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The States: Mad Scientist Laboratories of Democracy

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Re: The States: Mad Scientist Laboratories of Democracy

joecct said:
And in Kepler's old stomping grounds

http://wtop.com/government/2016/10/us-attorney-suburban-ny-officials-indicted/
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Oh, Mineola. My best friend grew up there and my brother went to high school there (same school as Bill O'Reilly, just a couple years later).

When I was on "the island" Mineola was Archie Bunkerland -- white stevedores who used to hate the New Hyde Park richy-riches but then discovered they hated the blacks even more. It was home to a lot of New Jersey brick face houses decorated in Nouveau Mob Wife. The kinds of Jews whose marriages are announced in the M&A section of the NYT.

No idea what it's like now. I'd have guessed Koreans and Salvadorans but with that guy maybe not.
 
Re: The States: Mad Scientist Laboratories of Democracy

I think I know the answer, but why is a career sheriff a millionaire?
 
Re: The States: Mad Scientist Laboratories of Democracy

dxmnkd316 said:
I think I know the answer, but why is a career sheriff a millionaire?
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I'm assuming it's the same way a woman can go from being practically bankrupt to worth $30+ million in 16 years while making less than 200k/year. Outside income.
 
Re: The States: Mad Scientist Laboratories of Democracy

It's 12:04 AM EDT. Gas prices just went up $0.23/gal in New Jersey.
 
dxmnkd316 said:
You can thank the pipeline explosion in Alabama
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No. The legislature (D) and the governor (R) who finally compromised and raised the gas tas $0.23 to fund road improvements.

In return, the estate tax will be phased out and the tax break for pensioners will be increased.
 
Re: The States: Mad Scientist Laboratories of Democracy

joecct said:
No. The legislature (D) and the governor (R) who finally compromised and raised the gas tas $0.23 to fund road improvements.

In return, the estate tax will be phased out and the tax break for pensioners will be increased.
Click to expand...

That's going to cost some elected officials their jobs next week. Anybody voting for that will be vilified as stealing from the poor to give to the rich. That $0.23/gallon will hit too many middle class families, and not enough people my age or younger will ever see a pension plan, let alone qualify to have the estate tax impact them. Bad politics.
 
St. Clown said:
That's going to cost some elected officials their jobs next week. Anybody voting for that will be vilified as stealing from the poor to give to the rich. That $0.23/gallon will hit too many middle class families, and not enough people my age or younger will ever see a pension plan, let alone qualify to have the estate tax impact them. Bad politics.
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The estate tax in NJ was/is punitive. People with money were leaving the state to set up residence in a more tax friendly state. Now they may stay and keep spending their $$ in NJ.

For the full details head to nj.com.
 
Re: The States: Mad Scientist Laboratories of Democracy

joecct said:
The estate tax in NJ was/is punitive. People with money were leaving the state to set up residence in a more tax friendly state. Now they may stay and keep spending their $$ in NJ.

For the full details head to nj.com.
Click to expand...

You say all of this as if voters ever cared about nuanced positions.
 
Re: The States: Mad Scientist Laboratories of Democracy

anyone talking about state referendums?


here in Maine we have 5 "citizen's initiatives" (referendum questions put on the ballot through signature gathering) and one bond

1) Legalized Recreational Marijuana
2) New 3% tax on individual incomes over $200,000, with the money going into a new fund specifically for additional support for k-12 education. Currently Maine's top income tax bracket is 7.15% on all income over 37,500 (individual), so this would effectively add a new bracket of 10.15% that kicks in on income over $200,000.
3) Require background checks on private sales of firearms (and lending of firearms to non-family).
4) Increase minimum wage to $9/hr, with annual $1 increases until 2020 ($12/hr) and cost of living adjustments thereafter. Tipped workers wage increased to $5 and then $1 annual increases until it reaches parity with minimum wage.
5) ranked choice voting for U.S. Senate, Congress, Governor, State Senate, and State Representative
6) $100,000,000 transportation bond


I think polling is indicating all will pass. I think question #2 is the one I have the most reservations about.
 
Re: The States: Mad Scientist Laboratories of Democracy

#5 is awesome. I hear about it regularly now on POTUS and progressive radio. If we can get it talked about on hate radio too maybe we will be able to get it enacted widely.

What are the details of implementation? Is it basic IRV?

It's great that an idea that had almost zero exposure 4 years ago looks like it is starting to get fully discussed. Other than getting money out of politics it's the one thing we could do to most immediately improve democracy.
 
Re: The States: Mad Scientist Laboratories of Democracy

Kepler said:
#5 is awesome. I hear about it regularly now on POTUS and progressive radio. If we can get it talked about on hate radio too maybe we will be able to get it enacted widely.

What are the details of implementation? Is it basic IRV?

It's great that an idea that had almost zero exposure 4 years ago looks like it is starting to get fully discussed. Other than getting money out of politics it's the one thing we could do to most immediately improve democracy.
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It sounds more like participation trophy points to me. At the end of the day, you get one representative per "office". Why shouldn't you choose the one representative?
 
Re: The States: Mad Scientist Laboratories of Democracy

FlagDUDE08 said:
It sounds more like participation trophy points to me. At the end of the day, you get one representative per "office". Why shouldn't you choose the one representative?
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People are more likely to vote for who they want to if they get to rank choice instead of against who they're afraid of. Also, there are a lot of states that don't allow write-ins of any kind. That's silly. We need more viable options. Currently we only have one party to vote for in this country. The other 42% are too extreme for a Representative Democracy.
 
Re: The States: Mad Scientist Laboratories of Democracy

BassAle said:
anyone talking about state referendums?


here in Maine we have 5 "citizen's initiatives" (referendum questions put on the ballot through signature gathering) and one bond

1) Legalized Recreational Marijuana
2) New 3% tax on individual incomes over $200,000, with the money going into a new fund specifically for additional support for k-12 education. Currently Maine's top income tax bracket is 7.15% on all income over 37,500 (individual), so this would effectively add a new bracket of 10.15% that kicks in on income over $200,000.
3) Require background checks on private sales of firearms (and lending of firearms to non-family).
4) Increase minimum wage to $9/hr, with annual $1 increases until 2020 ($12/hr) and cost of living adjustments thereafter. Tipped workers wage increased to $5 and then $1 annual increases until it reaches parity with minimum wage.
5) ranked choice voting for U.S. Senate, Congress, Governor, State Senate, and State Representative
6) $100,000,000 transportation bond


I think polling is indicating all will pass. I think question #2 is the one I have the most reservations about.
Click to expand...

Kind of wish we would do more of this. But its got to be tempered. I don't think voters really have enough info or expertise to know whether a transportation bill is good or not.
 
Re: The States: Mad Scientist Laboratories of Democracy

BassAle said:
anyone talking about state referendums?
Click to expand...

California has 17. The election guide for it was 223 pages long. There are two pairs of propositions where one cancels out or is dependent on the other passing. Two such pairs. Also one of the propositions concerns condoms for porn actors.
 
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