+4 votes
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in Politics & Government ✌ by

First of all, just to thank you all for giving me your thoughts on all these economy/politics questions; your ideas, experience, very helpful as I learn and explore!

Other Tink found an excellent YouTube interview with Bret Weinstein, the professor of evolutionary biology at Evergreen College in Olympia, WA who is at the center of the racism accusations there...

Well, in that interview Professor Weinstein does what I often do; when he disagrees with someone, he tries to discern why they think as they do, how they came to that viewpoint. And one of his observations about the students who are attacking him, is that they have never lived under a government they can trust! 

I think he was indicating that may be why their generation may respond negatively to all authority...

Well, my whole 72 years, I have always believed my country will ALWAYS eventually self-correct; our government is set up with checks-and-balances, so we can get off for a while, but the mechanisms are in place to come back to the center of freedom and justice for all.

So now, facing the fact that perhaps we CANNOT trust our government here in the US, I would like to know how YOU feel, whatever country you live in, do you trust your government?

5 Answers

+5 votes
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Best answer

As you certainly know, we have a federal system and a direct democracy with a multipartite system, in which the 7 members of the Federal Council (heading the Federal Administration) are represented by a coalition of the four major parties.

The Federal Assembly (parliament) is composed of two chambers, the National Council and the Council of States.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Politics_of_Switzerland

There is, of course, no perfect political system, and we are having our internal and external problems too, but we can trust our government, in spite of the global economical, political, humanitarian and "religious" crises, which are affecting Europe, its leading groups, and most of our world.


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Marianne, I was especially looking forward to your answer, to learn a bit more about the government of Switzerland and how you felt about it...thank you!

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Well, the real problem are the big interests, mostly represented by big, multinational corporations, companies, cartels, etc., which are influencing too much the the global markets, economies and strategies; many are flooding a large number of countries with more or less disposable mass products from outside, monopolising productions, distributions, services, etc.

We share this problem with most of the other countries.

Furthermore, heavy damages, losses and casualties are caused by an increasing number of disasters; lately, on your side, hurricane Harvey, and on ours, the Bondo landslide:

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/live/2017/aug/28/ex-hurricane-harvey-houston-flooded-as-catastrophe-unfolds-in-texas-latest-updates

https://www.thelocal.ch/20170828/bondo-landslide-did-hikers-get-sufficient-warning-switzerland



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Marianne, I notice you linked to THE GUARDIAN again...very good summary (although I had tears in my eyes, the tragedy). They seem to cover thorough news!

So sorry about the hikers...I see they are questioning whether sufficient warning signs were posted...

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Yes, Virginia, indeed, they always investigate into such cases; the mountains are dangerous, and too many accidents happen with rock slides, avalanches, sudden weather changes, etc.

Sadly enough, many tourists and mountain sports people tend to underestimate the dangers and warnings.



+5 votes
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I trust the politicians to enrich themselves, and to do political favors for the special interests that fund them and/or keep them in power.

And all this is being done at the expense of the shrinking middle class.

P.S. Those students who respond negatively to all authority seem only too willing to accept the authority of anti-democratic fanatics and zealots. They obviously know nothing of the French and Russian Revolutions. And the few that do will say, "Oh, but we'll get it right this time." :ermm:

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O'Tink, what you are saying is just what I have been seeing online, over and over, and coming from sources that are often old like me and with life experience that I would tend to trust...for me, it's a bitter pill to swallow, but it MIGHT be true...certainly the shrinking middle class, THAT is incontrovertible.

+5 votes
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Yes, I trust my government. I have no fear of federal agents, or of replying to a federal agents questions.

As far as the country, I trust my government to keep us out of unnecessary wars etc. And to be on good terms with any trading partners.

http://gg.ca/document.aspx?id=3

But you must remember, we have the Queens representative looking out for us (Governor General) and he can stop any law being passed, (has not yet been done) ( the  Provincial viceroys are able to reserve Royal Assent to provincial bills for the governor general; this clause was last invoked in 1961 by the Lieutenant Governor of Saskatchewan.)

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Korvo, I watched Canadian TV (CBC) when I lived on Mt. Baker for twelve years (17 miles from the British Columbia border). It was the only channel I could get then, and I developed a great admiration for Canada, in many regards. 

One thing I read recently...Canadian banking did not crash like the US did in 2008, and that is attributed to the fact that Canada never repealed their equivalent of the US Glass-Steagall Act, which forbids (I think) savings banks from engaging in risky speculation with depositors' money.

Thank you for your answer.

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The Canadian banks wanted to diversify like the US banks, but the government said "no" and so the restrictions remain. (no free car if you mortgage your new home with this bank... :) )

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Korvo, the Canadian government said 'no'...

Well, from what I am understanding, when our US Congress said 'yes' to allowing that risky speculation, it was (possibly) because the US politicians were getting lots of campaign contributions from those vested banking interests...in other words, all that money just 'bought' the yes votes of the politicians.

I do not recall; does Canada then have restrictions on such campaign contributions, that would essentially buy the politicians' compliance?

Also, just an observation from your answer above; you mention that you trust your government to keep Canada out of unnecessary wars. Well, tragically I think that is something I can no longer trust the US government to do.

+5 votes
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To be honest? I haven't trusted our government since Vietnam. All the lies then are pretty much the same now. Except it's for even more money and oil. I've hoped for many years that we would learn from our mistakes and all they've learned is how to hide them better.


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Thank you Rooster - I seem to be the last person waking up to the fact that we are in trouble in the USA. 

But I know you love this country, and since you are concerned about the trustworthiness, then that is very significant!

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@ Pop! Now it's Asscrackistan! Let them and the Pakistanis fight over it. So much wasted money paying Pakistan to let us use land to fight the Taliban. What a joke. The military needs to get it's head out of it's ass and can all these government types who are just trying to buy people. Think of the billions we would save if we got the hell out of there and quit lining the pockets of these Pakistani idiots. Time for our whole government to start opening their damn eyes!

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Hi Hitman, welcome back we have missed you!

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Welcome back, Hitman!

0 votes
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Not that much, at the moment.

I live in Canada.


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