online registration would be an excellent means by which to not only simplify the process, but increase its accessibility as well. Additionally, online registration would allow for faster processing speed. This lack of speed was problematic for me because I became eligible to vote on October 30, 1999, and registered soon after, but I was not yet eligible to vote in the November 3 State election. Not only is a simpler means by which to register to vote needed, but a simpler means by which to vote is needed as well. Use of absentee ballots should be encouraged, and the encryption necessary to secure online ballots should be developed so that voting could be conducted electronically. If the above steps are taken in order to streamline the voting process, more people will be likely to vote because less effort will be required of them. A proportional representation of partisan views in governing bodies would promote the expression of all views, and increase political participation among groups who currently feel as though they have no real voice in American government. It is with disdain that I view the makeup of my State and Federal Legislatures and notice that nearly every Senator and Representative is a member of either the Republican or Democratic Party. Does this mean that there is not even one percent (the group size that a Federal Senator theoretically represents) of the national electorate that holds views contrary to those of the Republicans and Democrats? Not one percent of registered voters are members of the Libertarian Party, the Green Party, or the Socialist Party? Governmental representation of specific political parties should be proportional to the popular support of those parties. Instead of representing geographical regions, Federal and State representatives should represent the ideologies of the electorate. National representatives could represent a proportion of nation views, and State representatives could represent a proportion of state views. This would allow the views of minority parties to be not only expressed, but taken into account in the proceedings of the government as well. Many people, especially young people with less favored views, would be encouraged to vote because their vote actually would have the potential of representing their true ideology. Democracy can only exist when the citizens of a democratic state are willing and able to take an active role in their government. If we can increase voter participation by eliminating the Electoral College, streamlining the voting process, and allowing for proportional representation of partisan views in our government, then these are critical means to a necessary end. AMANDA PONZAR LANDSDOWNE, PA College student Born: 1978 Amanda Ponzar works as a copywriter at Anderson Advertising in Sinking Spring, PA and has six years experience as a writer, editor and copywriter. She has published more than 60 articles in newspapers and magazines and won writing and art awards. Over the years, she has sung in nine choirs, won the Daughters of the American Revolution Good Citizen Award, served as features editor and co-editor-in-chief of two small newspapers, and attended school overseas as a German exchange student. Amanda earned her English BA from Penn State (4.0 GPA) with classes in creative, advanced, newspaper and magazine writing. Her husband, Matthew, attends law school on a full scholarship and plans to run for office someday. She is a die-hard cat lover. Politicians in America: Do You Want to Hear From Us? We must make changes to the current system in order to incorporate young people into the political process. The media need to support more TV shows addressing political issues, candidates need to spend more time with youth, we need to move toward voting online, and if all else fails, implement a system of proportional representation. On the local level, there are too many candidates and no way to get to know them. The majority of people never see who is running. Sometimes it seems like it doesn't even matter. My life goes on with low-paying jobs and high college loan debt no matter who's in office. I've seen Democrats and Republicans come and go, and the only thing that changes is the type of scandal in the White House. Strong media coverage and public debate provide the best means to distinguish between candidates. Broadcasting companies should contribute free airtime to every political candidate and hold "town hall" style meetings on every channel from MTV to ABC where TV viewers can call in with questions. Additionally, political candidates should make time to talk to students and should invite students and their parents to participate together in campaign events. As soon as security issues are overcome, we need to move toward straw polls, primaries, and voting online. When I attended college near Chicago, I had to walk almost a mile to get to the nearest polling place. For many young people, especially those without access to transportation, the polling places are inaccessible. Online voting, then, is the key to harnessing the power of generation X and beyond. Already the Internet has become a useful resource and potent advertising tool for many political candidates. Until online voting becomes available, polling places should be moved to college campuses whenever possible, so that those who are old enough to die for their country will also be given better access to vote for it. Seeing positive change enacted is empowering. Being personally involved in it is life changing. One of the best times of my life was freshman year in college when I worked for a local political candidate. We ate pizza and discussed his ideas, hung fliers on doorknobs, passed out flags at the polling place, and encouraged people to vote. On Election Day, I woke at six a.m. to vote before heading off to hang fliers. Having a personal stake in the election provided an added incentive to vote, and to care about the outcome. I felt that my vote mattered. That is truly the crux of the issue. Young people must feel that their views are listened to and respected. In the February 2000 Miss USA pageant, contestants answered questions in press conference style. Yet, instead of focusing on important issues, the "reporters" asked an environmentally active contestant which of these should go on the endangered species list: high heels, g-strings, or bikini waxing? This is insulting to a young person's intelligence, especially one with serious concerns about the environment. By asking trivial questions, the Miss USA pageant sends a clear message to young people, especially young women, that their minds and opinions are not wanted. Partying, sex and leisure activities are all young people are expected to care about. The messages sent by advertisers and the media almost insist that young people be frivolous, self-focused, and ignorant, i.e., Just spend your money at the mall and the movie theaters and we don't care what else you do. Many young people recycle, participate in youth groups or campus ministries, and are heavily involved in church, community, social and service organizations. We are ready to talk. Is anyone listening? Politicians need to court the young. The college students and young adults of today will be the business owners and leaders of tomorrow. Because young people aren't taken seriously and their needs are ignored, many students become disillusioned with politics and apathetic in voting. If the two major parties in our country continue to marginalize young people however, than we should consider moving to proportional representation. Our two-party system makes it difficult for an independent to get financial support to run a successful campaign. Proportional representation would promote more grass roots candidates, new ideas, and fewer career politicians. Proportional representation would also bolster minority representation and coalition building rather than party politics as usual. Racial minorities, religious groups, and other social institutions usually sidelined in the major campaigns would suddenly have access to the political system. We young people could even create our own political party and be assured at least one seat in congress or on city council. As John Stuart Mill said, "It is an essential part of democracy that minorities should be adequately represented. No real democracy, nothing but a false show of democracy, is possible without it." Young people are the most powerful dormant subculture in today's voting populace. We are the sleeping giants, the unspoken voice. Although hounded by advertisers, politicians ignore us. John McCain is seeking to change that, assuring college students that he will listen to their concerns. He is not advocating ignoring the needs of others; rather, he is suggesting common-sense integration so that all ages are adequately represented. McCain's campaign, if successful, will demonstrate the power of young people and perhaps provide an incentive for other politicians to do likewise. When it comes down to it, I care. I watch all the presidential and vice presidential debates, listen to the State of the Union, read the paper, and frequently publish letters to the editor about my concerns. Just like me, many young people around this country care desperately about their lives, goals, and future. We need someone to listen, support our issues, and prove to us that America wants to hear from young people ROZALINA GRUBINA BROOKLYN, NY Now at HARVARD UNIVERSITY High school student Born: 1982 Rozalina Grubina was born and raised in Latvia. While Latvia was still part of the USSR, her family enjoyed basic freedoms, but after 1991 they, along with other Jews and Russian-speakers, became persecuted by native Latvians. In 1993 they were expelled from Latvia and found refuge in the United States. In New York, she and her family had to build their life from scratch. After numerous ordeals and sacrifices, they have succeeded. She was educated in the Yeshivah of Flatbush High School, and is now freshman at Harvard College, studying bio-chemistry. In November 1999, my grandfather became the first member of our family to vote in the United States. For me, this was a glimpse into a life of freedom and opportunity I was lucky to now be a part of. My family and I came to America six years ago from a country of hate and discrimination, where citizenship and voting were privileges reserved for the select few. My grandparents lived in Latvia most of their lives, and so did my parents. Yet they would never be citizens, for they were members, or relatives of members, of the Soviet Army, the occupants who invaded Latvia during World War II in their unasked-for attempt to destroy the Nazis. Now, the Fascist Party has gained control over Latvian politics and daily life. When I was called a "krieva tzuka" (Russian pig) or a "jude" (Jew), all I could do was run away. Many people fled Latvia for a new life, but many are still running. We found refuge in America, leaving behind everything we had. Here, I can become a citizen, despite my nationality and religion. I can vote and be a respected member of society. I consider political involvement not only a privilege of all those fortunate enough to take part in it, but also the duty of my generation. It is only through voting and caring about who our leaders are that we can prevent another holocaust or race riot. Only through voting can we preclude what is now happening in Latvia and Austria from taking place in my new homeland. It is our obligation to build a country of tolerance, not hate, of peace, and not violence. There is no single silver bullet that can wipe political indifference off the face of the earth, but there are many recommendations. I believe that my generation must be educated on the importance of politics and the changes that they, themselves, can induce simply by participation. It is not up to the select few to run our country; it is up to us. In the former Soviet Union, voting was simply a formality; the Communist Party predetermined all future leaders, ignoring the will of the people. People had no say in their government, but here the situation is different. We can make our voices heard, and we can make a difference. Thus, if young adults realize that they could influence the course of history, voting participation would undoubtedly skyrocket. The greatest barrier to voting is the lack of patriotism in a majority of young adults. Many take the political and economic situation in the United States for granted, and they do so because of prevalent apathy toward learning and a lack of intellectual curiosity. The previous generation, with many faults of its own, can be characterized as possessing concern for their country and a love for knowledge that are much harder to find today. The select few of my generation who care deeply about everything they come across will certainly vote, but it should be our goal to make them a rule, not an exception. Patriotism is something that can be, and should be, instilled in the souls of young children by their parents and educators. I believe that schools must teach young children about American history and the importance of voting, for only if they have love and respect toward their country, will they take deep interest in her future. Students must be shown that the current democratic government did not arise in the United States by accident, but through hard work and awareness on part of those who established it. If we want to preserve the spirit of freedom and tolerance in America, we must fight for it, just as our ancestors fought for its formation. Thus, major education reforms are needed to preserve the essence of patriotism alive. Today, there are numerous ways to become informed of candidates' viewpoints, but there are many who do not have access to the Internet or cable. I expect that if people would have better knowledge of what they are voting for, they would more readily do so. This kind information is much harder to attain for a young adult than an average educated and established person. This year, I was able to watch only two debates on the Republican side and none at the Democratic side. With this dearth of information about any candidate, it is impossible to make a judicious decision about the policies he would enact once elected President. Consequently, I would like to see debates between all candidates for office as required elements, broadcasted on non-cable channels such as ABC. The Internet has changed my generation as a whole. In view of an escalating number of sales that take place over the Web, I foresee a shift in the way voting transpires. If people were allowed to vote over the Internet, many that did not vote previously would do so now, due to the ease with which it can be done. Right now, MTV's Rock The Vote is gaining popularity among teens. Their website (www.rockthevote.org) describes voting as "the ability to use our voices, to make things happen." Imagine what would happen if we used our power. We could stop the violence, erase the hatred, and improve our schools. We could change our world. Change starts with one simple action. Change starts with you. You can cast your ballot on Election Day. There is an old saying, which says that Americans will cross the world to fight a war, yet they will not cross the street to vote. Whichever method will be chosen to combat this indifference, people must comprehend the importance of voting. The government is not meant to be distant force that does affect our lives. By participation in the political process we can bring the government into our homes and make it better able to suit our needs. We must understand that being a soldier of democracy is as important as being a soldier for America. SHAUN M. FILIAULT KEENE, NH Now at college in Massachusetts High school student Born: 1982 Shaun Michael Filiault is a freshman dual major in political science and history with a minor in philosophy at Boston College in Chestnut Hill, MA. While in high school, he was active in his community, serving on various boards of the city council and earned certification as a nationally registered Emergency Medical Technician. He also was local coordinator for his high school's chapter of Democracy in Practice and editor of his high school newspaper. At Boston College he is a writer for the school newspaper and a member of the Mock Trial and Pre-Law society. A System of Self-Responsibility It was an excellent lesson in American politics. Truly, I had never learned more in such a condensed period of time than I had during that brief, yet incredibly influential conference. And, as I participated in the events of the College Convention 2000, a conference that combined America's best and brightest high school students and college students with presidential candidates, I realized that this conference was what democracy is all about. Democracy is education about current issues and how to become involved with such issues. Democracy is registering to vote and urging other to do the same. Democracy is the glue that holds America together, and, if democracy is to die, the United States will die with it. However, not all people have been fortunate enough to have the political background and knowledge that I have, and allowed me to attend the Convention. Thus, many do not believe that their vote truly matters in the electoral process. Many no do not believe that the issues politicians decide upon effect them, and therefore turn a blind eye to politics, possessing an attitude that since politics does not affect them, they will not affect politics. Finally, many cite the inconvenience of registering and actually getting to the polls as a reason why they do not vote. A plan to avoid this growing trend of voter apathy would be four-fold. The most important part of such a plan would be to implement a mandatory civics class at all American high schools, and make successful completion of this class a requirement for graduation. While touching upon the themes present at the national level politics, high school civics classes would focus upon grassroots politics by looking at local elections and issues of interest. In doing so, students would realize that the only elected officials are not the senators or congressmen whom they send to Washington, but also the mayor and city council they send to city hall. In doing so, students would see that even if the issues at a national level seem distant and abstract, those at a local level are more concrete and close to home. In learning about local politics, students will realize how much local politics affect their lives, and, even more importantly, that they can influence local politics by voting for city council and mayoral candidates with whom they agree. This class would also emphasize how to become involved in local politics by teaching students about public forums, petitioning, letter campaigns, and other methods of political influence. Now possessing a generation of informed voters, the second step in increasing voter turnout would be an automatic registration process. Rather than requiring the often complex and burdensome task of personal registration, all persons aged eighteen years or older would be automatically registered to vote upon their eighteenth birthday, such as is currently practiced in the United Kingdom and Canada. Should a person change voting precincts, or wish to affiliate themselves with a particular party, these persons would be able to alert their voter registration office via the Internet to rectify such a matter. Such change of registration forms could easily be made secure using technology, which is already available on the Internet. Since all US citizens over age eighteen would be registered to vote, all US citizens would be expected to vote. Thus, the United States should follow the model of Belgium and Australia, which enact fines upon those who do not show up at the polls on Election Day. After an election is held, voter checklists would be monitored for no-show voters, and these persons would be sent a notice for a fine. Should this fine not be paid within a set time limit, these non-voters would face a court hearing for a more significant punishment. It is due to such an innovative system that Belgium can report ninety-two percent voter turnout while the US can claim only forty-nine percent. In order to aid voters to follow through with their Constitutional right, and avoid fines, employers, high schools, and universities would be required to provide transportation to all eligible students and employees to the polls at no expense. Thus, people would not be able to use the current excuse many non-voters claim, in that it is too burdensome to travel to the polls. To further lessen this burden, fewer elections should be held in the United States. In order to accomplish this goal, cities, counties, and states would be urged to work together so that elections for officers at all levels of government would be held on the same day. Therefore, voters would not be required to make the often numerous trips to the polls which voters in other nations, which often have a much larger voter turnout than the United States, are not subject to. This nation faces so many important issues to young people that voting is vital. Issues such as school violence, the environment, educational funding, and the role of the United States are at the forefront. Each candidate has his or her own views on each of these issues, and intend on making their views policy upon election. Young voters can decide which of these views becomes policy by choosing a candidate. It is unlikely that one vote will make a significant difference in an election. However, the youth of America can form a voting block if we desire to. This bloc is so large that any candidate would be a fool to ignore it. Youth can sway an election, but only if they so desire. If all these procedures, or even if one of these procedures would be followed, it would encourage more young people to vote and create this voting bloc. And, perhaps even more importantly, the American public would once again begin to feel the great pride toward their nation that I felt at the College Convention 2000. The future of our democracy depends on it. CARL FOLSOM TONGANOXIE, KS College student Born: 1980 Carl Folsom attends the University of Kansas. He has interned for Congressman Dennis Moore and Kansas State Representative Gerry Ray. Every year the United States government spends billions of dollars to spread democratic ideals around the globe. At the same time, the citizens of this great country seem reluctant to share in their love of democracy, causing voter turnout levels to continue to decline. Like many actions of Americans, the desire to vote is one that needs to be taught at a young age. If potential voters start as soon as they are eligible, they are more likely to continue voting, as they grow older. Thus, the key is to target young voters. It needs to be easier to vote for the first time, and the government also needs to send the message to young people that their vote matters. Both goals can be accomplished with a rather simple adjustment of the electoral system. With the implementation of election-day voter registration and a single transferable vote system, the United States of America can show its young citizens that it is not only easy to vote, but that their vote is actually worth something. Before the problem of low turnout can be solved, it must be understood why it is a problem. Essentially, the less people vote, the less representative the government is of the people. If only the upper-middle class turns out at the polls, politicians can concentrate on the issues pertaining to that group of people and tiptoe around more important issues like education and income distribution. Similarly, if young people don't turnout to vote, politicians can ignore their views altogether. It is almost as if they don't exist at all, as long as they don't mobilize and force government officials to listen to them. This causes bills to be passed without any regard for the young voter. It needs to be understood why young adults are so apathetic and why they are letting their country be run without any regard to how they feel. The first thing holding most young people from voting is the registration process. Every election day I call my friends and remind them to vote. I receive the same response, "I'm not registered." At this point it is too late. Most youthful adults don't think far enough ahead to register thirty days in advance. They have far too many other things on their mind. They are not initiated to the voting process at a young age and may not become politically active until they are much older. Election-day registration would solve this problem. It coincides perfectly with the spur of the moment attitude that most young adults share. Five states have passed this into law and they have shown progress increasing voter turnout. A nation wide bill would similarly propagate voting levels. The second proposition to increase voter turnout is to eliminate wasted votes. In the current election system, if a person does not vote for the Republicans or Democrats they may feel that their vote has been wasted. This is especially true with young voters, who may be drawn to a non-traditional political party. A simple solution to this is the single transferable vote system, or instant runoff voting. In this electoral system, instead of voting for just one candidate, a voter would rank them in preference. Therefore, if a voter's first choice for office has no chance of attaining a majority of the vote, the voter's second choice would receive the vote. This system has been effectively implemented in Ireland and not only increases voter turnout, but also more accurately targets the people's choice for public office. This style of voting system would especially attract young voters, giving them reassurance that their vote will not be wasted if they don't initially vote with a mainstream political party. Each of these proposals is an attempt to solve a problem that is in desperate need of repair. The United States currently trails only Switzerland for the lowest voter turnout in the democratic world. Decreasing the restrictions on registering is one way to attack this problem. Election-day registration enables the youth of America to vote without the struggles of pre-registering months in advance. Implementing instant runoff voting is also a necessary change that would instill confidence in the process of voting for public office. Each of these methods would increase turnout slightly, but in concurrence, these proposals could combine to be the kind of dynamic electoral policy that would mobilize young voters and force the leaders of this country to listen to what they have to say. MEGAN ROSELL FRISCO, NC NOw in college in Greenville, NC High school student Born: 1982 Megan Rosell grew up on an island - Cape Hatteras, in North Carolina and attended Cape Hatteras School. It houses grades K-12 with about 600 students. She lives with her mother, who is a teacher and her younger sister. This fall she is attending East Carolina University in Greenville, NC. where she is studying to become a CPA. Being able to cast my first vote in the 21st century is a privilege. My generation needs to accept their patriotic responsibility and vote because many reforms are needed in order to carry us into the new millennium. Voting reforms are necessary to inspire political participation for other modifications and adjustments needed in areas such as health care, education, and Social Security, all which we as young people will face in the future. Participation in elections is necessary to facilitate and enable progress, but our present day system of voting is expiring by frustrated Americans. Past elections have proven that our current electoral system is insufficient and an alternative is needed in order to pull our country out of "Political Depression". Why should we settle for the choices offered by two parties? Diverse and assorted representation of candidates would encourage larger voter turnouts. One method which could change the face of future elections is proportional representation. This method of electing representatives is used widely in Eastern Europe in such countries as Norway, Spain, Finland, and Germany. Large districts would be created where elected officials represent multi-member districts. This would reduce sectional and geographic animosity. The proportion of the party represented would be determined by the percentage of votes won by the parties. Winning requires only a share of the vote proportionate to the number of district representatives. This system allows for more representation than the two-party system currently used in the United States. The political spectrum would grow. A new congressional redistricting was passed in Virginia because of unlawful gerrymander. Proportionate representation would eliminate gerrymandering, the constant reelection of incumbents, and poor quality of candidates. These are flaws, which are reality in the present voting system. Issueless campaigns, low voter turnout, and wasted votes are also characteristic of this system. New and minority parties have little or no chance of emerging. Only a few democracies in the world are still using the voting system similar to that of the United States. Minority parties would become more viable if proportional representation was in place. In our system today, a minority party has no chance of any representation. But, using the proportional system, they would receive a percentage of the seats in the legislature corresponding with the votes. A multi party system would develop, representing a number of minorities. Issue