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Ted Cruz

7 (6.5%)

Rick Santorum

16 (14.8%)

Michelle Bachmann

13 (12%)

Chris Christie

23 (21.3%)

Rand Paul

49 (45.4%)

Total Members Voted: 107

[Sheb]

You can't change an economic structure of society with taxes... the only method which reliably works is increasing the efficiency of production.

That's provably false. Many European countries got a pre-tax Gini higher than the US's, but are much more equal than the US thanks to tax and redistribution. I could dig the data up if you really want.

[Sergarr]

You can't change an economic structure of society with taxes... the only method which reliably works is increasing the efficiency of production.

That's provably false. Many European countries got a pre-tax Gini higher than the US's, but are much more equal than the US thanks to tax and redistribution. I could dig the data up if you really want.

Well, the European economy is going to fail pretty soon, so...

Have you seen how fast the share market is dropping in US? It's because of that.

here's the link.

EDIT: It has? Weird, I've read that the fears of recession in EU has lead into this drop at least twice.

[Mictlantecuhtli]

It actually has nothing to do with that, but alrighty. You're also mistaking 'Russian' as 'European' in that sentence.

I don't expect someone who subsists on state tv to know this, but the market in the US has been running for about.. 5 years now. While Russia's hasn't. It's actually tracing to 2008 levels, and will continue to go below that as the Russian currency becomes more worthless.



http://finance.yahoo.com/echarts?s=RTS.RS

http://finance.yahoo.com/echarts?s=DJI

Let me know which of these is doing better over the long term.

[Sergarr]

The last time I watched state TV for longer than 20 minutes was 2 years ago.

And the Europe is very close to recession. Well, at least the Germany is, and it is the largest European economy and the de-facto leader of EU.

[Twi]

This is now Derail Thread: Off the Rails.

Ahem. :V

[Helgoland]

Wait, have Europol and Ameripol switched places?

[FearfulJesuit]

Uh...rails.

jeez guys I can't barely be asked to care

[Baffler]

Right, so Google has surpassed Goldman-Sachs in political donations. It's behind a paywall, so the article is spoilered below for convenience. What will come of this suddenly huge money dump? I personally think (even hope?) we can expect to see a fight in the Senate over issues like net neutrality and surveillance on the horizon.

link.

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

Google has surpassed Goldman Sachs as a US political donor in a sign of Silicon Valley’s increasingly assertive efforts to shape policy and counter critical scrutiny in Washington.

Google’s political action committee, NetPAC, has spent more money on political campaigns this year than Goldman, at $1.43m, just edging out the $1.4m by the bank that is famous for its political connections. That is a marked change from the last midterm eating contest in 2010, when Google spent only a third as much as Goldman.

Technology companies are spending big money this year to build political support as Washington debates issues critical to the sector from tax, to increasing the number of visas for skilled migrants to greater oversight of US intelligence agencies.

While people working in the technology sector typically lean left, tech companies in the latest political cycle are increasingly donating more to Republicans or splitting their giving equally between the two parties.

In 2010, Democratic federal candidates received 55 per cent of tech PAC contributions, while Republicans received 45 per cent, according to data from the Center for Responsive Politics. In 2014, as the right looks to solidify its control of the House of Representatives and possibly take control of the Senate, Democrats received 48 per cent to the Republicans’ 52 per cent.

“The executives of those companies may not always agree with Republicans on social issues, but for a lot of them, at the end of the day, business is business,” said Reed Galen, a Republican consultant based in California. Republicans’ bias towards low regulation appeals to leaders of a sector that often launches new products, such as drones or disappearing photo sharing apps, faster than regulators can keep up.
Tech and internet donors have given almost $22.5m so far in the 2014 eating contest cycle, according to the CRP. That still pales in comparison to the $121m donated by the securities and investment industry, where the close ties between Wall Street and Washington earned Goldman the nickname of “Government Sachs”. However, it is part of a broader build-up of the tech industry’s presence in Washington.

[Zangi]

Well.... it is to be expected... since 'people' with money can already buy influence.  Though, even if the google monies is being used for 'good' for this particular election cycle... It ain't too hard to imagine it stepping in line with the old guard, in the way of self-interest, within the next few cycles.

[Frumple]

Last I had paid attention, Google 180'd on a number of the ostensibly "good" positions it had held previously. Particularly relating to privacy, censorship, and net neutrality. It being a major campaign contributor these days doesn't fill me with terrible much in the way of confidence, heh.

As the article noted, tech companies in general are already leaning conservative, contribution wise, just so they have an easier time exploiting their customer base.

[TheDarkStar]

I think the US needs to pass one of the French laws where a party can only accept so much in bribes.

Translation.

[smjjames]

I think the US needs to pass one of the French laws where a party can only accept so much in 'donations'

And deal with the lobby issues, but good luck getting any lobby reforms passed.

[Zangi]

Once again, an intelligence agency appeals to everyone against encryption.
Obviously, if you are not a violent criminal, terrorist or pedophile... you should be fine with us acquiring your information without your knowledge. /s

[mainiac]

I think the US needs to pass one of the French laws where a party can only accept so much in 'donations'

There's a problem with that:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Citizens_United_v._Federal_Election_Commission

As long as people remain apathetic there's really not a lot that well intentioned politicians can accomplish.

[Sergarr]

Unrestricted liberty leads to the inevitable seizure of it. Be it by monopolies, political parties or corporations.

In US, there are laws against monopolies, but no laws against political parties and corporations. Hence the two-party system, massive briberies and the unification of political and economical power.