Maybe don't call it "Communism"

[southsoundtree]

People should have to pass an intelligence test and the US Citizenship test(s) to vote.

18 is a stupid age if we are simply going to let people age-in to the right/ responsibility to vote.

 

[bobs yeruncle]

i always thought it would be cool if legislative bodies were composed of random citizens fulfilling a rotating tour of service like jury duty haha. letter in the mail, time to do your four months legislative duty. no more professional politicians, no more parties, fewer incentives for corruption, and the amount of respect i have for politicians is already below the floor so any given cross-section of the population can only prove the same or better lol

 

[bobs yeruncle]

 

[Matias]

i always thought it would be cool if legislative bodies were composed of random citizens fulfilling a rotating tour of service like jury duty haha. letter in the mail, time to do your four months legislative duty. no more professional politicians, no more parties, fewer incentives for corruption, and the amount of respect i have for politicians is already below the floor so any given cross-section of the population can only prove the same or better lol

I do believe this would yield no worse than we have now, and likely much better.

I only worry about the idea of intelligence tests because they notoriously have their own array of issues. Seems like there are many slippery slopes on that utopian hill.

 

[Rodger_Dodger]

Totally agreed. Lived in Italy a while where this system’s in place and never heard folks complain about it. They probably have siestas after wine and bomb meals included though…

Interesting, didn’t know that, thanks for sharing.

 

[Rodger_Dodger]

Compulsory voting doesn't mean smart voting will happen.

This is exactly what we have now, the opposite of “smart” voting. It’s turned into a popularity contest of “who’s gonna give me the most free stuff” and it’s not working out for the very people who continue to vote this way, forcing those who do cast informed votes into the same failed system.

It’s also why I added the caveat of actual education to Mattias’ suggestion of compulsory voting. The education system right now is broken, but not in the way many surmise. It’s not the education so much as those being educated. If this weren’t true, a higher percentage of students would be failing. Instead you have children who make straight A’s sitting in the same classroom as children who can’t pass basic proficiency tests, for grades they “passed” years ago.

 

[Rodger_Dodger]

I do believe this would yield no worse than we have now, and likely much better.

I only worry about the idea of intelligence tests because they notoriously have their own array of issues. Seems like there are many slippery slopes on that utopian hill.

The current problem in my observation isn’t so much the tests as it is the motivations or interpretations of those looking at the results. They don’t like the results so the problem must be the tests, not the student taking those tests. They are removing any relationship between the parent/students and personal accountability. They keep “fixing” the tests to accommodate for this, instead of addressing and fixing the actual problem. Not only does this damage the system as a whole, it has disastrous consequences for those students who aren’t getting the education they need. They’re doomed to failure, and that’s sad.

I personally know of people who’ve graduated high school and can’t read or write properly, and middle-schoolers who are in the same boat. Destined to fail upwards and graduate with not a single prospect for success in their life.

I would like to add that although my posts may make it seem as though I’m sympathetic towards tests for voting I am not. I was speaking more of the education system as a whole, not specifically about IQ tests for voting. Voting isn’t just privilege it’s a right, and just as the many other rights which have fallen out of favor with some in the population, just because you don’t like the results or outcomes of those rights doesn’t mean you can violate or remove those rights from others. IQ tests for voting are indeed as Mattias said, a slippery slope, and ripe for abuse in my opinion.

 

[evo]

I don’t know the public education system and standardization of the k-12 system is specifically designed to create workers to follow directions

 

[Rodger_Dodger]

I don’t know the public education system and standardization of the k-12 system is specifically designed to create workers to follow directions

Ever heard George Carlin’s bit about that?

Your post reminded me of it, I’ll see if I can find it.

George Carlin’s Owners of America