based candidates would also take precedence. Issues directly related to the people of the United States would have representation. This in turn would encourage voter turnout because peoples' views would be represented rather than merely a choice of several candidates. This also offers a greater diversity of candidates willing to address and focus on our problems, as we exist in the 21st century. The advantages to the proportional representation system are numerous. More women would be represented, racial and ethnic minorities would not be overlooked, and issue-oriented campaigns would arise. Elections would become more exciting to the public because their voice and vote will make a difference. "Winner take all" will no longer exist. Americans will see that everyone is fairly represented, according to their vote. Other reforms on our present day voting system are being considered; configuring congressional districts to more fairly reflect the voting population, voting by mail, which makes voting easier and cost effective, and simplified voter registration. Telephone voting, early voting, and absentee voting are already in place for those who have difficulty making it to the polls. Even with these new programs, voter participation is still low. The plummeting political participation of our antiquated voting system needs to be addressed. It is apparent that the two party monopolies no longer serves our needs or draws our interest. On the average, United States has the lowest voter turnout in the democratic world. Surely, this will have a devastating long-term effect if this voting system is kept in place. Our country will suffer "political paralysis". As a young American, I can participate in local political groups and organizations to discuss and examine proportional representation. Colleges and universities are places were election reform could be studied. The Voters Choice Act, introduced by Representative Cynthia McKinney, is an effort to repeal congressional legislation that mandates single member districts. This is an area where change can be promoted. Most important, educating others on the impending demise of our voting system will encourage young adults, like myself, to become involved. Political power is a direct result of our electoral system. To meet the complex challenges of the 21st century, we need to meet the demands of a multi-issue, multicultural, and universal world. Changes in the voting system won't come easy. My generation needs to be innovated and explore new ideas to increase patriotism. We don't need to be silent observers, but active adults concerned with our future. The reform in voting directly affects issues that are in desperate need of reform to insure a quality of life equal or better than that of our ancestors. WARWICK SABIN LITTLE ROCK/FAYETTEVILLE, AS College Student Born: 1977 Warwick Sabin is the press secretary for U.S. Representative Marion Berry (1st District, Arkansas). He recently completed an M.A. in philosophy, politics and economics at Oxford University in England, where he studied as a Marshall Scholar. In 1998, he graduated from the University of Arkansas with a B.A. in political science, and served there as president of the student body. The reason why young people don't vote is so obvious that it can be found in the U.S. Constitution. The Founding Fathers, progressive and tolerant though they were, saw fit to cite age as the only limitation to holding a federal elected office. In a document that rightly stands as a model for modern liberal democracy, neither race nor gender nor religion nor creed were mentioned as being relevant to the qualifications of a representative. This only serves to emphasize the degree to which age discrimination is rooted in the American political system. From the beginning, those under 25 (the minimum age for a member of the House of Representatives) have been treated as less-than-equal citizens, so it is no surprise or coincidence that men and women aged 18-25 represent the demographic group that votes the least. The age requirements mandated in the Constitution for the House of Representatives, the Senate and the presidency are arbitrary to say the least. What makes a 25 year-old more qualified to represent his or her fellow citizens than an 18 year-old? Why do the responsibilities of a senator require an additional five years life experience? Some may contend that a certain level of maturity is necessary for such important positions, or that the age restrictions ensure that only those who have a personal and professional stake in the community can stand for office. Interestingly enough, these same arguments were used against women who campaigned for the right to vote in the early years of the twentieth century. Women did not have the "temperament" to make important decisions, according to popular sentiment, and why should they vote if they don't own property or have jobs? Of course, the same logic was used to defend the positioning of the voting age at 21. When a citizen turns 18, the law regards him or her as an independent entity, capable of voting, paying taxes, and serving in the military. To deny this citizen the opportunity to hold federal elected office is inconsistent and discriminatory. Voters should be the judge of a candidate's abilities and qualifications without the government setting restrictions based on certain personal characteristics. Now why does this kind of age discrimination affect voter turnout among young people? In the first place, it is clear that a sense of disenfranchisement with the political system develops when citizens cannot identify with their representatives. Part of the reason why white people over 45 vote more often is that most candidates for political office are white and over 45. Idealistic political philosophy often maintains that any citizen ought to be able to effectively represent his or her fellow citizens regardless of his or her background. In reality, districts with a racial, ethnic or religious majority elect members of Congress who look and think like the majority. Young people never have the opportunity to vote for people who share their generational perspective, and this understandably leads to apathy and disassociation from the political system. Imagine that a big university town sent a 22 year-old to Washington on a platform of increasing federal assistance to post-secondary institutions and financial aid to students. Or consider the excitement among young professionals that would accompany the senate candidacy of a 26 year-old. Do you think more young people would vote? Of course they would, because suddenly they would identify with a political figure that spoke there language and understood their interests. With this in mind, the minimum age requirement for all federal elected officials should be lowered to 18. The American people and the U.S. government currently do not tolerate official restriction of political participation according to any other category, and our history demonstrates that groups, which endure such discrimination, when liberated, become active and vital members of the polity. Young people don't need new ways to vote; they just need a connection to the political system that makes it seem more relevant and accessible. The right to vote is a powerful tool of democracy, but so is the right to contest positions of power. When the latter is finally extended to young people, they will find much more satisfaction and meaning in the former. CHRISTINA STONE HOUSTON, TX High school student Born: 1982 Christina Stone is a high school student in Houston, Texas. As a sophomore, she received the HOBY Award and attended the Hugh O'Brien Youth Leadership Seminar at Rice University. She has volunteered on political campaigns. I rang the doorbell of a two-story brick home in southwest Houston. "Hello sir, I am representing Republican, Dr. John Sanchez, who is running for Congress this November. Would you like some information concerning his platform?" The new Sanchez supporter enthusiastically volunteered to contribute to our campaign. Bouncing down his lawn, I felt I had contributed to our system of democracy in my small way. Each week during the summer of my junior year, I worked with Sanchez's committed team of volunteers. We pursued interminable lists of mail-outs, telephone calls, and doorbells. Involvement allowed me to realize how much effort a campaign requires. My amazing experience triggered my own political opinions and ideas for the future - welfare, taxes, and health care. Perhaps if legislation required campaign experience, young men and women would obtain knowledge and interest in our political system. Political participation is pivotal because these young men and women will be directing our political system in the future. However, lowering voting age is not the solution. Voting is a tremendous responsibility, requiring information about candidates/issues. Therefore, most eighteen-year-olds are capable of making wise, mature choices. The dilemma is fomenting desire and convenience to vote. I suggest widespread voting online. The world is moving into the twenty-first century with amazing technological advances. Schools, libraries, and work places all have Internet access. Thus, voting availability would skyrocket. In addition, voting would perhaps seem like less of a chore. Could voting be fun and rewarding? Internet graphics, pictures, and sounds could attract young voters in America. Advertising campaign and candidate information web sites could increase issue awareness. Let us get young people excited about voting! Generally, the only government exposure for young men and women is a textbook high school course. Although education about our democracy is crucial, hand-on experience is necessary to instigate young voters. Furthermore, the number of voters would surely increase if Election Day were a holiday. My mother phoned from work last November. "Honey, I'll be home as soon as I race to the polls. Dinner will be late tonight. The hospital was crazy today!" The door slammed when she finally came home; the polls were closed by the time she could get off work. My best friend, Amy, who works at Hallmark after school, also complained to me about voting hours. Thus, if Election Day were a national holiday, we could tear up our list of excuses. Next to apathy, inconveniences the major cause of non-voters. My dad, also politically active, plucked my brother Jon and me from our homework last week for President Clinton's State of the Union Address. Dinner that did not include our successes and failures at school; rather, we dived into Clinton's aims for the future. Although my parents never concisely reveal whom they vote for, the compel Jon and me to choose our own views. The government is not the only palpable source to promote political participation; parents must also introduce our political system to their children. Political socialization, the process by which one obtains his/her political opinions, exists through parents, community, and education. My economics class, filled to the brim with extremely bright Lamar High School students, hotly debated abortion last week. After the third round buzzer, my teacher Mr. Dorsey interjected, "We have a birthday girl today!" We promptly san "Happy Birthday," and she received her gift - a voter registration card. Voting is something to celebrate in our classroom. However, many teachers do not encourage political activity like Mr. Dorsey. Perhaps the government should send representatives into high schools; informative seminars that explain the importance of voting will increase the number of voters. In addition, these representatives should explain the voting process to help new voters realize how simple and speedy voting is. My sophomore year, I received the HOBY Award and attended the Hugh O'Brien Youth Leadership Seminar in June at Rice University. Our activities included participating in a mock trial, hearing entrepreneur speakers, and debating controversial issues such as affirmative action. Meeting other students my age and interacting influential business and government figures from around the country provoked my desire for political action. We need more of this conference to bring the community together! All three aspects - parents, education and community - must gel for young men and women to get politically active. Nevertheless, our government must reinforce these steps of involvement. Mandatory political campaign activities, online voting, work-free Election Day, and political awareness in school, and information sessions in communities need to be established by the government in order for young men and women to participate politically. Apathy and inconvenience need to be conquered. This arduous battle is important for the future of America. Our "life, liberty, and pursuit of happiness" rests in the hands of young people - high school and college students like me. EMILY C. TALMAGE MERRIMAC, MA (HOME) PRESCOTT, AZ (SCHOOL) College student Born: 1976 Emily Talmage is a senior at Prescott College in Arizona. She is studying environmental education, and believes strongly in student-centered, whole body learning. In September 2000 she returned from a month-long whitewater rafting expedition down the Green River in Utah, where she learned both boating skills and studied the natural history of the Colorado Plateau. When not studying and exploring, she likes to contra dance, hike, and cook. I am part of a dying breed. I am in my twenties, I vote, and I am politically informed. Most of my peers can't even name their representatives, let alone get off the couch to vote. This unfortunate fact is due to many reasons, but primarily because young adults are dissociated from society, and do not see democratic participation as essential to the survival of our country. Another important reason is that corporate interests run the United States government, and young people see individual efforts such as voting to be futile in the face of these powerful opponents. In order for this to change, a major paradigm shift will have to occur in the way Americans view ourselves and our government, and changing the electoral system will not help get young adults out to the polls. Multi-national corporations are more powerful than world governments, including the United States. The World Trade Organization makes trade decisions for countries based on the best interests of each corporation's profit margin, and decimates the environment and working conditions worldwide. We, along with the rest of the world, bow to these greedy giants. The state of Massachusetts attempted to stop buying from Burma because of their human rights violations, and the WTO's response was to fine Massachusetts and declare their actions illegal because they were against "free trade." Young people watch multi-national corporations squash entire states, and are shown the futility of any individual attempt to make a stand. We don't trust our politicians, and know that they all owe favors to special interest groups for campaign contributions. We don't go to the polls to vote because our choices are pathetic, and we view most politicians as powerless in the face of corporate interest. An even bigger problem is our disassociation from community. Generation Xers don't see themselves as part of a whole, but as individuals. Culturally we have not been taught to look out for our fellow man, but for ourselves. We don't watch the news or read the paper because it is not relevant to our daily lives. We have been taught to flip the channel to "The Simpsons," because entertainment is more important to us than politics. As citizens we were much more enamored with the idea of Warren Beatty contemplating a presidential bid than Bill Bradley's campaign efforts. Growing up our two main sources of ideas and information are our families and school. In both places we are taught to obey, and listen silently. We take other people's words for truth, and are not taught to think for ourselves. School focuses on the individual and not on community. Our academic achievements and awards are based on personal performances. Most of our schooling takes place in rooms lit by florescent lights, and we have no relation to the natural world. The American educational system churns out workers who will do as they are told and not rock the boat. Voting is acknowledging that their personal opinions are valued, a lesson that has not been taught to them. Most of us are wrapped up in our daily lives, and the political process is something far away from us. My generation has not experienced hardship, in the form of a war or a food shortage. We assume that we will always be provided for because our country is so affluent. As long as our beef comes from the deli at the supermarket, we don't have to think about the rainforest destruction or the water pollution caused by factory farming. We don't see this, and are not held accountable by anyone for the choices we make as consumers, which have political effects. The United States likes to hide ugliness, so most of us do not see the havoc we wreak on the natural world or on other cultures. If we were ever to experience the ramifications of our actions, we might take a little more interest in the political process. To correct this we must change our current education models. We need to look at ourselves as part of a greater whole. This begins with the classroom community, and extends out to the global community. Our children need to spend a large part of their education focusing on other cultures. Examining how others live will provide students with a unique perspective on their own lives. They need to recognize difference as strength, and have a sense of something greater than themselves. Students need to learn to think for themselves, and be shown how to seek out knowledge themselves instead of blindly accepting textbook information. Experiential education gets our kids out into the world, and shows them practical applications of knowledge. Service needs to be a daily aspect of education to foster connectedness. Once you are invested in the world around you, a desire to take part in democracy will emerge. Unfortunately there are no easy or quick answers that will get young people to vote. Changing the voting age, voting on the Internet, or registering at the polls will not motivate anyone to vote. They don't vote because they are uninformed and uninterested. We must reexamine our society to see where we are going wrong. We have to be willing to create a society in which differences are acknowledged and accepted, a society where people have connections to one another and to the natural world. We must change the American dream from the success of the individual to the success of the group. Only then will there be a desire and a space for debate, and a compulsion to make informed decisions about the world through political participation. HEATHER M. TURNER SALEM, OR Now in college in Corvallis, OR College student Born: 1978 Heather Turner is in her fourth year at Oregon State University, studying nutrition science and international studies. She volunteers as a Spanish translator at a local medical clinic for people who don't have health insurance. Last year she spent four months studying abroad in Quito, Ecuador. She also is working on a survey at a clinic in Salem, OR that talks with recent immigrants from Mexico about their access to healthcare and limitations to being served. She works at Community Outreach in Corvallis, a social service agency, as a crisis line and shelter supervisor. Originally from Salem, OR, her parents are Janice and Dale Turner and her brother is Nathan Turner. Changes in Education and Accessibility: "Who wants to vote anyway"? "Hey, I live in Oregon, the president is already decided on before our voting polls close." Yes, we live in an apathetic society, but for reason. As a 21 year old registered voter, I generally vote, but I can understand why my classmates chose not to follow suit. First of all, we always feel like we are being tricked by the politicians' advertising campaigns. It seems that whoever has the most money and big business support will have the best ads and with them, an improved public image. I would appreciate a non-biased source on the Internet that would give accurate information about all the candidates running for an office, small or big party. It would need to be short and simple to understand. Also beneficial would be descriptions of what the more obscure parties stand for. Democrat and Republican parties have been traditional household names, but many young voters are interested in new ideas that are better expressed by other groups or independents. Internet voting would also increase voting by drastic standards. Most young people, especially university students have excellent access to computers and enjoy using them. We can be called lazy or busy. If we can sit in our chairs and make a few clicks with the mouse it will increase our voter turnout. Oregon State University, my college, recently changed the student government elections to the Internet and the results were outstanding. I feel that the governmental elections would experience the same success. Another important problem that could be addressed is the level of political education in the elementary, middle and high schools. The curriculum would be better if it instilled a sense of ownership in the country. I think that young people often feel like they have no power. One way to change this would be to have young students write letters to politicians to express ideas. Also important is to teach the students the workings of an election and the job responsibilities of elected officials. Everyone hears about the president, but who knows about the country sheriffs, the school board members and the local mayor? Smaller elections can prove that a few votes really do count. When I was in grade school, I took the required trip to the state capital building, of course, I lived in Salem, Oregon, the capital city, so the drive only took a few minutes. We watched either the House or Senate discuss some issue about the coast guard. I remember being very bored and counting the fish and pine trees on the expensive carpeting rather than paying much attention. Even though I was sitting there watching it, I still felt like I had no power. The politicians on the floor might have as well been on television because I felt like I could not communicate with them or voice my opinion. This could have been a very positive experience, but with my cut-off feeling, it had little effect. I felt like a number, a schoolchild that was being shuffled through a traditional field-trip. This feeling needs to change among schoolchildren. The teachers that bring the children need to prepare the students. The politicians need to take time to talk with the students and listen to their ideas. If we had felt like we had a voice at age ten, we would feel like we have a voice now, at age twenty-one. So many political issues affect the youth of America, but we are leaving the older generation excessive power to make our decisions. Issues like abortion, welfare, the environment and education are all very important to us as students if we can understand just how much certain decisions will affect us and our classmates. I realize now that I do hold a great deal of power by being a voting citizen of the United States of America, but this is due to an extended education and some luck. Most of my peers are in a different situation. All in all, I think the two most important changes that need to be made are in education and accessibility. We need to know about the political system before age eighteen and we need to know that our voices really can change the system. In this busy world, access to candidate and issue information in a quick and easy format is also extremely important. Voting by Internet is the same issue. Time is money and the more it "costs" to vote, the less likely we will be to participate. KARMIN TYACK MAPLE VALLEY, WA (HOME) SEATTLE, WA (SCHOOL) College student Born: 1980 Karmin Tyack is a senior at Seattle Pacific University majoring in communications and minoring in business. Scheduled to graduate in June of 2001, she is not exactly sure where her future is headed. This fall she is pursuing her interest in business communications with an internship at donationdepot.com. Her family is a blessing to her and where she learned the values expressed in her essay. In their matching rocking chairs, my grandparents squint at the small print on their voter's ballots as they carefully mark their choices. Across the table from Grandpa, I eat a ham sandwich and listen to stories of battle that were his reality, but to me are scenes from an unrealistic black and white movie. Over an evening of dominos, I listen to their passionate discussion of the recent initiatives and issues facing our government. To Grandpa and Grandma, democracy and freedom are not simply ideals; they are vital principles that they have personally sacrificed to uphold. Voting is an expression of their feeling of personal responsibility for the course of their country. During my months in their home I learned many things from my grandparents. I learned that it is a privilege of the young to be able to bend over without pain. I learned that it is a privilege of the healthy to be able to go an entire day without medication. I learned that it is a privilege of the American to be able to have a voice in their government. I learned that these privileges are never to be taken for granted, for there are many who suffer without them. Today, many people are asking my generation why we do not vote, why we do not care about our government. Officials are not elected by the majority anymore. As evidenced by the number of voters, the majority does not care. Why? I do not believe that there is a simple answer to that question, or a simple solution to the problem. Do we not value our freedom, or do we not feel that our voice will be heard? I think it is a little of both. This generation of "young people" has not yet had to pay a high price for freedom. Our rights were handed to us by those who lived before us. I think in some ways we do not value democracy because we have not paid for it. Grandpa and Grandma paid that price for us. Another missing element of our attitude toward government is personal responsibility. Many people of my generation feel that there is no point to voting. One voice can do very little to influence the course of government that seems very far away and sometimes unjust. Rather than talking over dominos about the current initiatives, we sit on our lunch break and complain about how much the government takes out of our paychecks. The sense of duty that my grandparents feel is absent. We do not feel that we should or can do anything about the aspects of government we view as corrupt. The right to vote is not seen as powerful, it is seen as pointless. Personally, I believe that I do not have the right to complain about anything unless I am doing everything within my power to change it. This includes voting about who leads the American people and where they lead us. For some reason, most of my generation has not learned that lesson. If this is the problem, what is the solution? Do we have to fight in a war and pay with our lives in order to value our freedom? What will cause us to feel responsible for the course our country takes, rather than blaming "the system"? As I said before, I do not believe there to be one simple solution. Maybe everyone should go live with my Grandpa and Grandma for four months when the turn 18. Since everyone would not fit in Grandpa and Grandma's house, I suggest that we bring Grandpa and Grandma to school. What I mean by that is, expose us to the people who paid the price for the freedom we enjoy. Let us hear them share the cost and value of democracy. Let them instill in us the value of personal responsibility. Let them teach us. In essence, I believe a large piece of the solution to be better education on the importance of voting. I received this education from my grandparents. It would be nice if the same lessons were available to every student before they leave the public school system. Let us work hard to create a generation that values their freedom and works hard to preserve it for the next generation. Let us work hard to be that kind of generation. As the grandparents of the future, what lessons will we teach about the principles our country has established and upheld over hundreds of years? |
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Old voters matter- we vote- but we must get new fresh elected promising hardworking youngbloods 4 our beautiful and glorious young Canada- LUCKILY OUR LEADERS OF ALL PARTIES ARE YOUNG....FEDERALLY.... but Municipalities, Townships, Mayors etc... need cleaning up and youngblooding down and in2 the fabric of our Canada society- IT'S TIME
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THE GREEN PARTY OF CANADA VS GREEN PARTY OF CANADA (come on Canada- our Green Party should be strong, brave, respectful and brilliant- leave the cowards face covering and threats and $$$ waste of property and nature at home- get in the communities and be the little engine that could, would and did- Green Party should be a huge leader... not a wimp who simply plays sneaky nasty pranks on the public versus commitment and hard work in our Canada imho)
Now see if Elizabeth May of Green Party Canada had this smarts and the excellent candidates with proven community history 2 back her up (hard work Candidates , participation and the values of respectful community life).... she would inspire and do great things...
