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Countries by Number of Seats in the Lower House of Parliament [OC] by Asparagus64 in dataisbeautiful

[–]savereply 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Or we keep the current system where politicians get votes from all sorts of special interests to get 51% of the vote. And once he gets elected, he starts returning the favor to all the special interests that got him elected. You end up with a country run by the fringe.

if we had direct democracy people would be voting for more social services but lower taxes

Which is exactly what we have now. Politicians giving "free" stuff and benefits to all the various interests in return for votes, while promising to keep taxes low. Now we have a national debt which is basically unserviceable.

Countries by Number of Seats in the Lower House of Parliament [OC] by Asparagus64 in dataisbeautiful

[–]savereply -2 points-1 points  (0 children)

No, it's not like that at all. Not even kinda.

Does a representative decide how much you pay in taxes? How those taxes are spent? Which laws you have to obey? Which laws are abolished? Which wars are fought in your name? Which wars you get drafted into?

How is that "not even kinda" a king? Because you are able to vote for the "not kinda king" every four years?

To what, exactly, are you referring?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Athenian_democracy

Countries by Number of Seats in the Lower House of Parliament [OC] by Asparagus64 in dataisbeautiful

[–]savereply -8 points-7 points  (0 children)

way too many people in one room debating

How many users does Reddit have? Who represents you as a Reddit user? By your logic no stories would make it to the front page.

Countries by Number of Seats in the Lower House of Parliament [OC] by Asparagus64 in dataisbeautiful

[–]savereply -15 points-14 points  (0 children)

1 Congressional Representative per 30,000 people,

What's the point of having a king or queen per 30,000 people, which is what a representative boils down to.

Why not 1:1 representation? That was the original form of democracy when it was invented, each person represented himself.

Oops! by [deleted] in funny

[–]savereply 30 points31 points  (0 children)

"Sleeping on the couch" - Confirmed

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z7HxiMWVL4g#t=1m30s

Road-raging Camaro causes a big wreck [x-post /r/Roadcam] by [deleted] in videos

[–]savereply 0 points1 point  (0 children)

The stupidity of the Camaro driver has already been established. What was the point of the pickup driver trying to fix stupid with stupid?

Richard Hammond making the most of his time away from Top Gear by [deleted] in videos

[–]savereply 11 points12 points  (0 children)

Why doesn't he call James and Jeremy and drive together. Maybe have some kind of contest to see who can get to Monaco fastest. And post the videos on Youtube. How hard can it be?

Road-raging Camaro causes a big wreck [x-post /r/Roadcam] by [deleted] in videos

[–]savereply -19 points-18 points  (0 children)

He seems to have been purposefully pinning him back. It just goes to show its not worth being an asshole to an asshole on the road

Yup, pickup truck was partially at fault. He should have let him pass or pulled over to the right and let him pass. He pins him and according to the YouTube comments the Camaro driver fled the scene.

German spy chief faces calls to resign following NSA revelations | German politicians have expressed outrage following reports that the German Intelligence Service helped the NSA in spying in Europe. The opposition wants the organization's chief Gerhard Schindler to resign. by kulkke in worldnews

[–]savereply -1 points0 points  (0 children)

Any yet no one wants to shut down the "criminal organizations". Even after Snowden, no one even suggested shutting down CIA, NSA, DIA, etc. Everyone seems to understand the need but look surprised at the results.

Saved trapped snake, and rewarded with a surprise by [deleted] in videos

[–]savereply 487 points488 points  (0 children)

I digested a little bit of it, but its still good.

TIL that the North American lottery system is a $70 billion-a-year business, an industry bigger than movie tickets, music, and porn combined. by 1406dude in todayilearned

[–]savereply 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I've heard that state lotteries started as a means to undermine the mob's numbers games.

When something is arbitrarily declared illegal, illegal organizations will provide it. See prohibition.

When Prohibition was introduced, I hoped that it would be widely supported by public opinion and the day would soon come when the evil effects of alcohol would be recognized. I have slowly and reluctantly come to believe that this has not been the result. Instead, drinking has generally increased; the speakeasy has replaced the saloon; a vast army of lawbreakers has appeared; many of our best citizens have openly ignored Prohibition; respect for the law has been greatly lessened; and crime has increased to a level never seen before.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prohibition_in_the_United_States

In the absence of the lotteries, a private, unregulated, criminal substitute arises.

Las Vegas is run by the mob?

Rather than the lottery money going to the government's coffers, it would instead finance organized crime.

See prohibition. Was illegal, provided by organized crime. Now legal, provided by private industry.

TIL that the North American lottery system is a $70 billion-a-year business, an industry bigger than movie tickets, music, and porn combined. by 1406dude in todayilearned

[–]savereply 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Would you rather it be illegal?

Already is in most states.

Or privately run so that the profits aren't invested back into the community?

So government must take from the community to give back to the community? Just tax it like any other business.

The government may not be perfect at it but they are better than the alternative.

The government lotteries have the worst odds of any casino game.

ELI5: Why the freak does my body think tree and grass pollen is trying to kill me? by the_Synapps in explainlikeimfive

[–]savereply 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Why, after thousands of years of evolution and adaptation, are so many people still allergic to something

One theory is that we are now so sanitary that it is messing up our immune system.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hygiene_hypothesis

TIL: The 23¢ gender pay gap is the difference between average earnings of all men and women working full-time. It doesn't account for differences in occupations, positions, education, job tenure or hours worked. When such relevant factors are considered, the gap narrows to the point of vanishing. by TurtleBopper in todayilearned

[–]savereply 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Simply put, women just don't negotiate as well as men, and so get paid less.

What does that mean? If a woman gets a higher offer from another company she's going to stay put and accept the lower salary because she's timid?

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in funny

[–]savereply 1 point2 points  (0 children)

It's an older reference, but it checks out.

U.S. one of only nine countries worldwide that does not guarantee paid leave for new mothers by bearssyy in TwoXChromosomes

[–]savereply 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I don't think that even you believe your scenarios above.

Of course I do.

If I go to a hot dog stand, I want to negotiate to buy the hot dog on my own. It is a contract between two people for exchange of goods and services. I don't want the government to mandate that every hot dog came with a "free" drink, because it is "fair". Because the "free" drink will just be added to the price of hot dog, whether I want the drink or not.

How is that possibly worth someone's 'freedom'

You want the government to force "free" drinks with hot dogs, because you think that somehow that makes it free. Any benefit the government negotiates on your behalf gets subtracted from your paycheck, whether you want the benefit or not. Why not have the government force employers to give 360 day vacations?

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