all congresspeople are establishment... i thought that was obvious to most of us

and minimum wage laws are an abomination, like practically all laws

Members of Congress, when they become members of Congress, should be totally expropriated, and paid the federal minimum wage. When they leave Congress, they should either have to live on Social Security alone, or work as federal employees for the federal minimum wage.

If the federal minimum wage isn't enough to pay rent in Washington, DC, members of Congress should be housed in homeless shelters.

There's an old saying that power corrupts. (Some add that PowerPoint corrupts absolutely.)

The ultimate solution to abuse of power is to diffuse power, and keep on diffusing it. That's basically what the anarchists (so thoroughly misunderstood) are getting at.

It's fashionable among conservatives these days to make a big deal about how America is not a democracy but a republic. That sounds stupid (What about democratic republics?), but what they're really getting at is that democracy is bad, but representative democracy is good. In other words, we can't allow people to choose the laws; we can only allow them to choose the lawmakers from among an approved list of candidates. Then the lawmakers (so much better and wiser) will choose the laws for us (poor, stupid wretches).

direct democracy is impossible

the problem is not congress, but that congress is out of control

this is the problem

so democracy is restored

Restored? The framers of the Constitution never intended for the majority of American adults to be able to participate in government, even as voters. Hell, all the really influential framers were slaveholders, outnumbered by their slaves.

If America becomes a democracy, that will be a revolution. Unprecedented.

Why is direct democracy impossible?

Also, why does most of what we do have to be governed at all? People like to be with and work with others, but that doesn't mean that we can't reserve part of our lives for ourselves. After all, much of what I do and say can't even be detected by anyone else. I sometimes sing to myself when I'm alone. The RIAA would love to have a way to make me pay for the "privilege," but they can't detect that I'm doing it.

Part of the solution to the problem of government is not to govern so much. Devolve power all the way to the individual in most cases.

"Hell, all the really influential framers were slaveholders" no, this is completely false

"Why is direct democracy impossible?" Why do you think?

Also, why does most of what we do have to be governed at all?

Amen!!

John Trumbull’s Famous 1818 Painting Declaration of Independence Virtually Defaced to Show Which Founding Fathers Owned Slaves

bettergov.org/news/fact-check-…

Parsa said 34 of the 47 men depicted in the famous "Declaration of Independence" painting were slaveholders.\
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We found strong evidence to back the claim on the 34, recognizing there is no one definitive source on the question.\
\
We rate the statement True.

And what is your point whether or not founding fathers owned slaves?

And why are you ignoring all other questions asked to you or defend any of you outrageous claims?

Signers of the Declaration of the Independence are not necessarily "influential framers".

The Declaration of the Independence is not the same as the Constitution, nor the Constitutional Convention, nor anything about "Framers"

further "I agree with William Lloyd Garrison that the northern states should have refused to join any union with slaveholders. "

the union had NO CHOICE. We had almost lost the war with Britain, had we split, we would have been reconquered.

Not until the invention of the cotton gin could the colonial economy, built on slavery, maintain independence without slaves.

@buzzkill@diaspora.schoenf.de David's point is rather obvious - the U.S. has never been democratic and cannot "go back" to being democratic. The U.S. political system has always been a violent oligarchy and remains the same today.

The solution is having NO political system.