THE GREENPEACE MESS- (shame most of these are creepy people who violate nature itself with hidden faces and American passports - whilst their America and Europe goes 2 ruins). How much better, an honourable respectful Green Canadidate of the community, is than hooligans in masks with their spoilt indifference of communities and the people they ravage costing Canadian taxpayers $$$thousands and $$$ thousands- LIKE hanging Greenpeace banners on our Parliament Hill in Ottawa ...then having the audacity 2 make our Canadian taxpaying policing and firefighting and rescue - bring them the f**k down... why can't Canada have smart savvy VOTED Green Party representatives across our Canada- who are smart, savvy, hardworking and love their communities this much as this group in Britain-
.... the best... the very best.... and check the lyrics.... AND USA AND CHINA PLEASE DON'T SHAME YOURSELVES - U ARE THE WORST POLLUTANTS ON THE PLANET ...EVEN MORE THAN RUSSIA.... imho... great job. great share. u have plundered this planet viciously and now u have drought and millions of fracking sites and ur coal and your own oil.... u have no right 2 say climate change... let along protest it on Canada's clean and pristine nation.... Our Green Party of Canada can be thrilling if the young educated and community savvy and respectful work hard and tireless and prove their proposals with hard work and knowledge and compromising.... just think Canada Prime Minister- is Green Party..... folks... someday..
Awesome- wish our Canada Elizabeth May had busy hardworking community Candidates - Canada would love real GreenPty
(youngbloods --meaning under 55- get it- so get 2 work Canada- If green in UK is this active and vibrant and strong- why aren't we the same in Canada- walk the talk... walk the talk - look at Greece-and many nations choosing young strong vibrant brilliant candidates ..imho) By Emily Gosden, video source The Green Party
TWITTER: Actually,
the new Green Party PPB is definitely the best thing I've ever seen *Breaks
into song* 'Austerity, austerity...')
Oh Britain- so cool and so smart... BUT U DO FRACKING... UPDATE: Here are the lyrics in full:
Have you ever wondered Why I sound just like my deputy? Does he seem redundant, Or do I? (Oh baby)
Step into the booth, Look down and face the truth: A vote for me’s the same as a vote for Any of us guys (Any of us guys)
It’s sweeter when we all agree A party political harmony Lose your voting inhibitions Join the one true coalition (coalition)
He’ll fire all your docs and nurses
He’ll clamp down on public service
He sold the railways to companies,
And we all agree on tuition fees!
Let’s sell off the parts of this broken nation, Let’s shut the door on
immigration And if a few companies don’t pay tax, (tax!) Let’s not grumble, what’s the harm in that? (there’s no harm, baby!)
Austerity!
Austerity! Austerity! Let’s get rid of foreigners! (awkward beat) What
he means is… Let’s frack this green and pleasant land, Come on Eddie,
join the band.
The
public won’t know what to do, If they have to pick from me and
youuuuuuu! The choice between us couldn’t be clearer, Oxford! Cambridge!
Diversity for ya, Whether it’s Trident or High Speed Two, The lesser of
four evils is up to you. (I looove the coalition!)
It’s
sweeter when we all agree A party political harmony (vote for me!) Make
the tactical decision Join the one true coalition (coalition)
(even higher!) It’s sweeter when we all agree A party political harmony Make the tactical decision Join the one true coalition
Lou turns off the power on the track, and it slows down awkwardly, painfully.
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On Vietnam- and the horrific treatment by protesters of troops coming home and their heartbroken families- it was the Westboro Baptist Church of Vietnam- Jane Fonda and John Kerry will 4ever be remembered 4 their vicious actions that so shamed decent protests that communities respect and participate in.
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Does Europe need younger
politicians? — Debating Europe
Feb 25, 2014 - The average
elected politician in Europe is 53 years old. ... But with age comes wisdom,
and at least it's representative, right? ..... Right now the EU/IMF/World
Bank/WTO etc… are filled with politicians and 'specialists' who all ...
Ages of leaders and
populations - The Economist
Apr 5, 2011 - The chart
shows the average age of the leaders of four Western .... I think it may also
be due to the changing nature of the political world in the era of twenty-four
hour news ... Money talks: April 7th 2015: Europe up, US down.
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www.globalpost.com/.../map-youth-elderly-world-political-unrest-economy-unemployment - Cached8 Sep 2014 ... +GlobalPost.
Menu. GP. Facebook Twitter Google. Share .... These maps show
where the world's youngest and oldest people live ... What can the median age of
a country tell you about its future? Turns out, quite a bit.
where the world's youngest and oldest people live ... What can the median age of
a country tell you about its future? Turns out, quite a bit.
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Sweet
Jesus, Mother Mary and Joseph
List
of current United States Senators/Congress by age
-------------
The average
age of a senator is 60 (the oldest ever) ... With the average
senator's age 60, is Congress a generation out of step? Below: x
------------------
www.theguardian.com/.../growing-youth-population-fuel-political-unrest-middle-east-south-america - Cached - Similar19 Mar 2014 ... These voters were
mostly aged in their 50s or above, and typed in .... There
doesn't have to be a generational feeling of young against the old.
doesn't have to be a generational feeling of young against the old.
----------------
If
John McCain wins the election in November at the age of 72, he will become the
oldest person in U.S. history to assume the presidency. But McCain is a
veritable spring chicken compared with these guys.
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WATERFALLS IN NOVA SCOTIA
CANADA- getcha Canada hiking on
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How to Run for Political Office
So you want to run for office--"get into the world of politics?" Many qualified candidates fail to reach their goals because they make the same mistakes. Major problems can be solved by drawing up a plan to follow during the campaign, in effect, a "road map to victory". A campaign plan allows you to know where the pitfalls and strengths lie. It can even give a healthy estimate on funds needed to achieve victory and where to find it. These are some tips and guides to help candidates run a more effective campaign. Check into how to get started in local politics there are several options and steps.http://www.wikihow.com/Run-for-Political-Office
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Idle No More Canadians- FIRST NATIONS PEOPLES 10,000 YEARS- North American Indians 10,000 years (b4 that was ice age in these parts) Indigenous Peoples and Israelites -God's First Peoples- entrusted with earth's nature.... respect.
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WAVES OF IMMIGRATION
(Timeline)
(Timeline)
1600 - 1800 - France and Britain Colonizing North America
It was the Vikings that first landed in Canada to set up a settlement at L'Anse aux Meadows
in the northeast side of today’s Newfoundland...but they eventually
left. Later in the mid-1500s, European fishermen sailed across the
Atlantic to fish for cod off the coasts of today's Maritime
Provinces. Although they visited and set up their drying racks on land,
they didn't stay either. It wasn't until the early 1600s when people from France and Britain began to colonize North America that settlements began to appear.
France's first settlement was in 1604, with a small party living the winter on St. Croix Island (then Acadia, now in the American state of Massachusetts). However, many died that winter and the following year, the French moved the settlement to Port Royal (now Annapolis Royal in Nova Scotia). France also dispatched settlers to New France on the St. Lawrence River.
1604 - France colonists started settling in what became Acadia; first permanent settlement at Port Royal.
1608 - First successful French settlement along St. Lawrence resulted in the formation of today's Quebec.
1610 - British merchants create the Newfoundland Company with the goal of colonizing the island. Group of 39 men establish settlement at Cuper's Cove, now called Cupids and considered Canada's oldest English-speaking settlement (celebrating its 400th anniversary in 2010).
1666 - First Census in New France: the non-Aboriginal population is 3215.
1673 - England's newly-established merchant company, Hudson's Bay Company, builds the fur-trading post Moose Factory near James Bay – not for colonization however, but as part of their fur-trading operations. Today, Moose Factory is Ontario's oldest continuous English-speaking settlement.
1759 - France loses its colony of New France (population 65,000) to England during the Battle on the Plains of Abraham.
From the early 1600s to 1759, the colonization of North America by both France and England populated what later became Canada. Spread over about 160 years, the colonization of the New World can be considered a major world event and the SECOND WAVE OF IMMIGRATION TO CANADA.
| "Colonial immigration laid the early foundation of Canada and multicultural immigrants built on top of it." Source: Lindalee Tracey. A Scattering of Seeds: The Creation of Canada. |
| SECOND WAVE OF IMMIGRATION TO CANADA French, English and Scottish |
Research by Elle Andra-Warner
http://www.redlakeimmigration.com/Canada%27s%20Immigration%20Story/1600%20-%201800%20Colonizing%20North%20America.html
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First Settlers (1600s-1776)
The first German settlers in Canada who came before 1776, came to New
France in the service of the French military forces. Swiss guards were
members of the first French expedition of 1604 to launch a colony in Acadia.
Quebec's first recorded settler from Germany was Hans Bernhard from Erfurt,
who bought land on the Isle d'Orleans in 1664. By 1760 an estimated 200
German families could be identified along the St. Lawrence River - mainly
families of soldiers, seamen, artisans and army doctors. Many of the Germans
who rose to prominence in Quebec between 1760 and 1783 were businessmen,
doctors, surveyors, engineers, silversmiths and furriers who had come
with British militias from New England(1).
Canada's oldest German settlement developed in Nova Scotia between 1750 and 1753 when 2400 Protestant German farmers and tradesmen from the Southwest of Germany landed with their families in Halifax. They were recruited by British agents to strengthen Britain's position against the French in Acadia. In 1753, 1,400 of these Germans started the nearby community of Lunenburg. Arriving without marine skills, by the next generation they had become expert fishermen, sailors and boat builders. In the 1760s land grants attracted some additional 1,000 Germans from New England and Germany to Nova Scotia's Annapolis Valley(2).
--
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www.canada.com/vancouversun/news/westcoastnews/story.html?id=3698f...
2006-07-01 ·
Here's to the leader of the pack: The first woman elected to ... and sour cream. Thank you, old ... of other great reasons to love Canada.
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Why is Canada the most tolerant country in
the world? ... Ontario just elected
Canada’s first lesbian first minister. ... So how did we get this way?
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Frequently Asked Questions
We get many questions from people of all ages. If you have questions about elections in Canada, chances are that you'll find the answers below. Some of these questions may be of a general nature while some others may be specific to election time. We’ve organized these separately.General Questions
- Who can vote?
- Why should I vote?
- How do I register to vote?
- Where can I see the list of members of Parliament?
- Who is my member of Parliament?
- Who are the party leaders in the House of Commons?
- Who is the minister for...?
- What is a registered party?
- Which political parties are registered?
- Who decides we are going to have a federal general election?
- What kind of electoral system is used for federal elections in Canada?
- How many people, including youth, voted at past general elections?
Who can vote?
You can vote if you:- are a Canadian citizen
- are at least 18 years old on election day
- Establish proof of identity and address (click here for list of approved identification documents)
Why should I vote?
Your vote is the way you choose someone to represent you in the House of Commons. By making your choice, you are participating in democracy. The democratic right to vote is key to our system of government, a system that generations of Canadians have fought to build. For more information, see A History of the Vote in Canada.How do I register to vote?
You can register to vote at anytime during or outside of an election by calling 1-800-INFO VOTE. During an election, if you are not already on the voters list you can still register on election day if you prove your identity and address. You can prove your identity and address in one of three ways. Click here to view the options.You can also register in person on any of the advance voting days, which are announced during the election.
To find out where you can register and vote, use our Voter Information Service or contact your local Elections Canada office.
Although you can always register when you vote, we encourage you to register ahead of time. Voting is faster if you’re registered.
Where can I see the list of members of Parliament?
The list of elected candidates can be found on the Parliamentary Web site.Who is my member of Parliament?
To find out who your MP is, please use one of the searches on the Parliamentary Web site. You can search for your member of Parliament by:If you do not know the name of your federal riding/electoral district, click here.
Who are the party leaders in the House of Commons?
You can find out who the leaders of the registered parties are and what parties are now in the House of Commons by clicking on the links.Who is the minister for... ?
The names of the current Cabinet ministers can be found on the parliamentary Web site.What is a registered party?
Since 1970, political parties have had the option of registering with the Chief Electoral Officer. Registration offers political parties status under the Canada Elections Act and brings with it certain obligations and benefits. Click here for more information about this subject.Which political parties are registered?
Click here for a complete list of registered parties, their leaders and their national headquarters addresses.Who decides we are going to have a federal general election?
We have general elections when Parliament is dissolved. The Governor General can dissolve Parliament, at any time, on the advice of the Prime Minister. The Government must ask the Governor General to dissolve Parliament and call a general election when the Government is defeated on a supply bill (one that concerns the spending of money) or on a vote or motion of confidence. The Constitution provides that no more than five years may pass between general elections, except in exceptional circumstances.In May 2007, Parliament passed a law to establish fixed dates for federal general elections providing that a general election must be held on the third Monday in October in the fourth calendar year following the previous general election, unless Parliament is dissolved earlier.
The Chief Electoral Officer may recommend a different day if the day set for polling is not suitable.
What about by-elections?
When a seat in the House of Commons becomes officially vacant, the Speaker of the House must inform the Chief Electoral Officer immediately. Between the 11th and the 180th day after getting this notice, the Chief Electoral Officer issues a writ to the returning officer of the electoral district concerned, directing him or her to hold a by-election. The date on the writ is determined by the Governor in Council (the Governor General acting on the advice of Cabinet).When is the next election?
Under the new fixed election date law, if Parliament is not dissolved earlier, the next general election will be held on Monday, October 19, 2015.What kind of electoral system is used for federal elections in Canada?
Canada's federal electoral system is called a "single-member plurality" or "first-past-the-post" system. In every electoral district, the candidate with the most votes wins a seat in the House of Commons and represents that electoral district as its member of Parliament. A candidate does not need an absolute majority (50% of the votes in the electoral district +1) to be elected.How many people, including youth, voted at past general elections?
| Date of election | Population of Canada | Electors on lists | Ballots cast | Voter turnout (%) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 (November 27) |
28,846,761
|
21,243,473
|
12,997,185
|
64.1
|
| 2004 (June 28) |
30,007,094
|
22,466,621
|
13,683,570
|
60.9
|
| 2006 (January 23) |
30,007,094
|
23,054,615
|
14,908,703
|
64.7
|
| 2008 (October 14) |
31,612,897
|
23,677,639
|
13,929,093
|
58.8
|
Note: Population figures based on the latest Census figures available at the time of the general election.
For voter turnout figures in your electoral district, see ‘Past Elections' on Elections Canada's Web site at: http://www.elections.ca/content.aspx?section=ele&dir=pas&document=index&lang=eStudies commissioned by Elections Canada on rates of participation show that younger Canadians are voting at significantly lower rates than older electors. For the 2004 general election, Elections Canada conducted a study that cross-referenced actual votes with data from the National Register of Electors to find out how many people were voting in each age group. The results showed that approximately 37% of electors aged 18–24 voted. For the 2006 general election, a similar study showed that approximately 44% of electors in the 18–24 age group voted. However, for the 2008 general election, this estimate fell once again to 37%.
