Would be amazing if the reps actually did what we wanted instead of what they are paid by outside entities to do. We should try that!

▲

criddell 3 hours ago | parent | next [-]

What do you mean by outside entities? Foreign governments?

	▲	simonw 3 hours ago \| parent [-]
		Their donors. In the USA members of congress spend an embarrassingly large amount of their time on the phone to their donors ensuring they are happy enough to fund their next run. January 2013: https://www.huffpost.com/entry/call-time-congressional-fundr... > A PowerPoint presentation to incoming freshmen by the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, obtained by The Huffington Post, lays out the dreary existence awaiting these new back-benchers. The daily schedule prescribed by the Democratic leadership contemplates a nine or 10-hour day while in Washington. Of that, four hours are to be spent in "call time" and another hour is blocked off for "strategic outreach," which includes fundraisers and press work. April 2016: https://www.cbsnews.com/news/60-minutes-are-members-of-congr... > Rep. Rick Nolan: Well, both parties have told newly elected members of the Congress that they should spend 30 hours a week in the Republican and Democratic call centers across the street from the Congress, dialing for dollars.

▲

estearum 3 hours ago | parent | prev [-]

Agreed that money should be virtually eliminated from the system. That said, people actually tend to be pretty satisfied with their representatives. It's the other Congresspeople who suck.

▲

cwmoore 40 minutes ago | parent | next [-]

Certainly could be more transparent and more equitably shared. Life is tough for people, corporate entities have interests but never actual pain.

▲

kQq9oHeAz6wLLS 3 hours ago | parent | prev [-]

Hard disagree, my rep is an idiot

▲

estearum 2 hours ago | parent [-]

Data be damned then! Good point.

	▲	Loughla 2 hours ago \| parent [-]
		I bet you'll find that more people don't approve of what their representative is doing than do approve. Low voter turnout allows for bullshit to slip through the cracks by targeting very small blocs of voters. I genuinely believe that most problems in government would be fixed if voluntary voter turnout was around 99%, and that low rates, especially during midterms, is the largest threat to democracy in the United States as we know it to date.