Janet Yellen Says the US Is Undermining Its Economic Success | Hacker News Reader

Janet Yellen Says the US Is Undermining Its Economic Success

bloomberg.com

11 pointswslh9 comments

I think the immediate question is:

Does that "democratic spirit and system" benefit the populace in general, or has it gradually failed to do so?

And then the next question is:

What happens if some people, or even a majority (>50%) of the population feels that that "democratic spirit and system" has failed them?

The democratic system is fine, but that's not what we have. Citizens United essentially nullified voting. The rich can now purchase the representative they want, the one that best suits their needs. That representative, once "elected" has zero incentive to work for the people.

I don't know what this system is called, but its definitely not democracy.

The solution, imo, is to increase the number of representatives to something like 1 per 50,000 or 100,000 citizens. When your representative comes from your own town, the same highschool, the more likely they are known by many in their district, and do not need to rely on advertising, as when they could literally knock on most doors in their district, they do not need to beg for money to run a campaign from huge national interests.

I think the only solution is to produce knowledgeable citizens who can stand up without hesitation. Unfortunately that requires a lot of people to work together -- exactly the things the elites are not comfortable with.

https://archive.is/XnPG4

"Yellen’s concerns start with the idea that capitalism depends on the consistent application of the law — regardless of individuals’ or businesses’ wealth or political connections. Undermine that, and businesses, both domestic and foreign, will begin to think twice about making investments."

Law upholds capitalism? Can law be bent towards socialism?

And can she point towards such a magical place and time where this was true?

Here's an article (book review) about corruption that I find illuminating: https://archive.is/CBQFY

Yes. It's not like economic systems are either capitalist OR socialist: other economic systems exist, or have existed. Some depend on enforcement of laws, others depend on unequal or selective use of State power.

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