For more details on the Canada's Electoral System, see: http://www.elections.ca/content.aspx?section=res&dir=ces&document=index&lang=e
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A Grade IV student gets it right
A LITTLE GOOD NEWS- ANNE MURRAY
O CANADA- CLASSIFIED
SHE'S CALLED NOVA SCOTIA- RITA MACNEIL
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OBSERVATIONS ON POLITICIANS - FREEDOM KEYS
|
|
"Under every stone lurks a
politician." -- Aristophanes
OBSERVATIONS ON
POLITICIANS
| >>> "To err is human, but it takes a politician to really screw things up." -- Old American Adage <<< |
| "It was sooo cold this morning, I actually saw a
politician with his hands in his OWN pockets!" -- Katt
Country "In medicine, it has long been recognized that even a quack remedy that is harmless in itself can be fatal when it substitutes for an effective medication or treatment. The time is overdue for that same recognition to apply to politics." -- Dr. Thomas Sowell "Scratch the surface of an endemic problem -- famine, illness, poverty -- and you invariably find a politician at the source." -- Simon Carr, in his review of The Mystery of Capital by Hernando de Soto "Politics is perhaps the only profession for which no preparation is thought necessary." -- Robert Louis Stevenson "You can bet the rent money that whatever politicians do will end up harming consumers. ... Economic ignorance is to politicians what idle hands are to the devil. Both provide the workshop for the creation of evil." -- Walter E. Williams "A famous French economist by the name of Frederic Bastiat once suggested that when social policies turn out to be harmful to the citizenry, it is because politicians often react to economic problems that they can see, without any regard for the unforeseen consequences of their solutions to those problems." -- Jack Chambless "Politicians love visible beneficiaries and invisible victims." -- Dr. Walter Williams on WABC-AM 10-31-03 "Politicians, like bombers, seldom see their victims..." -- Donald Boudreaux, in his article, "Losing Touch". located HERE. In all fairness, Dr. Boudreaux also says, "Friends of liberty do their cause no favors by exaggerating the moral shortcomings of politicians or by portraying them as inherently stupid, fiendish, or sinister." "Okay then, how about misguided, careless, amoral, desperate or blind?" -- Dan Jergens "Politicians are notoriously economically illiterate*. And even when they know what would be the right thing, we don't really expect them to do it." -- Harry Browne "Most elected officials cling to their ideological biases, despite the real-world facts that disprove their theories time and again. Most have no common sense, and most never acknowledge that they were wrong." - Larry Kudlow "Every time a politician says "a job was created!!!" by government spending, you know damn well at least TWO jobs (if not a lot more) were NOT created in the private sector as a result. Google & YouTube "THE BROKEN WINDOW FALLACY." -- Bert Rand "A billion here, a billion there, pretty soon it adds up to real money." -- the late Senator Everett M. Dirksen, "TheWizard of Ooze" "Bad policies, stupid policies, gutless policies have real consequences." -- Molly Ivins "How do you know when a politician is lying? His lips are moving." -- Favorite Old Joke "Politicians are, by nature, liars." -- Dale Amon "The politicians should not tell the people to shut up." -- John Stossel "It is truly a triumph of rhetoric over reality when people can believe that going into politics is 'public service,' but that producing food, shelter, transportation, or medical care is not." -- Thomas Sowell "One Blue Dog Democratic House Member reminded me earlier this month of the saying that 'insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.' He wondered if his fellow Members weren't more in need of advice from psychiatrists than from economists at this point." -- John Fund "No wonder politicians love government schools. Where do you think the dumb masses come from that can be so easily led and manipulated?" -- Neal Boortz "People who seek political power are, with exceptions too rare to matter, never to be trusted; at best, such people are vain and officious busybodies. People who actually achieve political power are to be trusted even less than those who seek it without success; winning elections requires a measure of deceitfulness and Machiavellian immorality that no decent person comes close to possessing." -- Donald Boudreaux "The personal qualities necessary for attaining office are practically the opposite of those demanded by the office itself. The trouble with the damn system is that it selects for the skills needed to get elected, and nothing else. A test that you can only pass by cheating can't possibly select honest people." -- James P. Hogan "Our current political system ensures not that the worst will get on top -- though they often do -- but that the best will never even apply." -- Paul Jacob "The high-minded definition of politics is: 'the art or science of government; the art or science concerned with guiding or influencing governmental policy.' It is only when you keep reading in Webster's Ninth New Collegiate Dictionary that you get closer to the truth: 'political activities characterized by artful and often dishonest practices'." -- Cal Thomas "If ... we are dishonest for ratings -- then we become what we hate -- politicians!" -- Sean Hannity to Neal Boortz, 3-28-05 "The government consists of a gang of men exactly like you and me. They have, taking one with another, no special talent for the business of government; they have only a talent for getting and holding office." -- H.L. Mencken "It's always amusing to see how much less the political class knows than the rest of us do. ... it's never occurred to [the likes of Senators Brownback and Obama] that they bear a worse stigma than any AIDS patient, being almost universally regarded as blowhards, crooks, dopes, and fools." -- Stephen Cox, Liberty, February 2007 "Washington has a mysterious power to turn perfectly reasonable, wholesome, well-meaning human beings into equivocating crooked gasbags." -- David Harsanyi "Did you know that a large group of baboons is called a congress? Coincidence? I think not." - Alice Nelson "[Political] offices are as acceptable here as elsewhere, and whenever a man casts a longing eye on them, a rottenness begins in his conduct." -- Thomas Jefferson, 1799 "Nothing brings out the lower traits of human nature like office seeking." -- Rutherford B. Hayes, 1878 "You cannot adopt politics as a profession and remain honest." -- Ambrose Bierce "Politics was never meant to be a profession." -- Duane Alan Hahn -
"This Congress is out of control and in desperate need of adult supervision." -- Rep. Jeff Flake "Three groups spend other people's money: children, thieves, politicians. All three need supervision." -- Dick Armey "Politicians are leaches, mostly." -- Prof. Tibor R. Machan "The United States was supposed to have a limited government because the founders knew political power attracts swarms of crooks, demagogues and despots as surely as horse manure attracts swarms of horseflies." -- Rick Gaber "Politicians are the solution to our politician problem ... & Islam means peace." -- Bosch Fawstin "Force always attracts men of low morality." -- Albert Einstein "Demagogue: One who preaches doctrines he knows to be untrue to men he knows to be idiots." -- H.L. Mencken "Getting a lecture on morality from a politician is like getting a lecture on chastity from a whore." -- Perry de Havilland "‘Politics’ comes from the Greek ‘poly’ meaning ‘many’ and ‘ticks’, which are blood-sucking parasites." -- Andre Marrou and Rep. Davy Crockett "The problem with politics isn't the money; it's the power." -- Harry Browne "The problem isn't the abuse of power; it's the power to abuse." -- Michael Cloud "Give politicians power and it certainly will be abused eventually -- if not by today's politicians, then by their successors." -- Harry Browne "In order to become the master, the politician poses as the servant." -- Charles de Gaulle "Politicians are the craftiest and most cunning of all con artists and salesmen. They can manipulate even the most cherished beliefs and intellectual arguments to convince you to give them immense coercive power over other people and eventually, even over you. They're so good at it that they can even convince many to become fanatic supporters, and themselves to believe their own bullshit." -- Rick Gaber "Never was a government that was not composed of liars, malefactors and thieves." -- Marcus Tullius Cicero, brilliant philosopher, writer, political scientist, orator, humorist and last Free Consul of Rome, before he was murdered on the orders of that despicable despot Mark Anthony, doing his utmost to demonstrate and underscore Cicero's observation "Who may we look to for a reprieve from these money-grubbers and looters? We cannot look to our neighbors and fellow citizens, for they are as dumb as posts. They complain about high taxes and then vote these morons into office anyway." -- Cody "Never believe anything in politics until it has been officially denied." -- Otto von Bismarck "Someone once noted that a 'gaffe' in Washington is when a politician accidentally tells the truth." -- Jonah Goldberg "People often ask me why I left the Senate, and I always tell them after eight years in Washington, I longed for the realism and sincerity of Hollywood." -- TV actor Fred Thompson, Former U.S. Senator "[In politics] no good deed goes unpunished" -- Clare Booth Luce "Practical politics consists in ignoring facts." -- Henry Brooks Adams, The Education of Henry Adams "The whole aim of practical politics is to keep the populace alarmed -- and thus clamorous to be led to safety -- by menacing it with an endless series of hobgoblins, all of them imaginary." -- H.L. Mencken "No one ever died from smoking marijuana, but millions of people have died by believing politicians." -- Harry Browne "For those looking for security, be forewarned that there's nothing more insecure than a political promise." -- Harry Browne "Most politicians believe in just one thing -- winning elections. They'll say anything to get in office and stay there." -- Harry Browne "One reason the economy is such a mess is that politicians care far more about keeping their jobs than about helping you keep yours." -- Steve Dasbach "Politicians cannot create jobs or wealth. Such is axiomatic to straight thinkers." -- Greg Perry "Politicians are politicians all of the time -- whether they're helping themselves to an extra-serving of farm-subsidy bacon, writing new laws about when their opponents can and can't run ads about them or appointing bureaucrats to enforce those laws. ... There are no angels at the FEC. There aren't any in Congress or at the White House. And the sooner arrogant reformers like Sen. McCain and Fred Wertheimer realize that they're no angels either, the better for all of us -- and for the Constitution." -- Ryan Sager "For those who fancy that government's projects are uniquely important, or for those who imagine that holding government office makes someone unusually saintly or trustworthy, entrusting government with power that we would never entrust to our neighbors or other private citizens might seem sensible. To me, it's dangerous, unjustified, and unjustifiable." -- Dr. Donald Boudreaux "We should be long past applauding politicians of any hue: they got us into this mess. The best deserve a probationary opportunity to prove themselves, the worst should be in jail." -- Gerald Warner "All politicians are collectivists. They don't care about privacy." -- Professor Ian Angell, quoted on ZDNet "It is the rare -- maybe even nonexistent -- politician who will admit this, but number one on the politicians to-do list is always to get reelected. Nothing else comes close. The economy, the stock market, the war on terrorism … NOTHING comes ahead of getting reelected. Staying in power is job number one." -- Neal Boortz "The only true allegiance a politician has is to his own re-election." -- Michelle Malkin "Politics is all about getting and keeping power, and in politics, the professionals in the business soon learn that the only way to get and keep power is to force people to talk to them. A full-time legislature thinks of more and more things to regulate and discuss." -- California Assemblyman Ray Haynes "Is there anything more dangerous to the cause of liberty than a politician fixated on re-election?" -- Neal Boortz "Any legislator up for re-election will vote against a bad law if and only if there are enough other votes to pass it." -- Bert Rand "A politician in power tends to remain in power." -- Neal Boortz's "First Rule of Political Dynamics" "Cheap medical care is one of the most expensive things there is. So long as politicians can create the illusion of something for nothing, that gets them votes, which is what it is all about, as far as they are concerned." -- Dr. Thomas Sowell "You can't get something for nothing. Everybody remembers this except politicians." -- P.J. O'Rourke "Most of the founders of this country had day jobs for years. They were not career politicians. ... We need leaders with experience in the real world, not experience in the phony world of politics." -- Dr. Thomas Sowell "Politicians are forever coming up with 'solutions' to virtually every imaginable imperfection in life. But, if we give them more power and more of our money, we are very unlikely to end up better off on net balance." -- Thomas Sowell "The indignation of politicians is NOT a good measure of the gravity of any situation." -- Paul Harvey, 4-5-07 "There is always an easy solution to every human problem -- neat, plausible and wrong." -- H. L. Mencken "Congress will always couple one bad idea with another, the better to 'offset' them." -- Jeff Taylor "There is nothing so bad that politics cannot make it worse." -- Thomas Sowell "Auschwitz exists because of politicized science." -- Dr. Michael Crichton, 1-28-05 "The road to hell is paved with politicians' good intentions." -- Chief Jerry Cameron "Legislators aren’t known for being rocket scientists." -- Walter E. Williams "'Solve' and 'problems' are not in the Constitution." -- Doug Newman "A goldfish has a memory span of three seconds. Apparently, so do many politicians." -- Rick Gaber "One of the great mistakes is to judge policies and programs by their intentions rather than their results." - Dr. Milton Friedman "Whenever the government causes a crisis, Congress and the president of the United States will almost surely give even more power and authority to the agency that is most responsible for the calamity." -- William L. Anderson "A one-hour work-week...would minimize the damage that Congress can do." - Charles Krauthammer, 10-16-09 "It is fascinating to watch politicians come up with 'solutions' to problems that are a direct result of their previous solutions. In many cases, the most efficient thing to do would be to repeal their previous solution and stop being so gung-ho for creating new solutions in the future. But, politically, that is the last thing they will do." -- Thomas Sowell "The modus operandi which politicians have loved for so many years is: 'If it doesn't work, do more of it!' " -- Ian Bernard
"Intelligence collection has been given an additional bureaucracy to correct the problems created by too much bureaucracy in intelligence collection." -- P. J. O'Rourke "A politician's guiding philosophy: 'When in doubt, pander.' " -- Doug Newman "Politicians will pander to special-interest groups eager to gain at the public expense." -- Dr. Donald Boudreaux "Giving a politician access to your wallet is like giving a dog access to your refrigerator." -- Tim Barber "A politician is like a drunk who walks into a bar, sees a sign that says “All you can drink for $1", and orders $2 worth." -- Cafrman "To say Congress is spending like drunken sailors is an insult to drunken sailors." -- Ronald Reagan "The difference between congressmen and drunken sailors is that drunken sailors are spending their own money." -- Rep. Tom Feeney "Congress' passing of the omnibus spending bill without reading it shows more than anything why they can't be trusted." -- Neal Boortz "Ninety-eight percent of the adults in this country are decent, hardworking, honest Americans. It's the other lousy two percent that get all the publicity. But then, we elected them." -- Lily Tomlin "One useless man is a shame, two is a law firm, and three is a Congress." -- John Adams "Politicians detest self-sufficient citizens. Politicians need to be needed. When we get socialized medicine, you will be completely dependent upon politicians for your medical care, as Canadians are today. That's why if you need an MRI in Canada, you have to wait three months -- unless you pay certain kinds of homage to the right politicians." -- Neal Boortz "[Professional politicians] don't mind if price controls cause shortages of health care. In fact, they welcome the prospect, because then they can impose rationing; they can impose priorities, and tell everyone how much of what kind of medical care they can have. And besides, ... there's that deeply satisfying rush of power." -- Murray N. Rothbard "The problem with politics isn't the money; it's the power." -- Harry Browne "Power is more addictive than heroin." -- savedbygrace "Those who have been once intoxicated with power and have derived any kind of emolument from it can never willingly abandon it." -- Edmund Burke "Robbery, when legalized, is profitable, at least for the middle men. And the middle men in the legal plunder game are the politicians and their clients with government jobs." -- Wirkman Virkkala "As property, honestly obtained, is best secured by an equality of rights, so ill-gotten property depends for protection on a monopoly of rights. He who has robbed another of his property, will next endeavor to disarm him of his rights, to secure that property; for when the robber becomes the legislator he believes himself secure." -- Thomas Paine, Dissertations on First Principles of Government "In politics, nothing happens by accident. If it happens, you can bet it was planned that way." -- Franklin D. Roosevelt "And now the court has let the most powerful of American interest groups -- incumbent politicians -- have their way with the First Amendment. Wednesday's message to the mere people was clear: Shut up, the court explained." -- Paul Greenberg. "Pledge allegiance to your principles, your family, your faith, but don't be foolish enough to pledge allegiance to a gang of thieves." -- Lew Rockwell "The government consists of a gang of men exactly like you and me. They have, taking one with another, no special talent for the business of government; they have only a talent for getting and holding office. Their principal device to that end is to search out groups who pant and pine for something they can't get and to promise to give it to them. Nine times out of ten that promise is worth nothing. The tenth time is made good by looting A to satisfy B. In other words, government is a broker in pillage, and every election is sort of an advance auction sale of stolen goods." -- H.L. Mencken "Politicians never accuse you of 'greed' for wanting other people's money --- only for wanting to keep your own money." -- Joseph Sobran "'Need' now means wanting someone else's money. 'Greed' means wanting to keep your own. 'Compassion' is when a politician arranges the transfer." -- Joseph Sobran "Lofty talk about 'social justice' or 'fairness' boils down to greatly expanded powers for politicians, since those pretty words have no concrete definition. They are a blank check for creating disparities in power that dwarf disparities in income -- and are far more dangerous." -- Thomas Sowell "Try walking the halls of Congress. It's Abercrombie & Fitch meets the Hair Club for Men. Lots of really photogenic young people kissing up to lots of insufferable blowhards. Separated by one or two generations, most of these players have only one real thing in common: They have never been weaned from the public teat. The closest they've ever come to meeting a payroll is when they come together to spend everyone else's payroll taxes." -- Michelle Malkin, here. "The average federal income tax rate for the 437,036 individual returns filed for the year 1916 was .0275 (2.75 percent). And to think that Senator Nelson Aldrich had urged passage of the income tax, vehemently bellowing on the floor of the Senate his impassioned assurances that it would never, never, EVER go above one percent!" -- Rick Gaber "For those looking for security, be forewarned that there's nothing more insecure than a political promise." -- Harry Browne "Anyone who does not understand the utter cynicism of politics does not understand politics." -- Thomas Sowell "If there's a distinct group of Americans who harbor open contempt for constitutional principles and rule of law, it's lawyers, judges and members of Congress." -- Walter Williams in his column, "Attacks on the Rule of Law" "There is more selfishness and less principle among members of Congress ... than I had any conception of, before I became President of the U.S." -- James K. Polk, December 16, 1846 "... both individuals and companies are using the Netherlands as a haven for productive activity. ... This is good news for all taxpayers. The rich directly benefit, since greedy politicians are unable to seize as much of their money. And the rest of us benefit, since this puts downward pressure on tax rates as governments try to keep the geese that lay the golden eggs from flying away." -- Daniel J. Mitchell "Idealism is the noble toga that political gentlemen drape over their will to power." -- Aldous Huxley "You may scoff at the Tooth Fairy if you like. But the Tooth Fairy's approach has gotten more politicians elected than any economist's analysis." -- Thomas Sowell "The purpose of the Senate is to keep 100 middle aged knuckleheads out of the private sector where they can do real harm." -- P.J. O'Rourke "Some years ago an excellent professor of economics told his class in his gravelly voice, 'If you pay me $50,000 a year to solve a problem, I damned sure ain't going to solve it.' " -- Charley Reese, Orlando Sentinel 2-24-2000 "If you pay me $150,000 a year to solve all the country's problems, not only will I NOT solve any, I'll make A LOT MORE NEW ONES while appearing to 'solve' the old ones." -- Randy Richards "What this country needs are more unemployed politicians." -- Edward Langley [A demonstration of how politicians deserve to be talked about]: See"The contrast was exquisite. Politicians yakking about a supposed problem while real people in the real world make the yakking moot." HERE. "This country has gotten where it is in spite of politics, not by aid of it." -- Will Rogers, 1935 "This government never furthered any enterprise but by the alacrity with which it got out of its way." -- Henry David Thoreau in his essay, "Civil Disobedience" "Doing nothing in the public policy world allows much more to be done in the real world." -- Thomas Hazlett "... you know that a plan was dreamed up by politicians and pollsters -- and not by, oh, anyone who knows what they are talking about -- when the numbers are nice and round with a catchy ring to them..." -- Jerry Taylor "People constantly speak of 'the government' doing this or that, as they might speak of God doing it. But the government is really nothing but a group of men, and usually they are very inferior men. They may have some better man working for them, but they themselves are seldom worthy of any respect." -- H.L. Mencken "I was raised with the idea that if you're not smart enough to do science you can do politics." -- Dr. Michael Crichton, 1-28-05 "Government, when it is examined, turns out to be nothing more nor less than a group of fallible men with the political force to act as though they were infallible." -- Robert LeFevre, in his essay, Aggression is Wrong "It is hard to imagine a more stupid or more dangerous way of making decisions than by putting those decisions in the hands of people who pay no price for being wrong." -- Thomas Sowell "When looking for a reason why things go wrong, never rule out sheer stupidity." -- Brian M. Wilson "Aren't you being too charitable? Why assume stupidity when dishonesty will suffice ... ?" -- John T. Kennedy "Politics is the business of tinkering with other people's lives." -- Nolan Neathercutt "Everything the government touches turns to crap." -- Ringo Starr "Turning to politicians is the worst way to solve a problem." -- Jim Babka "'Solve' and 'problems' are not in the Constitution." -- Doug Newman "Government does not solve problems. It subsidizes them." -- Ronald Reagan "Being a politician means never having to say you're sorry. You don't have to say, 'I never should have voted to subsidize that ridiculous Enron project in India.' ... After all, they're greedy businessmen and you're a selfless public servant." -- Harry Browne "Politicians are notorious for attaining results contrary to their stated goals." -- Prof. Aeon J. Skoble "Whenever you come across a screw-up this big, you know the government is behind it." -- Ann Coulter "In our time, political speech and writing are largely the defense of the indefensible... Thus, political language has to consist largely of euphemism, question-begging, and sheer cloudy vagueness... Political language [is] designed to make lies sound truthful and murder respectable." -- George Orwell, "Politics and the English Language," 1945 "Anything seems more appealing than immersing myself in the sewer of daily politics." -- Allen Forkum “Everybody in politics lies.” -- David Geffen "Politicians are masters of sounding like they agree with you." -- Michael Cloud "In a perfect world, virtually every day's coverage of the state legislature -- or Congress, for that matter -- would begin with the words 'As expected, lawmakers took no action.' ... Both parts of the sentence herald good news. In most cases, the republic is better off and its citizens sleep better when politicans take no action. ... Plus, wouldn't it be great if legislatures were 'expected' not to monkey around with our laws, our liberties, and our livelihoods most of the time?"