SNIP
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>Thats the only reason why Nick's statement appears to be true.
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>Here's another good point for Jim Nelson, who asks how the loop can be broken.
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>Step 1: Stop being such a whiner and believe the loop can be broken.
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>Notice when I say something like "The voters have power over those who represent them" and supposedly intelligent people argue that this is not true? Well, given that it should be no surprise that the state of affairs is currently what it is.
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>Again, the reality of the situation has nothing to do with who has equality, but who will allow themselves to be marginalized.

Mike,

Let me illustrate with a concrete example:
10 or 12 years ago, in western Canada, there arose a 'movement' to change how politics works so that the east no longer had undue influence over things affecting western Canada.
They formed a party (Reform was its name) and ran 20 or so candidates first time around. Their platform was equality for the west, to be achieved by removing all of the goodies/dependencies that were so deeply entrenched. They picked the federal politician's pension plan as a primary example of things run amok, and belive me it is a fat and juicy pension plan. They had a few other items, like lobbyists, as well.
Anyway, virtually all who ran got elected, and they went off to Ottawa full of pi**-and-vinegar, proclaiming that change starts now!
A while later they were, as is typically the case for new members, informed of various entitlements in detail. Funny thing, but they decided to sign on to the pension plan. They used the ruse that the law didn't provide a sign-out capability and made no overtures at all about changing the law!
It was also found that most were regularly attending lobbyists dinners and events and other goodies, though they claimed innocence and non-influence.
In other words, ELECTED people with avowed intentions to change the system found themselves 'enjoying' the system they found so distasteful!

So it's very easy for you to tell me I'm a whiner and should get off my butt and do something about it, but the incident outlined and countless others that are similar (but less obvious) have taught me that *I* personally and alone can do NOTHING THAT MATTERS!

And, by the way, with most everyone being hugely beholdin to the banks and so working their butts off just to keep their jobs, it's most difficult to mobilize people to do anything about anything. It's not at all that they're "satisfied/happy" with the status-quo, but rather that they're AFRAID and TIRED.

Now if you could apply your reasoning to the issue, as I've seen you do so well with some other theoreticals, you just might find the spark that can be grown to a full-blown blaze.

cheers