-- John Hood "Imagine how fast Social Security would be fixed or replaced if Congressmen had to rely on it like they force everyone else to, instead of on their lucrative special pension fund, sometimes paying millions a year. Heck, imagine how they might even want to learn about real economics instead of all those fallacies once they had such incentives." -- Bert Rand "My grandfather once told me that there are two kinds of people: those who do the work and those who take the credit. He told me to try to be in the first group; there was less competition there." -- Indira Gandhi "Professional politicians are skilled at taking credit for successes of others and blaming others for mistakes of their own. Exactly the kind of phony braggart slime you caution your daughter against dating." -- Rick Gaber "Elected leaders tend to believe they are responsible for a lot more than they really are. Like the little boy on his first plane trip 'helping' the plane by flapping his arms as the Boeing 747 begins to ascend, legislators often seem to believe that somehow they run the economy and solve lots of problems." -- Curt Leonard "So far the Sarbanes-Oxley bill has wiped out $1 trillion of market capitalization, has done nothing to improve business performance or investor value, and in fact has provided absolutely no benefits to the overall economy whatsoever, unless you're a large corporation which enjoys seeing the government hamper your smaller upstart competitors. It has, in fact, turned out to be nothing more than another poor excuse for politicians to claim they've "done something." Check it out HERE." -- Rick Gaber "Congress does two things well: nothing and overreacting." -- Rep. Mike Oxley "Overreaction is one of the things that congress specializes in. I can't think of anything congress does better than overreact." -- Fred Barnes, 3-9-07 "What the government is good at is collecting taxes, taking away your freedoms and killing people. It's not good at much else." -- Tom Clancy onKudlow and Cramer 9/2/03 "I have never seen a politician purport to have bad intentions, no matter what the agenda. Hitler thought he was doing the world a favor." -- Doug Newman “We have a lot of politicians who have really small brains and really big hearts.” - Sen.Rand Paul "I try to ONLY ridicule people who's efforts are sincere. Very little trouble has been caused in the world by insincere efforts. An occasional seduction maybe. There were very few insincere Stalinists or Nazis." -- P.J. O'Rourke "Some politicians actually work their butts off. But it's usually in just a frantic, futile attempt to justify their neurotic parasitic existence." -- Bert Rand "The idea that money is corrupting innocent politicians would be laughable if it did not lead to such dangerous legislation..." -- Dr. Thomas Sowell. "It doesn't matter whether the coercive individuals or groups identify themselves as bandits, Mafia, Church, party, government, chief, Pharaoh, king, high priest or president. If they initiate force, they are all simply criminals, regardless of their aliases and pretensions." -- Jarret Wollstein "Politicians learned hundreds of years ago that people who had little material wealth were incredibly jealous of those who had more than they did. This deep-seated envy was ripe for exploitation -- and the exploitation has been running rampant for generations." -- Neal Boortz "Given the low level of competence among politicians, every American should become a libertarian. The government that governs least is certainly the best choice when fools, opportunists and grafters run it. When power is for sale, then the government power should be severely limited. When power is abused, then the less power the better." -- Charley Reese "There are enough fools in Washington to destroy the country without any help from Muslim terrorists." -- Paul Craig Roberts "I would like to offer a candidate to be added to the venerable list of English collective nouns: a scum of politicians." -- Dr. Jack Wheeler "Politicians are frightened to death of people who actually believe in liberty." -- Neal Boortz "The most dangerous man, to any government, is the man who is able to think things out for himself, without regard to the prevailing superstitions and taboos." -- H. L. Mencken, 1919 "For all their talk about the virtues of democracy, many incumbent politicians really don't like it when voters have a voice--not if that voice is effective."-- Paul Jacob and David M. Brown "When will the world wake up and realize that most politicians, especially in the poorest countries of the world, are nothing more than glorified gangsters who view government as simply a fiercely-guarded monopoly on every form of compulsion and extortion to be perpetrated in a specific geographical area? Why do you think the largest amounts of 'foreign aid' extracted from the gullible diplomats of wealthier countries wind up in those politicians' pockets or Swiss bank accounts, despite all the virtuous-sounding rhetoric?"-- Bert Rand "Understanding politicians and what they are likely to do is much easier once you realize that [most people] in politics ... have more in common psychologically and morally with your typical member of a street gang than with most of the people who actually vote for them." -- Perry de Havilland "The one thing government has which we (you or I or any corporation) DON'T have, is the ability to use deadly force to accomplish its goals." -- Neal Boortz "Ultimately, however, as the Austrian economist Joseph Schumpeter pointed out, a powerful bureaucratic class is in the same relation to commerce as was the scorpion in Aesop to the dog on whose back he crossed the river. They will destroy commerce and establish socialism, even if it kills them, because that is their nature." -- John Derbyshire "There is no limit to the hunger politicians have for the money you've worked so hard for. ... You can tell them to take a hike, but then the guns come out." -- Neal Boortz copied from www.FreedomKeys.com/politicians2.htm "Predatory politicians (are there any other types?) can now hone in on your property, if they see it desirable as a tax cash cow for their nefarious schemes, invoke the power of eminent domain to seize your property in order to generate more revenue, and you cannot do anything about it." -- Edward J. Williamson "Politics creates hate and anger in people. It is inherently civil war. Since the State is based on coercion and the threat of violence, so is politics. Politics is about nothing more than who gets to apply how much violence to people. Politics sets people at war with each other. ... Politics also makes people paranoid, because they always think if the opposing party gets into power, they'll do terrible things to them."-- Bob Wallace "Congress is a Mafia running a protection racket.. ." -- Dr. Jack Wheeler. "The politicians don't just want your money. They want your soul. They want you to be worn down by taxes until you are dependent and helpless." -- James Dale Davidson Founder, National Taxpayers Union "God, how I love destroying people." -- House Speaker Thomas P. ("Tip") O'Neill to his aide Margaret Holian "Our current tax code is one that was designed by and for the benefit of politicians and lobbyists. It punishes achievement and rewards laziness. It punishes the voting blocks unimportant to politicians, and rewards voting blocks who keep them in office." -- Neal Boortz "There are just two things standing in between the American people and their freedom: Democrats and Republicans." -- Joe Seehusen "Politicians don't like empowered individuals." -- Neal Boortz "Just because you do not take an interest in politics doesn't mean politics won't take an interest in you." -- Pericles (430 B.C.) "Over the years the U.S. has become more and more twisted by a government of the politicians, by the politicians, and for the politicians." -- Rick Gaber "Confronted with economic problems, politicians always blame the private sector first ... [even] blaming the problem on the solution." -- Richard L. Gordon "There is no company -- no corporation on earth that engages in accounting fraud to the extent the Imperial Federal Government of the United Sates does. Not many congressmen are willing to come forward with the details." -- Neal Boortz "Business people make business decisions. Politicians make political decisions. Put politicians in charge of a business, and they still will make political decisions. It's their nature." -- Garry Reed "Contrary to popular belief, people who buy political influence are vastly outnumbered by people who are sold political influence by creative or desperate politicians." -- Rick Gaber "I don't think it's bribery; I think it's extortion. Bribery, you know, is when the person that's giving the money does it voluntarily. What it is in Washington is extortion because they all ask for the money." -- Sen. John McCain "The problem with politics isn't the money; it's the power." -- Harry Browne "I have come to believe that politicians are in the business of 'marketing' their product to the public, by exaggerating threats and over-selling government solutions." -- Arnold Kling "[Certain politicians] don't mind if price controls cause shortages of health care. In fact, they welcome the prospect, because then they can impose rationing; they can impose priorities, and tell everyone how much of what kind of medical care they can have. And besides, ... there's that deeply satisfying rush of power. We should know by now that reasoned arguments by economists or disillusioned ex-controllers are not going to stop them." -- Murray N. Rothbard "A lot of what is called 'public service' consists of making hoops for other people to jump through. It is a great career for those who cannot feel fulfilled unless they are telling other people what to do." -- Thomas Sowell "Contrary to the romantic way in which our history is/has been portrayed, politicians are NOT 'men of good conscience.' In the real world, it takes a psychopath to want to rule over other human beings. Unless you want to define the word 'service' in the context of what a bull does to a cow, in no way are the efforts of politicians in this regard any kind of 'service'." -- Edward Britton "Politicians and bureaucrats are hopelessly addicted to running other people's lives." -- Geoffrey Neale "There's something psychotic about people who go around asking whether large business concerns should be allowed to operate without first getting government permission for every little thing, but who never ask whether politicians should be allowed to shake down businesses and businessmen any damn time they want to." -- Rick Gaber "Since Congress makes the laws they are under the delusion that anything they do is legal, no matter if it is unwise, unethical, or un-Constitutional." -- Jim Babka "The 'private sector' of the economy is, in fact, the 'voluntary' sector; and...the 'public sector' is, in fact, the 'coercive' sector." -- Henry Hazlitt "[Politicians] -- they'll give you everything you want to your face -- and then, as you walk away, they'll shoot you in the back because it's fun to watch you die." -- Bob Crandall, former president, American Airlines "The impulse to control everything pervades those who make up the governmental class. That is, after all, why someone decides to spend their working life in politics and applying the collective means of coercion to others. The extent to which this desire to impose force backed control can be realized is exactly what defines whether or not you are 'free' or a 'slave' of the state." -- Perry de Havilland "Politicians are the same all over. They promise to build a bridge even when there is no river." -- Nikita Khruschev "By far the most inappropriate and ridiculous name change any major sports team has perpetrated was the Washington Bullets' changing its name to the Washington 'Wizards.' Give me a break." -- Rick Gaber "In politics, absurdity is not a handicap." -- Napoleon Bonaparte "People constantly speak of 'the government' doing this or that, as they might speak of God doing it. But the government is really nothing but a group of men, and usually they are very inferior men. They may have some better man working for them, but they themselves are seldom worthy of any respect." -- H.L. Mencken "The illegal we do immediately. The unconstitutional takes a bit longer." -- Henry Kissinger "The motto of the nation's capital should be 'Land of the spree and home of the depraved'." -- Rick Gaber "No one talks about the real ethics disaster in Washington. It's that many members of Congress will listen to any argument against a bill except for two: that it's not moral or that it's not Constitutional." -- Rep. Ron Paul "The closer one gets to elections or wars, the further one gets from the truth." -- Tony Blankley "Politicians who tell you they'll raise taxes on businesses 'but not on you' are taking you for a fool. Almost all business taxes are passed along to employees in the form of lower wages and less hiring, stockholders in the form of lower dividends and stock values, and especially, consumers in the form of higher prices!" -- Rick Gaber "The trouble with this country is that there are too many politicians who believe, with a conviction based on experience, that you can fool all of the people all of the time." -- Franklin P. Adams "A Diogenesian search for an honest person would rarely lead to the author of a memoir." -- Tony Blankley "You know, if government were a product, selling it would be illegal. ... Government contains impure ingredients -- as anybody who's looked at Congress can tell you. ... government practices deceptive advertising. And the merest glance at the federal budget is enough to convict the government of perjury, extortion, and fraud. ... in a nutshell: government should be against the law. Term limits aren't enough. We need jail." -- P.J. O'Rourke (from "a revised Constitution for our times"): "Section 2: The House of Representatives shall be composed of persons who own at least two dark suits and have not been indicted recently." -- Dave Barry "There are people in Congress who aren't very bright. In fact, some of them are just plain brain-dead." -- Neal Boortz" "Somehow, for some reason, we’ve turned over all the power to insane, irrational, and generally wacked out people. We call them politicians." -- Toby Olvera "I've always found that avoiding insanity is useful in life -- which in American politics sometimes puts one in the minority." -- Tony Blankley "Atlanta Journal-Constitution columnist Colin Campbell says that every member of the Georgia General Assembly with an IQ above 85 should be required to wear a crash helmet. That should take about ... oh, say 15 helmets?" -- Neal Boortz "Why do so many busybodies, control freaks, neurotics and even psychotics become politicians? Because they can have an effect on the world and gain at least temporary respect without doing anything really productive. If they're really lucky, they can even gain fame and fortune while doing incredible long-term damage!" -- Randy Richards "Remember those kids in school you really hated? You know the ones, the hall monitors, the classroom snitches, the teacher suck-ups? Well, those are the kids who grow up to be our politicians and bureaucrats and regulators. They are the freedom haters." -- Garry Reed "A man on his owns knows that he is best advised to leave his dumbbell neighbors alone. But let him join a political party, and he fantasizes that he has the right and the power to tell everyone on the block what to do." -- Bill Bonner "With a few rare exceptions, people in government are pathetic mediocrities who accumulate power over others as their neurotic substitute for their missing sense of self-worth, a sense which becomes ever-more elusive as time erodes any likelihood of their leaving government for the real world and creating new values which never existed before -- instead of stealing and redistributing old ones which did." -- Bert Rand
"A pathological need to control other people with the threat of violence (i.e. laws) is more or less the defining mental state of members of the political class everywhere in the western world today." -- Perry de Havilland "I sit on a man's back, choking him and making him carry me, and yet assure myself and others that I am very sorry for him and wish to ease his lot by all possible means -- except by getting off his back." -- Leo Tolstoy "But I want you to LOVE ME!!!!" -- Franz-Josef, Emperor of Austria-Hungary, as he screamed at a subject while having him horsewhipped. "I'm always skeptical of politicians who've never held a real job in the real world, or of would-be presidents who've never proven themselves capable of being successful in business and decisive in critical situations." -- Rick Gaber "In politics, as in fishing, you don't have to be a genius. You just have to be smarter than the fish." -- Zev Chafets "The single most exciting thing you encounter in government is competence, because it's so rare." -- Daniel Patrick Moynihan, 1976 "The single most frightening thing you encounter is confidence-in-government because it's so common." -- Rick Gaber See: "it is becoming increasingly clear that most politicians don’t have a clue about what causes gas prices to rise" -- Dr. Lynne Kiesling "In reality, because government actions have been a major factor in forcing up the price of health care in America, we now have the perverse situation in which someone who either does not have access to private insurance or qualifies for government payments must face the system out of pocket. While politicians and their allies are fond of decrying the fact that at any given time, millions of Americans lack health insurance, they forget that they themselves have played a major role in creating the conditions that have made going without health insurance a recipe for individual financial calamity." -- William L. Anderson "It is no crime to be ignorant of economics, which is, after all, a specialized discipline and one that most people consider to be a 'dismal science.' But it is totally irresponsible to have a loud and vociferous opinion on economic subjects while remaining in this state of ignorance." -- Murray N. Rothbard "There is a small minority of well-educated people with relatively sensible views on economics, and an extremely tiny minority of economists with highly sensible views. Then there's everybody else. ... To win, a politician needs to please the median voter. It makes little difference if a few thousand economists think you a fool." -- Bryan Caplan "The cultivation -- even celebration -- of victimhood by intellectuals, tort lawyers, politicians and the media is both cause and effect of today's culture of complaint." -- George Will "For the average person walking down a dark street late at night, a promise from a politician is worth far less than a .38 Special." -- James Bovard "The whole modern world has divided itself into Conservatives and Progressives. The business of Progressives is to go on making mistakes. The business of the Conservatives is to prevent the mistakes from being corrected." -- G. K. Chesterton "For years, liberals have demonstrated a near religious devotion to the cause of 'cleaning up elections' with campaign finance reform, the wondrous panacea that would finally rescue our great country from corruption in politics. ... How anyone could believe that corrupt politicians could or would legislate away their own corruption is completely beyond me." -- Anthony Gregory "Multiculturalism asserts that all cultures are equal and therefore none may criticize another; intellectuals and politicians are therefore reluctant to declare the obvious superiority of Western culture to Islamic culture." -- Edwin A. Locke "If I was to interrupt this article every few sentences, asking you whether or not I was making a good impression on you, I hope and believe that you would think I was a servile jerk. Yet this is what our politicians are doing in every speech." -- Christopher Hitchens "The Senate voted 97-0 for an anti-spam bill to stop those annoying things you get on your computer. The senators made it very clear that when you start misleading the American people and start taking their money over false promises, 'That's our turf, buddy'." -- Jay Leno "Nothing is so admirable in politics as a short memory. I forget who said that." -- John Alejandro King "Politicians generally do the right thing only when all other options are exhausted." -- Dan Mitchell "Where do politicians come from? Why, they come from Uranus!" -- Neal Boortz "A statesman is a dead politician. Lord knows, we need more statesmen." -- Opus "Can't go wrong drowning politicians, Henry." -- Jamie Waring in The Black Swan "This country has come to feel the same when congress is in session as when a baby gets hold of a hammer." -- Will Rogers "If all you have is a hammer, everything looks like a nail."-- Abraham Maslow "When the only tool you have is a hammer, every problem looks like your thumb." -- Mr. Lizard “If you really want to engage in policy activity, don’t make that your vocation. Make it your avocation. Get a job. Get a secure base of income. Otherwise, you’re going to get corrupted and destroyed.” -- Dr. Milton Friedman "If you want money from politicians, you ought not to be surprised when those same politicians take an interest in the money they are giving to you. After all, they were the ones who stole it, and they have to justify this thievery and to ensure that its proceeds are distributed in a way that satisfies their supporters and quiets their critics." -- Brian Micklethwait "Hillary does nothing without careful calculation. She knows that politicians – provided they have real power – who bash entire industries tend to raise huge dollars from individuals in those industries. Certain types of politicians are drawn to this marketing technique because they think the 'bashing' also can be held up as proof that they are not being corrupted. This scheme is called 'putting the squeeze on.' Does that phrase remind you of anything?" -- Don Luskin Once upon a time there were five surgeons... Maybe if there were fewer lawyers in the legislatures... *Very few American Presidents ever took a course in economics. Only two ever had a degree in it. Pathetic. |
| "I distinguish between two kinds of politicians. There are those who view politics as a tactical game, a game in which they do not reveal any individuality, in which they lose their own face. There are, however, leaders for whom politics is a means of defending and furthering values. For them, it is a moral pursuit. They do so because the values they cherish are endangered. They're convinced that there are values worth living for, and even values worth dying for. Otherwise they would consider their life and work pointless. Only such politicians are great politicians, and Ronald Reagan was one of them." -- Lech Walesa |
| "It is no crime to be ignorant of economics, which is, after all, a specialized discipline and one that most people consider to be a 'dismal science.' But it is totally irresponsible to have a loud and vociferous opinion on economic subjects while remaining in this state of ignorance." -- Murray N. Rothbard |
| "Enron, of course, is exactly the kind
of corporation which could not exist in pure capitalism or
under the U.S. Constitution applied with only literal
meanings of the commerce and welfare clauses. As
a creature, in effect, of politicians and lawyers, the
same kinds of politicians and lawyers who sold the
bastardized meanings of the commerce and welfare clauses
to a gullible public, it was deliberately converted from a
small pipeline company into an international conglomerate
by conniving scoundrels who designed it from the beginning
to use the power of their favor-selling politician friends
to give it government contracts, subsidies, monopoly
powers, and favorable regulations to force
prospective customers to do business with them,
essentially at gunpoint. Obviously, this is is
fascism,
not capitalism, and what you get more and more of when you
work to transform what was once the rule of clear-cut law
into the rule of men (especially corrupt, nuance-inventing
judges and lawyers). Remember, fraud was illegal, as it
always should have been, long before the first regulation
was passed." -- Rick Gaber
"Environmental crusaders have spent the past 30 years influencing ignorant, unprincipled or gullible politicians to pass new laws and create new agencies that affect everything from oil, to natural gas, to nuclear power, to electricity. The net result is that manacles have effectively been slapped around the ankles of power suppliers, creating a huge disincentive for them to construct any new (and what certainly would be more energy efficient) power plants." -- Wayne Dunn "As ever more rules and regulations curtail the decisions individuals may make for themselves, as ever greater proportions of people’s income are siphoned off to be used as our leaders decide, as every species of special interest pays tribute to predatory politicos who suck the marrow from the bones of civil society, individuals are reduced to ever more meaningless atoms in the social cosmos. All of life becomes politicized, which means corrupted by power. And as individual liberty and individual rights die, all that is decent in human society dies with them." -- Robert Higgs See how politicians' razzle-dazzle "item-pricing" laws actually hurt consumers HERE. |
| "Some people have suggested that our tax laws should be simplified so that the taxpayers could actually understand them. How could this be done? My friend John Dorschner proposes this system: Every year, on April 15, all members of Congress would be placed in individual prison cells with the necessary tax forms and a copy of the Tax Code. They would remain locked in the cells, without food or water, until they had completed their tax returns and successfully undergone a full IRS audit. Of course this system would probably result in a severe shortage of congresspersons. But there might also be some drawbacks." -- Dave Barry |
| "When a politician promises an 'increase' in government spending or a government program, he really means an increase. When he says it will remain 'stable,' he really means an increase. And when he threatens a 'cut,' he really means an increase." -- Bill Winter, Liberator Online, Vol. 9 No. 6 |
HERE'S a good politicaltalk-to-english dictionary. |
| Even more predictable than the
post-Thanksgiving appearance of shopping-mall Santas
is the inability of pundits at this time of year to
say or to write "commercialism" without prefixing to
it the word "crass" - as we encounter in your pages
today in Tom Krattenmaker's "The real meaning of Christmas."
I challenge
this notion. Commerce is peaceful. It involves
sellers working hard and taking risks to bring to
market goods and services that consumers want to
buy. No one forces anyone to do anything; all is
voluntary. What truly is crass is politics - that sorry spectacle of power-seeking ego-maniacs who, when not pronouncing platitudes, are promising to help group A by picking the pockets of group B. While commerce is honest, politics is duplicitous. While commerce is peaceful, politics inevitably pits citizen against citizen. Far more enlightened and ethical behavior is on display during any one day in a shopping mall than the most intrepid observer will find in a century on Pennsylvania Avenue. - A letter from Donald J. Boudreaux to USA Today. Amit Varma liked it too. |
See: "Last week's [court] decision is just a start in restoring political liberty" HERE "The problem with politics isn't the money; it's the power [stupid!]" |
|
| See: how "journalists" run interference for public policy power freaks HERE |
..
..
..
The Tim Worstall guide to how you
should vote. A few basic points first.
|
 |
"The one thing government has which we (you or I or any corporation) DON'T have, is the ability to use deadly force to accomplish its goals." |
| <BACK to: "The SacredBull Basic English and Math Test for American Politicians" |
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1. Women in Canadian politics - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Women_in_Canadian_politics
In terms of women elected to the
... many
of Canada's
earliest women
to hold political
office attained ... so
that both men and women
in politics
have greater ...
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CANADA
Opinion
Jamie Gillies: New Brunswick's trend of electing young premiers
Gallant would make it 6 premiers who have won provincial elections under the age 40 since 1960
By Jamie Gillies, CBC News
Posted: Sep 21, 2014 8:00 AM ET
Last Updated: Sep 21, 2014 8:00 AM ET
http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/new-brunswick/new-brunswick-votes-2014/jamie-gillies-new-brunswick-s-trend-of-electing-young-premiers-1.2772086
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Retirement Age for
Politicians
@ : Home > Group
Discussion > Politics - Discussion Room
--------------
www.elections.ca/content.aspx?section=vot&dir=yth/stu/gui&document=...
How many polling stations are there across Canada during a ... at least 18 years old and they must file nomination papers with the ... (who wish to be elected)
www.parl.gc.ca/About/Senate/LegisFocus/focus-e.htm
The experience of the Province
of Canada with an elected Council ... nor about seeking the support of
their political parties so ... Politics in Canada: ...
Outrageous Canadian Political Facts
In 1984, New Zealand voters booted a left-leaning conservative government and brought in a free-market-oriented labour government. Immediately, finance minister Sir Roger Douglas began to implement some of the most important reforms in any country of the 20th century. Sir Roger floated the currency, revoked all farm subsidies, abolished all import tariffs, and privatized 60% of state-owned companies. He also fired 55% of the government workforce and placed the central bank chairman on a performance contract, revoked capital gains and inheritance taxes, and refused to print money to save reckless banks and inefficient companies from bankruptcy.
The results have been simply astounding. New Zealand now has one of the lowest inflation rates in the world, nine consecutive years of budget surpluses, unemployment rates cut in half, and a resilient, entrepreneurial economy that soared 5.8% in 2002. What are the lessons that we could take from this example and apply to BC, not to mention the rest of Canada? Hear intelligent Guest Speakers in person.
Find out about:
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| Taxes, Taxes, Taxes | Liberal Red Book | MP's Pension Plans |
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| The Senate | Promises, Promises | Greenpeace Investigates |
The Golden Handshake
Paul Martin's Off Shore Holdings
Reform MP Pensions
Let's Talk Taxes! Waste Awards
Less Ottawa! More B.C.! Western Refederation Party of British Columbia
Paul Martin's Big Surprise!
The Republic Of Canada
Canadians for Language Fairness!
Caught With Their Pants Down!
The Canadian Olympic Scandal!
Excessive Liberal Corruption!
Do you pay too much? Canadian Taxpayers Federation
Declaration of Independence and Petition for
Western Separation!
The Galganov Revolution.
Rant About Everything They've Done Wrong.
Why does British Columbia want to Join the United States?
Should Religous Property Be Tax-Exempt?
Go to Tax Churches
Should God Be Removed From The Constitution?
Take The World's Smallest Political Quiz.
Write To A Canadian Politician.
DeTax Canada 
Taxes, Taxes, Taxes: Increases Since The Liberals Took Office.
The Liberal Red Book: Top 10 Liberal Broken Promises.
MP's Pension Plans: Some interesting material that your government doesn't want you to know.
The Senate: How about those Senators, eh!
Promises, Promises: See a 1951 advertisement from the Canadian Government on how you will be protected in your old age.
Politics And The Environment: Greenpeace investigates.
Wiggle On Home
Taxes, Taxes, Taxes
The recent federal budget shows that the Liberals have increased tax revenues by more than $24.2 billion since taking office. This means that every taxpayer has had to shell out an additional $1800 per year in hidden or obvious taxes.
GST - money collected has increased by $1.8 billion.
CORPORATE TAXES - a $6.8 billion increase.
PERSONAL INCOME TAX - Canadian Taxpayers are giving this government $15.1 billion more than they gave previous governments.
USER FEES - are up by more than $500 million.
FEDERAL WASTE - Porkers At The Trough.
CANADA PENSION PLAN - a 70% hike in premiums. This will allow you to receive a maximum of $8,800 per year. If you had been allowed to invest these funds into an RRSP for 30 years, with only a 6% return, you would have $275,000 on your retirement. If you were an MP, you would be getting $60,000 per year instead of a paltry $8,800. Aren't you outraged yet?
Liberal Red Book
Top 10 Liberal Broken Promises.
1. Jobs, Jobs, Jobs (Red book, Chapter 1) - Canada currently has 1.4 million unemployed, half a million not looking for work, youth unemployment at 18%, and one in every four Canadians worried about their jobs.
2. Preserving and Protecting Universal Medicare (Red book, p.74) - By 1998/99 the Liberals will have cut $7 billion in social transfers to the provinces.
3. Scrap, Kill, and Abolish the GST - Prime Minister Chretien and Deputy Prime Minister Sheila Copps on the campaign trail made this promise. The Liberals will have spent $931 million to bury the hated tax in Atlantic Canada.
4. Restore faith in Government (Red Book, p.92) - Sheila Copps, David Collenette, Jean Boyle, Michael Dupuy - 'nuff said.
5. Stable Multiyear Funding for the CBC (Red Book, p.89) - The Liberals cut $377 million from the CBC - a third of the public broadcaster's budget.
6. Renegotiate NAFTA (Red Book p.24) - Two months after taking power, Chretien signed NAFTA without any changes.
7. A Code of Conduct for Politicians (Red Book, p.95) - no new code and the Prime Minister uses the secret Ministerial guidelines only when convenient.
8. Appointments Based on Competence (Red Book p.92) - The Governor General, the Ambassadors to Isreal and Britain, the Chairman of Canada Post, and the last 19 Senators are all partisan Liberal patronage appointments.
9. More Free Votes (Red Book p.92) - out of more than 200 government bills in three years, the Prime minister has allowed one free vote on government legislation. The Liberal government has restricted debate on more than 20 occasions.
10. Eliminate Trade Barriers (Red Book p.22) - Internal trade barriers continue to cost the economy $6 - $10 billion a year.
MP's Pension Plans
What A Friend They Have In Taxes!
The Top Ten
Upon retirement from office, assuming these MP's live only to 75 years, this is what they will receive.
1: Jean Charest, PC: $4,525,537.00
2: Brian Tobin, LIB: $3,907,507.00
3: David Dingwall, LIB: $3,660,930.00
4: Svend Robinson, NDP: $3,556,546.00
5: Bill Blaikie, NDP: $3,380,406.00
6: Sergio Marchi, LIB: $3,105,143.00
7: John Nunziata, LIB: $2,734,328.00
8: Sheila Copps, LIB: $2,551,223.00
9: Andre Ouellet, LIB: $2,636,953.00
10: Don Boudria, LIB: $2,152,672.00
Eighty-seven other MPs, including Bloc Quebecois leader Lucien Bouchard and NDP boss Audrey Mclaughlin, qualify for this gilded pension plan that could cost taxpayers in excess of $124,076,247.00
THE EXCEPTIONS: Ralph Klein, Premier of Alberta, has legislated that his cabinet must make arrangements for their own pensions, just like every Canadian citizen does. Pensions will no longer be funded by the taxpayers. He and his colleagues must purchase R.R.S.P.'s and worry about whether Paul Martin will be taxing pensions in future budgets.
Ralph Klein's government is unique in that he started budget cuts from the top, getting MLA's off the welfare rolls. He abolished his clothing and car allowance and took a personal salary cut of 5%. Pensions were abolished for everyone who became an MLA after 1989. Is there any reason why we can't expect our federal politicians to get off Canada's welfare system and start looking after themselves?
Mike Harris has done the same in Ontario. He has ended the tax-free allowance scheme, so that MP's get a flat salary just like regular working folk, cut their salaries, and scrapped the pension plan. Just like in Alberta, Ontario MP's have to make their own pension arrangements. In fact, Harris has gone a step further than anyone else, as he has also cut the NUMBER of MP's by more than two dozen! That alone is saving taxpayers millions of dollars a year.
WHAT YOU CAN DO: Write to your Premier, MP and Prime Minister asking if there is any reason why they cannot be responsible for their own pension plans like ordinary citizens have to. In a time when social programs are being targeted for spending cuts, then it is time that our elected Members of Parliament got off the welfare rolls.
For information on particular provincial and federal policies contact The Fraser Institute , an independent Canadian economic and social research and educational organization.
ECONOMY IN GOVERNMENT: The Fraser Institute conducts independent study and offers proposals for the restructuring of the activities of federal, provincial, territorial, and local governments that will result in a reduction in the cost of government per unit cost of service delivered. For more information contact: The Centre for Economy in Government - The Fraser Institute - 626 Bute Street, 2nd Floor - Vancouver, B.C., V6E 3M1 - Fax (604) 688-8539
The Senate
This page is for those citizens who are concerned that their senators might be overabundant, overpaid and inefficient. Where does $50 million a year go?
Pigs are such loving, intelligent little persons, who are treated abysmally by humans, that it is a shame to compare them to senators.
Here's what Canada's prime oinkers get:
THE SALARY - A basic $70,000.00 per year and an extra $150.00 for every day they show up in the senate. This is an incentive for them to actually be there, rather than retiring to Mexico on the generous salary and expense account.
THE JOB: - The Senate meets on average for 100 days a year. Senators are allowed to miss 21 days without losing any salary.
THE EXTRAS - * Research Grants (for what?) $30,000.00 per year. * Office Budget $20,000.00 per year. * Tax Free Expense Allowance $10,100.00 * Free Business Class flights for Senators and their families, as many as 52 return-trip flights a year. * Free telephone calls and faxes, and also free postage, at home as well as office. * Free Gym privileges, private equipment and instructors. * Subsidized (that means REALLY CHEAP!) haircuts, dry cleaning, furniture, limousine rides above Base Salaries.
WHAT YOU CAN DO: Write! Write! Write! to every newspaper and politician. Get Canada's Senators off the elite welfare roll! It is a disgrace to Canada that we could hire ten people who actually want to work for the same price our Senators get in salary and perks. Our Senate should be cut to one tenth its size so it would be a fair representation of population as well as less costly. Canada might be better off if it was abolished altogether.
PHONE A SENATOR: (toll-free) 1-800-267-7362
SOME RECOMMENDED READING:
- January, 1995 - The Reader's Digest - "Club Senate".
- On The Take by Stevie Cameron, a book which describes the crime, corruption and greed in the Mulroney years.
- Our Home Our Native Land?
by Mel Smith, covers some shocking facts about the land claims
settlements. Very well researched and should be part of every history
curriculum.
-
Learn how to locate your favorite politicians and find out what they've really been up to.
http://islandnet.com/~luree/politics.html-------------------
--------
Ethics in Government: Concepts, Issues & Debates
Feature by Jay
Makarenko |
| Jan 1, 2007
In
modern times, ethics in government have become not only something of great
public interest, but also an important area of study in the academic fields of
politics and government. This article introduces the basic concepts, issues,
and debates surrounding government ethics. It also discusses the meaning and
importance of government ethics, different types of unethical conduct in the
context of government, and issues and debates surrounding the establishment of
ethical codes in government.
What are government ethics and why are they
valuable?
What sorts of conduct are commonly
considered unethical?
What to keep in mind when examining ethical
codes in government
Find out more about government ethics and
scandals
Introduction to Government Ethics
What is
ethics and what does it have to do with government?
What
is Ethics?
We often hear the
term government ethics used in the media, and by politicians and political
commentators – yet it isn’t always clear what exactly is meant by this term. A
useful way to approach the discussion is to begin by examining the word
“ethics.” Generally speaking, ethics refers to the study of right and wrong behaviours.
In our daily lives we are constantly faced with important questions about what
to do. Should I keep my promise or should I not? Should I report a lost wallet,
or simply keep the money inside? Should I give to the panhandler or keep my
change? Ethics, as a field of study, attempts to find principles and rules for
answering such questions.
Professional
Codes of Conduct
An important field
of study in ethics is professional
codes of conduct. Many professions, such as the fields of
medicine, law and education, have developed sets of rules or guidelines that
govern members' conduct. These codes of conduct set out very clear guidelines
of what are considered right and wrong behaviours within the particular
profession. The doctor’s Hippocratic Oath is one of the most famous examples of
a professional code of conduct. Often recited by medical students upon
graduation, this Oath usually contains a promise to help sick persons to the
best of one’s ability and to avoid harm whenever possible.
Ethics
& Government
Government ethics
refers to a particular professional code of conduct for those who work in and
for government. Government ethics, therefore, involves rules and guidelines
about right and wrong behaviours for a host of different groups, including
elected leaders (such as the Prime Minister and Cabinet Ministers), elected
representatives (such as Members of Parliament), political staff, and public
servants.
These groups are
faced with a variety of difficult and very unique ethical questions. Should a
public official be able to hire his/her own company to work for the government?
Should elected representatives be allowed to accept expensive gifts from lobby
groups? When can a public official divulge personal information about citizens?
How should public servants treat their co-workers and subordinates? Government
ethics identifies what are correct behaviours in each of these situations and
establishes rules of conduct for public officials to follow.
Government
Ethics & Democratic Participation
So why should we
care about government ethics? One reason often cited is the importance of
government ethics to democratic participation. As a democratic nation, Canada’s
political system only functions properly if its citizens are actively engaged
in the democratic process. If, however, Canadians came to believe that
politicians and governments were generally unethical or corrupt, they might
develop a strong sense of apathy towards their democracy. This, in turn, may
result in people withdrawing from democratic participation altogether. You may
have heard comments such as: "Why bother voting? They are all crooks
anyway."
Government ethics
can play an important role in ensuring this does not happen. By setting out
clear rules that public officials must abide by, and by holding persons
accountable when those rules are broken, Canadians can have confidence in their
elected representatives and political system. It goes without saying that there
will always be scandals that violate ethics. However, Canadians can take some
comfort in knowing that when unethical behaviour does occur, appropriate
actions are taken to punish the person(s) responsible.
Government
Ethics & Effective Public Administration
Another common
argument for government ethics focuses on effective public administration.
Collectively, Canadian governments at all levels are responsible for billions
of dollars in taxpayers’ money and billions more in public assets and property.
Moreover, governments are responsible for providing very important services to
citizens, such as social services, public utilities, police services, and
national security. Citizens, therefore, have a strong interest in ensuring this
public money and property, as well as services upon which they depend, are
managed as efficiently and effectively as possible. This requires taking
precautions against activities that cause widespread government waste and
inefficiency.
Government ethics,
properly enforced, can be a valuable means for protecting against government
waste and ensuring effective public administration. Such a code can prohibit
many of the activities that lead to waste, including theft by public officials
and use of government property for private gain. It can also address issues
such as bribery and conflicts of interest; activities that can lead public
officials to sacrifice the public interest in the administration of programs
and services for private gain and benefit.
Unethical Conduct By Public Officials
What sorts of conduct are commonly considered unethical?
With respect to
government and public officials, several different sorts of conduct are often
held to be unethical:
Theft
& Fraud by Public Officials
Governments in
Canada manage billions of dollars in public money annually and own billions
more in physical property and assets. This includes everything from land and
buildings, to vehicles and aircraft, to office equipment and furniture. One of
the more serious ethical issues in government is theft of public property by public
officials. Such theft can range from the trivial, such as
taking home office supplies, to the more grave, such as stealing millions of
dollars from the public purse.
Fraud is one of the most common, and costly, forms of theft by
public officials. Often referred to as theft by deception or trickery, fraud
occurs when an individual deliberately deceives others in order to unjustly
gain money, property, or services. There are many different ways in which
public officials attempt to defraud government and taxpayers. They may, for
example, submit false expense reports for costs they did not incur, or provide
inflated work invoices for services they did not render. In the most extreme
situations, public officials may participate in elaborate schemes of deception
to divert large amounts of public funds from government programs and services
into their own pockets.
Improper
Use of Government Property
Theft and fraud,
however, are not the only ethical concerns regarding government property.
Another important issue is the use
of public property by public officials for private benefit.
This would include, for example, using one’s office telephone for personal
long-distance calls, or using government vehicles for personal transportation.
Such abuses of government property are not exactly theft. The public official
is not actually stealing the office telephone or the government vehicle.
Instead, the issue concerns the purpose for which the government property is
being used. There is an expectation that equipment and transportation will be
used only for
activities associated with the performance of public duties, and not for purely
personal reasons or for private benefit.
Bribery
& Influence Peddling
Another important
issue in government ethics centres on public officials and acts of bribery.
Bribery occurs when a person of authority is offered, and accepts, some
personal benefit in exchange for performing some action. A public official may,
for example, be offered money, property, or free services. In exchange, s/he
agrees to take some action that benefits the giver of the bribe, such as voting
a certain way on a piece of legislation, or turning a blind eye to some illegal
activity.
Influence
peddling is a particular form of bribery in which a
public official actively sells his/her ability to influence government
decision-making. Regular forms of bribery involve a private individual or group
approaching a public official and attempting to buy interests. In the case of
influence peddling, however, it is the official him/herself approaching others
in an attempt to sell access to government, services or otherwise.
Bribery and
influence peddling can be very detrimental to public perceptions of government,
as well as effective public administration. In a democracy, we tend to view our
bureaucrats and elected officials as being responsible to, and servants of, the
general public. Accordingly, there is an expectation that these public
officials will act impartially and objectively in the performance of their
official duties, with the goal of achieving the public's best interests. When a
public official acts on a bribe, however, s/he is no longer acting in the
public’s best interest, but rather in the interests of the particular person or
group paying the bribe.
Conflict
of Interest & Self-dealing
Another common issue
in government ethics is conflict
of interest. This occurs when a public official’s private
interests are such that they may influence the performance of his or her public
duties. The concern here is often the same as with bribery and influence
peddling. Public servants and elected officials are expected to exercise
impartiality and objectivity when performing their official duties, and should
act in the public’s best interests. When there is conflict of interest,
however, there is a concern that the public official may favour some interest
other than the general public.
Conflict of interest
arises in many different situations. Self-dealing
is one of the most obvious ones. This occurs when an individual’s activities in
his/her official capacity involve dealing with him/herself in a private
capacity, often for personal benefit. A classic example is a public official
using his/her office to hire their own private company to work for the
government. The concern is that the public official may choose his/her own
company instead of other, better options available, simply because they desire
the profits from the government contract. Moreover, s/he may be very lax in
ensuring the public gets full value for its money. Concerns over conflict of
interest can also arise when public officials deal with persons with whom they have
close relations, such as family members, close friends, and business partners.
The concern here is that the public official will place the interests of this
particular individual above the greater interests of the public.
Many countries have
implemented conflict of interest rules. Public officials may be required, for
example, to divest their business interests prior to taking office. This may
involve selling the interest, or placing it temporarily under the control of
someone else (for example, placing it in a trust). Officials may also be
required to take certain precautions when dealing with situations that
potentially involve conflict of interest. They may, for example, be required to
excuse themselves from certain government decisions where they have a private
interest at stake, or, at the minimum, disclose the nature of their interest
publicly.
Divulging
Confidential Information
Public servants and
elected officials are often privy to all sorts of sensitive information, such
as military/security secrets or personal information about citizens (criminal
records, tax information, medical histories). An important area of government
ethics is concerned with the conduct of public officials in regard to this sensitive information.
Generally speaking, there is often an expectation that public officials will
keep this information confidential and will not inapprpriately divulge what
they know.
Confidentiality can
be important for different reasons, depending on the situation. In the case of
military secrets, confidentiality is often viewed as essential to the physical
security of the nation and its people. Divulging such secrets (commonly
referred to as “treason”)
is considered so unethical that it is punishable by long prison terms or even
execution in some countries. In the case of personal information,
confidentiality is important to personal privacy and dignity. In many countries
individuals have the right to keep personal information private; government
officials are obliged to respect that privacy.
Improper
Conduct Post-Employment
To this point, much
of the discussion has focused on unethical activities by public officials while
in office. Another developing area in the study of government ethics, however,
focuses on the conduct of public officials as they make the transition from the
public service to private employment. There are many potential issues here,
ranging from conflict of interest, to improper use of confidential information,
to bribery and influence peddling.
Prior to leaving
office, for example, a public servant or elected official may grant favours to
certain individuals or groups as a means of securing future employment. Again,
the basic concern here is the impartiality of the public official in the
performance of his/her public duties. The desire to secure future employment
may lead the public official into a conflict of interest situation, or, in more
serious cases, into situations of bribery or influence peddling.
Another concern is
the activities of government officials once an individual is in the private
sector. Former officials may take advantage of information s/he obtained in
performing his/her public service duties, information that is unavailable to
the general public. Such individuals may have confidential information about a
future government policy; this information could offer the former public
servant a distinct advantage in the marketplace with respect to investing, for
example.
Former officials may
also use their connections to gain preferential treatment or privileged access
to government after leaving office. This is particularly worrisome if the
former official joins a private lobby group and is able to use his/her
connections to gain unfair advantages for others. Many countries, in fact,
enforce a “cooling down” period in which former government officials are
required to wait a period of time after leaving office before becoming a
private lobbyist. This is not unlike the practice followed by individuals who
have worked, in private enterprise, with a particular firm, and then left that
firm to ‘set up shop,’ either with another company or independently. Often
there is a moratorium on working with particular clients, or with a given
industry.
Immoral
Conduct by Public Officials
One of the more
controversial areas of government ethics is the personal moral conduct of
public officials. This would cover issues such as sexual harassment,
discrimination, drug abuse, and extra-marital affairs. The underlying concern
here is whether the public servant or elected official is a person of good
moral character and worthy to hold public office.
Many countries
prohibit some forms of immoral conduct, especially those directly linked to the
performance of one’s public duties. For example, public officials are often
expected to treat co-workers and subordinates with a certain level of respect,
and are prohibited from engaging in certain activities such as sexual
harassment or discrimination on the basis of gender, race, religion, or
sexuality. Public officials are also often expected to be honest in relations
with superiors and the public in general. Lying by a public servant can often
be grounds for dismissal.
Regulation of other
forms of immoral conduct, in particular those that do not have a direct link to
one’s official duties, is a much more controversial topic. In many countries,
public officials are expected to adhere to high moral codes in all aspects of
their lives. Even in Western democracies, voters often hold elected politicians
to high moral standards. Some may argue, for example, that persons whom engage
in extra-marital affairs in their private lives or who have had past drug abuse
problems have poor moral character, and cannot be trusted as public officials.
On the other hand, it could be argued that judgement of public officials should
be limited to their professional qualifications and work, not their private
lives. This view would hold that public officials have a right to a certain
level of privacy in their personal lives, and should be allowed to withhold
some aspects of life from the public record.
Regulating Ethical Conduct: Issues & Debates
What to keep in mind when examining ethical codes in government
When examining
government codes of ethics it is important to consider key issues, such as
which ethical rules are being included or excluded, specifically how those
rules are being set out, and what procedures and mechanisms are in place to
ensure adequate accountability and transparency. The following section provides
an introduction to these important issues and debates.
Establishing
a Code of Ethics
In establishing a
Code of Ethics to regulate the ethical conduct of public officials, the
particular rules and guidelines to be recognized are of prime importance. Most
agree that a government Code of Ethics should include prohibitions against
severe and clear cases of unethical conduct, such as theft, fraud, treason,
bribery, self-dealing, and so forth. However, there is often debate on what else
should be included.
Some argue, for
example, that ethical guidelines for public officials should go much further,
prohibiting certain activities even when no actual unethical behaviour has
occurred. One example of this would be a complete prohibition on public
officials receiving gifts from private individuals, no matter the value of the
gift, and regardless of whether or not it involves an actual case of bribery,
influence peddling, or conflict of interest. One might support this broader
ethical code of conduct on the grounds that permitting any sort of gift
receiving, no matter how trivial or benign, encourages more serious unethical
conduct. One might also argue that such ethical rules are important in
maintaining a positive image of government amongst citizens. The idea here is
that a perception by the public that government is corrupt or unethical is just
as harmful to society as actual instances of corruption.
Another
controversial issue is whether or not government codes of ethics should include
rules of good moral character for public servants and elected officials. This
would include, for example, being an upstanding citizen in one’s community and
not engaging in morally frowned upon activities, such as drug use, frequenting
establishments of disrepute, or engaging in certain sexual conduct. For some,
government codes of ethics should only require public officials to be “good
employees”; in this view, such codes should only regulate the work-related
activities of said officials. For others, a Code of Ethics should demand public
servants and elected officials to be “good persons,” and, as an extension,
should outline rules governing how these officials conduct themselves both at
and outside the workplace.
Setting
Out a Code of Conduct
A second issue
focuses on how
a Code of Ethics for public officials should be set out. There are several
different options available:
- Criminal Law: One means of setting out ethical rules for public
officials is through criminal law (for example, through the Criminal Code of Canada).
Under such an approach a violation of an ethical rule is considered a
criminal offence, one that would be punishable by severe sanctions and
penalties, such as imprisonment.
- Formal Ethics
Legislation: Ethical rules
for public officials may also be enshrined in formal pieces of legislation
passed by the government. Ethics legislation of this sort will often be
very encompassing, outlining different ethical offences, mechanisms for
investigating and prosecuting unethical conduct, and various penalties for
violating an ethical rule.
- Informal Ethics
Guidelines: Finally,
ethical codes of conducts may be drawn up as informal guidelines. These
rules are not formal laws (unlike the previous approaches outlined), but
are simply internal policy developed by the government to guide public
officials in their conduct.
In many cases, a
government will use several of these means in setting out ethical rules for
public officials. Governments will often look to criminalize more serious
ethical offences, such as theft, fraud, bribery or treason, and will prohibit
them under criminal law. Other less severe conduct, such as conflict of
interest or improper use of government property, might be regulated through
formal ethics legislation or an informal ethics guideline. A government may
also use a variety of different pieces of legislation and guidelines for
different groups of public officials. Elected politicians, for example, may
have different ethics legislation governing their conduct than public servants
and bureaucrats.
Which means to use
will often depend on the objectives of the government of the day. If there is a
desire to have a large amount of control over ethics investigations, in
particular, investigations of its own people, then a particular government may
prefer to have more informal ethics guidelines. As these guidelines are not
formal laws, but simply internal policy, they have the advantage of being
easily changed or disregarded whenever the government feels it is necessary to
do so. If, however, a government desires to have a regularized and more
permanent set of ethical rules, it may prefer to rely more on criminal
legislation or a formal code of ethics set out in detail in legislation that is
passed by the elected officials of a given legislature.
Accountability
& Ethics Commissions
Today, another
common issue in government ethics is accountability.
What does this term mean? It is useful here to think about a Code of Ethics as
a rulebook that outlines what is expected of public officials. It, in essence,
sets out the rules of the game. Accountability, on the other hand, refers to
what happens when the rules of the game are broken. It involves “holding the
person/s accountable” when they engage in unethical behaviour.
Accountability,
then, includes a number of important topics. For example, how are allegations
of unethical conduct made and investigated, and who has the responsibility to
undertake such investigations? Should a separate ethics agency be created, or
should the police handle it? Who should prosecute and adjudicate ethics cases?
Should it be an ethics commissioner, the government, or the courts? Finally,
what should the punishment(s) be for violating ethical rules? Should there be
fines, jail time, or other forms of disciplinary action?
One of the most
important issues regarding accountability is the structure of the agency that
is responsible for overseeing government ethics. Many governments, including
the Canadian federal government, have established an ethics office or
commission, usually headed by an ethics commissioner. What should be the
mandate of such a commission? Some argue that an ethics commission should have
the responsibility for investigating and reviewing the actions of public officials
and, as such, should be granted extensive investigative and prosecutorial
powers. This would include, for example, the power to demand testimony and
documents from public officials, as well as to charge whomever is believed to
have violated an ethical rule. Also important to such a mandate is ensuring
that an ethics commission has real independence from government to investigate
and prosecute ethical offences, particularly when it is investigating
government officials and employees.
Others, however,
counter that a more advisory role for an ethics commission is all that is
required. This view holds that the only function of such a commission would be
to give advice to the government on how to handle ethical issues, and to
counsel individual public officials when they find themselves in an ethical
dilemma. This view also asserts that traditional institutions, such as public
inquiries, the police, and the courts, should be relied upon to investigate and
prosecute unethical conduct. Accordingly, there would be no need to grant
strong investigative or prosecutorial powers to an ethics commission, or even
to ensure that it has much independence from government.
Transparency,
Disclosure & Public Awareness
Another issue is transparency. If
ethical codes of conduct are the rules of the game, and accountability is what
happens when those rules are broken, transparency is being able to know when
and where abuses of the rules are taking place. If there are procedures and
mechanisms in place to alert us when an ethical rule is violated, then we say
there exists a high level of transparency. If, however, public officials are
able to hide or keep secret their behaviour(s), then there is little or no
transparency. This is very important to the effectiveness of any ethical code
of conduct. If the rules are to be enforced, and persons are to be held
accountable, then we must know when abuses of the rules are taking place.
There are many
different ways to encourage transparency. One possibility is the creation of
some ethics oversight body that regularly reviews actions taken by public
officials. Such a body may be a formal ethics agency or commission, or a series
of legislative committees headed by elected politicians. Disclosure requirements
for public officials are another means of providing transparency. This would
include, for example, requiring public servants and elected politicians to
publicly disclose financial assets and other relevant information prior to
entering office. Public officials may also be required to disclose any possible
conflict of interest situations during the course of carrying out their
official duties.
Whistle
blower legislation is also
often considered an important means of ensuring transparency. In some cases
public officials become aware of the unethical conduct of other public
officials, but, because of fear, they do not come forward to report such
incidents. Many fear reprisals such as losing their jobs or being ostracized
from their respective professional communities. Many countries have passed
whistle blower legislation to protect these public officials and make it easier
for them to come forward with allegations of unethical conduct.
Public awareness and
attention can also be important with respect to fostering greater transparency.
The public needs to be able to find out when unethical conduct has occurred; it
also needs to know what is being done to hold public officials accountable for
such behaviour. Several means are available to promote such public awareness.
The government can be required to make relevant information widely available to
the public, such as the financial assets of public officials and the findings
of government reviews and investigations. Further, the government can allow the
media and the public access to government documents, for example, through freedom of information legislation.
Indeed, public access to government documents has often proved to be an
important means for bringing to light unethical conduct in the first place, as
the media or concerned members of the public often engage in their own
investigations of public officials.
Links for Further Information
Find out more about government ethics and scandals
Mapleleafweb
Links
Government
Links
- Government of
Canada: Office of the Ethics Commissioner
- Government
of Canada: Office of Public Service Values and Ethics
Other
Ethics Links
- EthicsWeb.ca
- Democracy
Watch: Government Ethic Campaign (Canadian)
- Center
for Ethics in Government (American)
----------------
HIS/HER PRIDE - it's okay 2 say your sorry when u f**k up....
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Use your vote now rather than complaining later
It’s no surprise that young
people feel disengaged from politics. But the only way to influence change is
by making yourself heard on 7 May
‘Be informed about why you should vote and mindful
about what will happen if you don’t – not just on a personal level, but for
society as a whole.’ Photograph: David Levene for the Guardian
Monday 20 April 2015 09.36 BST
Last modified on Monday 20 April 2015 10.05 BST
Why should you use your vote?
Because decisions that get enacted in the political space will impact on your
future in some way, shape or form, whether you like it or not. The next
government will be here for at least five years and long after that we will
still be dealing with the consequences of the decisions they have made, which
is why it is better to get involved now than complain later.
Young people are turned off by politics, partly because they don’t
understand its connection to their reality, and partly because they don’t feel
they are being offered a realistic chance to change their lives. The language,
the same sorts of faces, the largely old boys’ network within politics, are
alienating to a lot of us. The social background that politicians tend to come
from is not reflective of society at large. Most people I know would feel
uncomfortable stepping into the Houses of Parliament and speaking in their
natural dialect – that’s a genuine problem. It’s also very telling that we tend
to associate privilege, whether academic or financial, with governance.
Not everyone can make the
connection between politics and their actual lives. Part of the problem is to
do with political literacy. Politics isn’t inbuilt into education, so it’s no
surprise that it is lost on so many young people. If you don’t have access to a
social context in which you can discuss politics, you are missing out on the
conversation entirely.
Politics needs to be more
inviting, but that’s not to completely berate politicians. It needs a
multi-agency approach involving media, technology and entertainment – all the
industries that engage young people – to encourage a greater political
awareness. Having said that, young people are far more interested in politics
than they are given credit for.
But when you are young it is hard
to know just how much you can influence and change things. So even though you
might be politically aware, you might not see how your vote can make a
difference. Because you haven’t had enough time yet to see society as a bigger
picture.
Advertisement
To get the attention of young
people, politicians need to build genuine relationships with us. Don’t only
come and talk to us when it’s election time. I’ve met a few politicians through
my work. Recently I had a good conversation with a minister about the
alienation of young people from politics. Discussions like that should be
commonplace in the mainstream. It is a shame that we don’t have a youth
minister. That would go a long way to transforming politics to permanently
accommodate us. We need to start seeing young people as the future of everyone.
Right now there is everyone – and then young people.
But we have the chance to change
this. Through voting we can get politicians to address the issues that concern
us most, like education, employment and housing. I know that we are looking for academic
rigour from our country, but we also need to be more mindful of those who need
help already. It is these kind of things that set in place the social
stratification. Class wars will only intensify over time if more isn’t done to
ensure that we all share in the benefits of this country. Enterprise plays a
big part in that. Britain is good at enterprise; it has been improving again
lately. We need to ensure that, like the political arena, it doesn’t become a
space for a privileged few.
If you aren’t planning on voting
I would advise you to be aware of the consequences of your inactivity and
refusal to participate in the system. Be informed about why you should vote and
be mindful about what will happen if you don’t – not just on a personal level,
but for those around you and for society as a whole.
We need to get past the idea of
politics being a serious, off-putting thing. It affects everyone’s lives.
---
UNITED
KINGDOM-
Apathy or
antipathy? Why so few young people vote
As
the Scottish referendum showed, the young can be re-engaged with the political
process – so why isn’t that happening across the UK? Helen Lewis puts this
question to under-25s from all backgrounds, and finds that while many are very
political, most feel profoundly alienated and ignored…
•
Below: read Q&As with under-25s
Anxious, atomised… and not in it together:
the state of Britain in 2015
Britain Uncovered survey results: the
attitudes and beliefs of Britons in 2015
‘Black people are saying, Where are our
leaders? Who are we voting for?’
Students
protest outside the Houses of P
Students
protest outside the Houses of Parliament during a march against university fees
in London, Novemeber 2014. Photograph: Ben Stansall/AFP/Getty Images
Helen
Lewis
Sunday
19 April 2015 08.00 BST Last modified on Monday 20 April 2015 11.12 BST
‘Russell
Brand can put his feet up. Most young people weren’t planning to vote anyway.”
This stark sentiment comes from the founders of Tickbox, a vote-matching
website designed by three students at Exeter University. The company’s CEO,
20-year-old Matt Morley, designed the site “in a dorm room with a friend and a
spreadsheet”, and it attracted 40,000 visitors in 24 hours when it was launched
to coincide with the European elections in 2014.
Not
that Morley is happy about his generation’s alienation from electoral politics.
“I’d dabbled in party politics with a bit of campaigning, and tried to immerse
myself in it as much as possible,” he tells me. “I realised that to a lot of
people it’s a lack of information that’s driving this disengagement.”
His
answer was to create a platform where voters can see which party most closely
matches their beliefs and where candidates can connect with voters. Such
websites are part of a burgeoning trend – other examples include VoteMatch,
PositionDial and Vote For Policies – aimed at countering three of the big
reasons young people give for their disconnection from politics: lack of
knowledge, the perception that all parties are the same, and the concern that
no single party matches an individual’s specific list of concerns. “In the age
of consumer identity, they want to know how it affects them and their family,”
says Morley. “They’re very selfish in a way. And that threatens the
party-political way of saying, ‘you can’t just be against Trident, and not for
or against anything else’.”
The more you preach, the more it puts them
off
In
order to understand what young people want from politics, I spoke to dozens of
under-25s, ranging from Westminster obsessives to those who reject or ignore
the entire political system. Some came to me via Twitter, and others through
initiatives set up to encourage political enthusiasm and civic responsibility.
There are plenty of these – the most high-profile being Bite the Ballot – but
they all face a difficult task connecting with this particular demographic. As
Matt Morley puts it: “The more you preach to them that they must go and do
something and the world rests on their shoulders, the more it puts them off.”
Ciara
O’Connor, who works with teenage girls in London through her outreach
organisation the Emily Tree, compares some of these well-meaning efforts to
“dad dancing”. The 24-year-old Londoner tells the story of being at a focus
group, and being asked what “young women” cared about. “I said I was starting
to worry about having kids one day and whether that would ruin my life. The
18-year-olds in the room looked at me as if I was from another planet and
started talking about tuition fees and street harassment.”
The
Emily Tree project:
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The
Emily Tree project is an outreach organisation aiming to increase female
political engagement by working with teenage girls. Photograph: PR
Nonetheless
– and with caveats firmly in place – it is possible to tease out some ways in
which young people form a coherent group in political terms. When broken down
by age, the Observer’s Britain Uncovered survey suggests that under-25s are
largely optimistic about the future, although they are fully aware of the uncertainty
of the jobs market and high cost of housing. Unsurprisingly, they are largely
socially liberal – this generation doesn’t really remember Section 28, never
mind a time when homosexuality was illegal – and are relaxed about Britain’s
transformation into a multiracial society. Immigration is only 17th on their
list of concerns, and two-thirds believe multiculturalism has benefited the
country. They don’t want an EU referendum, but a large majority would vote to
stay in Europe if there was one. Two-thirds describe themselves as atheist or
agnostic. Every single person surveyed had used at least one social network in
the preceding six months.
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****
The
first conclusion from these results is that it is no surprise that the current
political system is unappealing to so many young people. Take immigration, a
subject that obsesses politicians and the mainstream media. Many of those I
spoke to conceded it was a big issue – or, at least, so they had been
repeatedly told. No one nominated it as the issue that most concerned them
personally. “The media are portraying immigration to be a monumental issue,”
said 22-year-old Jenny Sturrock from east London, “but I think that is just
because of parties like Ukip who see it as an easy target.” Emily Hier, 23,
from Greenwich, agreed. “This is probably down to Nigel Farage and his parade
of idiots, but that is the issue on everybody’s lips. The parties seem quite
ambitious on their pledges and I’m not sure the next government can make an
ounce of difference to the problem.” That said, Ukip’s youth wing has 3,500
members. Ben Walker from Young Independence (Ukip’s youth wing) acknowledges
that the party “has the stereotype of being a white man’s party dominated by
people who lived through Suez”, but adds that some young people share its
“distaste towards the European Union, a belief in its encroachment on
sovereignty and a desire to repel [that] with a no-nonsense movement that
doesn’t concentrate on spinning language”.
There needs to be a cap put in place to
stop greedy landlords rinsing us
At
the same time, subjects that disproportionately affect the young get bumped
down the political agenda. The main parties are finally waking up to the
housing crisis – perhaps because middle-aged homeowners have stopped cheering
how much their big asset has appreciated and started wondering why their
children are still living at home. But the solutions offered are limited,
because, like the Tories’ Help to Buy initiative, they are often aimed at
stoking demand without tackling the fundamental problem of lack of supply. This
problem is most acute in the south-east of England, and the average age of a
first-time buyer who does not have parental help is nearly 40. As 19-year-old
Joseph Dwan from Sutton in south London puts it: “I feel like London is the
epicentre of what is currently wrong with the UK. As a young person, my options
for employment are mostly entry-level jobs. I simply cannot work in central
London, however, where many of these jobs exist. If it costs me upwards of £15
to travel to and from work a day, that’s close to half a day’s work post-tax.”
Jenny Sturrock, who moved to London seven months ago, adds: “There needs to be
a cap put in place to stop greedy landlords rinsing us.” Lauren Sharkey, 20,
lives with her parents in Kent because she cannot afford to rent a flat of her
own. She says: “Ultimately, I want to live in London, but looking at the price
of renting there is depressing. The housing crisis seems to be getting worse,
not better.”
Lachlan
Campbell petition
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Lachlan
Campbell: ‘Frankly, I don’t think any petition I have ever signed has ever
amounted to anything.’ Photograph: Sophia Evans/Observer
Rick
Edwards, who hosts BBC3’s Free Speech – a sort of Any Questions for the Tinder
generation – agrees that immigration comes behind jobs and housing (plus the
NHS, the cost of education, equality, representation and even online privacy)
in the list of subjects that fire up his young audience. “The liveliest debate
we ever had on the show was around the question ‘Can You Be Muslim and Gay?’,
which we did in Tottenham last year,” he added. “There was quite a furore
around it.”
This
makes sense, because this is a generation used to thinking of themselves in
terms of overlapping identities – black, gay, feminist, atheist, working-class,
Muslim, transgender, Asian, disabled, Scottish and so on. This has had a
twofold effect. The first is positive: it has created great energy behind
social justice movements such as feminism, and single-issue campaigns such as
the fight against the “tampon tax” (the 5% VAT rate on sanitary products) or
for better sex education in schools. Many of those I spoke to had signed online
petitions or taken part in social media protests, although they often expressed
scepticism at how much “clicktivism” could actually achieve. “Frankly, I don’t
think any petition I have ever signed has ever amounted to anything,” says
22-year-old Lachlan Campbell from Eastbourne. “Since there’s so many online
petitions floating around, all they ever do is spread awareness or make people
feel slightly better.” But Rick Edwards says this doesn’t have to be the case.
“The e-petitions website run by the government simply isn’t good enough,” he
says. “The 100,000-signature threshold doesn’t even guarantee discussion in the
House of Commons – it just means that someone will look at the petition and
then decide whether they think the issue should be discussed. This link needs
to be much more direct. Young people would feel much more respected if they
knew that, once a certain critical mass was reached, their concerns would
definitely be addressed by MPs.”
Joining a party is quite a statement – I
stop being a voter in support and start being the party
However,
the other side of this individualist, identity-based engagement with politics
is that many young people find it hard to imagine throwing their lot in with
any one political party. “Belonging to a political party is very
old-fashioned,” says 24-year-old Londoner Luke Graham. “Apart from the expense,
I think it is limiting. For instance, if I joined one party but my ideals or
beliefs changed over time, would I have to leave the party?” Gehan Thamotheram,
23, also from London, agrees: “I’m not a member of any party. I’d be surprised
if anyone you ask is. Joining a party is quite a statement – I stop being a
voter in support and start being the party.”
How
to register to vote in the general election 2015
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more
Statements
such as these chime with the statistics on the long-term decline in membership
across all the main parties. Sometimes, there are exceptions – there was a
“Green surge”, with the party doubling in size to nearly 44,000 between
September and January. And the Scottish Nationalists now have more than 100,000
members following the independence referendum – for comparison, that is more
than half the number that Labour claims across the whole of the UK.
Scotland
shows that the current vicious circle – where young people seem uninterested in
politics, and politicians duly seem uninterested in them – is not fixed or
inevitable. The independence referendum asked the country a clear, simple
question about how it saw its future – and 16- and 17-year-olds were trusted to
answer it. Earlier this month, I met the SNP’s candidate for Paisley and
Renfrewshire South, Mhairi Black, who the polls predict will be heading for
Westminster on 7 May. She is a 20-year-old politics student.
Mhairi
Black.
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Mhairi
Black, 20-year-old student and SNP candidate. Photograph: Martin Hunter
Young
people in other parts of the country look wistfully at the energy of Scottish
politics, and the feeling there that every vote counts. Tomos Evans, 22, from
Cardiff, is looking forward to voting in his first election this year, but he
despairs at how Wales is overlooked in debates over devolution. “We don’t have
a history like Northern Ireland, and we don’t pose a threat to the Union like
Scotland does, so we’re just left to our own devices to get on with things,” he
says.
Northern
Irish youngsters can also feel estranged from Westminster politics, because of
a sense that their unique situation – the region has its own political parties
– is poorly understood by the rest of the country. Peter Wyatt, a 20-year-old
from northern Belfast, says that he was briefly a member of a new party called
NI21 which aimed to transcend the old Protestant v Catholic divisions. “The
idea behind the party was to move Northern Irish politics into the 21st century
and to move away from traditional orange v green political issues,” he says.
But he quickly found “chucking out the party rhetoric” became boring – and he
left.
My friends and I often discuss what would
happen if you got pregnant – about how you would afford to go to England
For
19-year-old Rose Lynch, campaigning to overturn the ban on abortion underlines
how little understanding London-based media and politicians have of Northern
Ireland. “My friends and I often discuss what would happen if you got pregnant
– about how you would afford to go to England, where you would go, whether or
not you would tell your parents or just disappear for a weekend and say you
were staying at a friend’s,” she says. “The abortion issue also demonstrates
how socially conservative Northern Ireland continues to be compared with the
rest of the UK, and the stark indifference of most British people towards
this.”
There
is, however, one simple thing that politicians could do to appeal more to young
people – become more representative of the country as a whole. In the last
parliament, only 22% of MPs were female, 4% were from an ethnic minority and 4%
had previously worked in a manual occupation. The combination of a
first-past-the-post system, long tenures for MPs in safe seats, the advantage
of having worked as a special adviser in getting selected, and the resistance
of the Conservatives and Liberal Democrats to all-women shortlists mean these
numbers are changing very slowly.
*****
Ciara
O’Connor says that when she mentioned the word “politics” to the inner-city
London teenagers she works with through the Emily Tree, “they went ‘Rah, rah,
rah…’, you know, the noise they make in the House of Commons?” Variations of
this sentiment come up again and again: “All I see are rich, old, white men. I
am none of these things,” says 20-year-old Steph. “The word ‘politics’ makes me
think of stuffy white men in an outdated institution – and people who don’t
relate to me in any way,” says 19-year-old Edward Mason from Poole. “I think of
Boris Johnson’s accent, and the picture of David Cameron and George Osborne
from the Bullingdon Club,” adds David Berry, 21, from Chester.
Under-25s
are not stupid or apathetic. They recognise that the political system has not
been built with them in mind – and despite this, thousands of them are involved
in it somehow, whether through community projects or online campaigns. Rick
Edwards tells me that seeing young people accused of apathy is one of his pet
hates, as only one-fifth of non-voters say they are not interested in politics.
“The other reasons that people give for abstaining are not having enough
information, not feeling represented by any of the parties or candidates, not
being able to tell the parties apart, and not feeling that their vote counts.
None of those reasons are apathetic – they are all about being let down.”
Instead of asking why young people don’t care about politics, let’s ask why the
rest of us care so little about young people that we allow them to feel so
excluded.
Helen
Lewis is deputy editor of the New Statesman
Q&A:
Jessica Hayden, 17, from Essex
Jessica
Hayden
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Jessica
Hayden: ‘Too often politicians blame “benefit scroungers” for the deficit and
avoid blaming their friends in the banking industry.’ Photograph: Karen
Robinson/Observer
Are
you a member of a political party?
The
Labour party – because I agree with their policies on tax, employment, the NHS
and the lowering of tuition fees.
Are
you involved in any other campaign group?
The
Emily Tree is a lovely organisation which tries to encourage young girls into
politics. It’s definitely more the girls in my year who aren’t going to vote,
and it tends to be because they don’t know enough about politics.
What’s
the biggest political issue of today?
Tax
avoidance by large organisations. Too often, politicians blame “benefit
scroungers” for the deficit, and avoid blaming their friends in the banking
industry.
What
political issue do you feel most passionate about?
Feminism!
I’m a very proud feminist and do a lot of campaigning around women’s
representation in the media or parliament.
What
do you think when you hear the word “politics”?
Middle-aged
white men. That’s wrong, and I’m so glad there are more female leaders now. I
think Nicola Sturgeon won The ITV Leaders’ Debate – yet too much of the media
focused on her outfit or makeup.
Q&A:
Lachlan Campbell, 22, from Eastbourne
Lachlan
Campbell
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Lachlan
Campbell: ‘Since a vote for Green is a throwaway, I’m throwing my lot in with
Labour for now.’ Photograph: Sophia Evans/Observer
Are
you a member of a political party?
No.
Might join Labour, or Green. Certainly more leaning towards Green, but since I
feel in the upcoming election a vote for Green is a throwaway, I’m throwing my
lot in with Labour for now. Besides signing a bunch of online petitions that
have floated my way, I’m not involved in any other campaigns.
What’s
the biggest political issue of today?
Things
like the cost and ease of living, and unemployment, are probably most relevant.
The majority of my friends feel like we’re still not out of a recession, and
everyone’s feeling a tightening on wallets in general.
What
political issue do you feel most passionate about?
I
would gladly pay a little more on energy bills if I knew that cost was to
increase our usage of renewable sources of energy and decreased reliance on
nuclear, coal or gas.
What
do you think when you hear the word “politics”?
It
makes a lot of people turn off. I used to think the same when I was younger,
that politics was something that affected other people, or it was all for
people in London and nowhere else.
Q&A:
Morenike Adebayo, 25, south-east London
Morenike
Adebayo
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Morenike
Adebayo: ‘To pay to be a member of a political party seems cult-like, swearing
allegiance to the rightful king.’ Photograph: Antonio Olmos/Observer
Are
you a member of a political party?
I’m
not. To pay to be a member of a political party seems cult-like; as if swearing
allegiance to the rightful king. I understand that this is to contribute to the
running costs of a party and costs of campaigning at election times but the
money I’d be paying and how much MPs are paid seem like a gulf apart.
What
is the biggest political issue of today?
At
the moment, immigration. Should it be? It’s difficult to say.
What
political issue do you feel most passionate about?
Real,
full-time employment opportunities for young people. There are a lot of words
for part-time unpaid jobs, where young people are exploited – internship,
apprenticeship, traineeship, work experience.
What
do you think when you hear the word “politics”?
It’s
one of the taboos of polite conversation. But I think politics should be
discussed more often and definitely from a younger age.
Q&A:
Reece Johnson, 19, from Oxford
Reece
Johnson: Reece Johnson: ‘The biggest issue we face is whether or not we take
the Ukip route, which would be a big mistake.’
Are
you a member of a political party?
I’m
not. I’m definitely engaged in politics, I have views on a lot of issues but no
party reflects them in full. I’m liberal on drugs, immigration, free speech and
lifestyle etc. For now I’m a content Lib Dem voter, I guess!
Are
you involved in any other campaign group?
Not
actively, however I follow several Facebook groups that allow members to share
thoughts and experiences on gender and race.
What’s
the biggest political issue of today?
I’m
a law student and I really don’t want to see the Human Rights Act repealed. I
think the deficit issue will be solved eventually, whoever is in power. But I
think the biggest issue we face is whether or not we take the Ukip route of
being reactionary, short-termist and inward-facing, which would be a big
mistake.
What
political issue do you feel most passionate about?
Social
mobility. I feel lucky to be the first in my immediate family to go to uni. I
think free schools are an interesting development in this area and I’m
open-minded about how they might help.
What
do you think when you hear the word “politics”?
Short-term/reactionary/boring.
No one here seems to think big any more, like I guess Blair did and Obama still
does.
Q&A:
Maria Baker, 24, Bethnal Green
Maria
Baker
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Maria
Baker: ‘I joined the Conservative party while I was an A-level student despite
all my left-leaning friends and teachers.’ Photograph: Sophia Evans/Observer
Are
you a member of a political party?
I’m
a member of the Conservative party. I joined while I was an A-level student, despite
being surrounded by very left-leaning friends and teachers. My parents are
self-employed and incredibly hard-working, and found that the years of Labour
had negatively impacted on them. I find a lot of online activism my friends are
involved in quite reactionary and far left, whereas I consider myself more
centre-right.
What’s
the big political issue of today?
The
economy, and the need for a long-term solution rather than a quick fix. The NHS
and education are hugely important, but I think directly relate to a stable
economy.
What
political issue do you feel most passionate about?
Gender
equality.
What
do you think when you hear the word “politics”?
Number
10, Big Ben, the traditional British institutions of state.
Q&A:
Stevie Mackenzie-Smith, 23, from Manchester
Stevie
McKenzie-Smith
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Stevie
McKenzie-Smith: ‘I absolutely value my right to vote.’ Photograph: Gary
Calton/Observer
Are
you a member of a political party?
No.
I’m on a low income and don’t see financially supporting a party as a personal
priority. I rarely feel impassioned by what anybody is saying. Many of the
issues I feel most strongly about seem to be ingrained, systematic problems
within politics, which I have little faith will be fixed.
What’s
the big political issue of today?
The
way the media talk about it, it’s immigration. But that’s a self-fulfilling
prophecy. Immigration is just a “sexy” issue and I’m sick of hearing about it.
What
political issue do you feel most passionate about?
Equality.
I see the disparity in wealth in this country increasing, and it traps people.
The way we talk about caring for others, and the fact that it is so often
spoken about not as a moral obligation and privilege, but as a reward to deserving
people in exchange for hard work, is disheartening.
What
do you think when you hear the word “politics”?
I
wish there were a way of channelling my values, but I feel ground down by the
work involved. I absolutely value my right to vote, and the idea of missing
polling day terrifies me. I’d never do that, I’d spend the next five years
feeling I wasn’t entitled to my voice.
Q&A:
Chloe Hutchinson, 19, from Swansea
Are
you a member of a political party?
I
am a member of the Liberal Democrats as I agree with their stance on issues
such as mental health, civil liberties and Europe. Being a member of the party
has provided many opportunities to learn new skills, from campaigning to
debating and speaking at conferences.
Are
you involved in any campaign groups?
I
am involved in a few feminist campaign groups including Powered By Girl and the
#votingmatters campaign by @Emilymatters. I am also involved in Amnesty and
Save the Children through societies.
What
is the biggest political issue of today?
Probably
the NHS.
What
political issue do you feel most passionate about?
Working
towards gender equality is incredibly important to me. The easiest and most
sensible way to achieve this is through sex and relationship education, which
must include consent along with different types of relationships and
sexualities. Tolerance is spread through good education.
What
do you think when you hear the word “politics”?
Campaigning
and lobbying to try to create change.
Q&A:
Rose Lynch, 19, Belfast
Are
you a member of a political party?
No.
I was a member of the SDLP and had thought about joining the Alliance party but
I am put off by the perception that they are for middle-class Unionist men. It
is damaging to support one party your whole life, and simply vote as your
parents did.
Are
you involved in any other campaign group?
Nothing
formally, just a few feminist groups on Facebook. I also marched for Abortion
Rights in September 2014 in Dublin.
What
is the biggest political issue of today?
The
media and politicians are obsessed by immigration – it’s a relatively simple
issue that is easy to explain, easy to manipulate the information around and
generally serves as a scapegoat. For young people, education is probably the
biggest political issue.
What
political issue do you feel most passionate about?
Abortion
and its continuing illegality in Northern Ireland. It is a such a real and
serious problem for women.
What
do you think when you hear the word “politics”?
First,
the political system: Westminster, Stormont, politicians and their parties.
This is a mostly negative view. Politics has become sanitised and PR-driven. It
also continues to be unacceptably oversaturated with white men who went to
public school. Second, it means someone’s personal politics – their views.
On parents worry of
lonely -worry of parents, said 2 my son, 'u have no friends, is that it?'-
Grade VI son said-' I like me mom, sometimes just like being me.' He put me 2
shame and also big smiles and ... yes, I like me. THIS WAS BACK IN THE 90s....
pretty cool.
How to embrace loneliness: a modern guide
A survey showing 83% of people under 35 have felt
lonely is no surprise to me. But if you get the knack of being alone it can be
a luxury you’ll learn to love
Loneliness can creep through your
bones like a disease, wash over you unexpectedly as if a stranger’s vomit, or
sit in the pit of your stomach for weeks like undigested chewing gum.
Especially, it turns out, if you’re young.
A survey carried out by Opinium
for The Big Lunch has found that 83% of 18- to 34-year-olds have experienced the dull, quiet ache
of being lonely, which is no surprise to me.
Of course it’s easy to be lonely
in your 20s. You may sit in an office of 50 people, but if you email your
colleagues rather than exchange gossip over tea in the communal kitchen then
it’s hard to feel truly part of a group. When you eat lunch sitting at your
desk, idly scanning through other people’s Facebook photos rather than chatting
around a table about the canteen’s latest attempt at tex mex, you leave
yourself open to the cold draught of loneliness. If you sit on a sofa with your
flatmate silently scrolling through everybody tweeting about a party you didn’t
go to, you may well start to feel socially estranged. Is it so surprising that
28% of people under 35 wish they had more friends?
Our constant state of remote
social interaction is a twin spear of loneliness; we are both aware of all the
people out there having more fun than us, while being slipshod about making our
own plans. Organising drinks with friends is often little more than a rolling
set of text-based delays. Are you free on Tuesday? Maybe – I’ll let you know on
Monday. Do you want to do something this evening? Perhaps – let me see if I can
get out of this work thing. Are you on your way? Sorry – I’ve just been held up
in a meeting, but perhaps we could meet later instead?
There is something altogether
lonelier about hanging suspended in social limbo than facing a blank diary.
Because many people under 35 have failed to learn the noble art of being alone.
Just as those four-hour car journeys to visit your granny with nothing but three
rubber bands, a pencil and the swaying nausea of travel sickness used to teach
us how to deal with boredom, our pre-mobile phone lives once taught us how to
deal with loneliness.
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I remember walking through Leeds
during my first week of university utterly alone, lost, looking for Argos. It
was a petri dish of potential loneliness and yet, rather than reaching for
Google maps, I went into a baker to ask for directions. I ended up spending the
next few minutes talking to a woman with a face the consistency of a floured
bap about electric blankets. It was wonderful. And, although only 10 years ago,
it now sounds like something from a Thomas Hardy novel, especially to a modern
21-year-old with a smartphone embedded in their fist.
The problem, of course, isn’t
being alone, but in how we think about being alone. We fear it, pity it, do
anything in our power to avoid it. And yet, in the modern frenzy of social
media, smartphones and overpopulated cities, loneliness can be a luxury.
Isolation, silence, the longing to be among people and forced self-reflection
are all incredibly useful, especially if you want to achieve something
creative.
Being on your own is how you
learn to value company. Silence is what gives value to conversation. Having
nobody to ask is how you work out what you really want. It may not always feel
like it, but loneliness can be incredibly productive.
Being on your own is a knack, one
that takes practice, and not learning it may actually be fatal: research
published by Brigham Young University last month showed that loneliness can increase risk of premature death by up to 30%. So you must be
prepared to talk to strangers and make plans that don’t rely on others. Not
just because your friends are a fickle bunch of thumb-active flakes but because
doing so directly affects your chances of living to see the wrinkled side of
60.
And you are alone. Whatever your
Facebook feed says. As Orson Welles, that cleft-chinned citizen of the lonely
world, once said: “We’re born alone, we live alone, we die alone. Only through
our love and friendship can we create the illusion for the moment that we’re
not alone.”
You can fight loneliness, learn
to love isolation, make use of the discomfort of time on your own and come to
realise that sometimes the best tunes come in solos. And as you eat your
sandwich in a deserted park or sit at home listening to the drip of a tap,
remember this: you’re not alone in feeling lonely.
---------------
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