What's going on in India?

[BjornP]

I refuse to accept responsibility for the actions of “my representatives” when they are clearly acting in their own interests, and elected through an unverifiable and corrupt system.

I didn’t vote for the vast majority of what they do, and neither did anyone else.

Wrong. Plenty of people voted for the actions of "your representatives", you are just projecting your views on the American electorate, and coming to a false conclusion because of it.

Most Americans do not share your views, you are political misfit who is unrepresentative of the views of the silent majority. You may not have voted for it, but plenty of people did, and they are drowning you out.

Yes, I’m certain that the silent majority knew what their representatives would really do, despite their endless promises to the contrary. Realpolitik writ large. :clown face:

Irrelevant. The sole responsibility for who gets elected, are still the electorate. That’s not "theory". It's just fact, cause and effect. It is solely up to the electorate to establish better debates, up to the electorate to ask the right questions, up to the electorate to do research on the current political issues. It's not the manipulative politician's fault that you're gullible, that’s on you.

[SuburbanFarmer]

Wrong. Plenty of people voted for the actions of "your representatives", you are just projecting your views on the American electorate, and coming to a false conclusion because of it.

Most Americans do not share your views, you are political misfit who is unrepresentative of the views of the silent majority. You may not have voted for it, but plenty of people did, and they are drowning you out.

Yes, I’m certain that the silent majority knew what their representatives would really do, despite their endless promises to the contrary. Realpolitik writ large. :clown face:

Irrelevant. The sole responsibility for who gets elected, are still the electorate. That’s not "theory". It's just fact, cause and effect. It is solely up to the electorate to establish better debates, up to the electorate to ask the right questions, up to the electorate to do research on the current political issues. It's not the manipulative politician's fault that you're gullible, that’s on you.

I did my homework, made my choices, and they are not represented in my government. Ergo, I am not responsible for whatever nonsense they get up to.

#NotMyFault

[StCapps]

I did my homework, made my choices, and they are not represented in my government. Ergo, I am not responsible for whatever nonsense they get up to.

#NotMyFault

You shouldn't expect your choices to be reflected in government when the rest of the electorate doesn't share your views and they are the votes the politicians are trying to win, not yours. You gotta wise up, Grumps.

[TheReal_ND]

[Smitty-48]

Poor Nation, Rich Army

This Republic Day, Pakistan should consider why it remains underdeveloped as its military booms.

By Taha Siddiqui | March 21, 2019, 2:24 PM

. . . Although Pakistan’s recent economic woes are troubling, the country has faced similar pressures for years. One-third of its population lives under the poverty line, and the country is ranked at 150 out of 189 countries in the latest United Nations Human Development Index. The national debt stands at around $100 billion, while its foreign exchange reserves are a meager $15 billion. The value of the Pakistani rupee, one of the worst-performing currencies in Asia, has dropped 31 percent since 2017.

Yet anyone watching the parade on March 23 may believe that all is well. And they certainly won’t get the impression that the military is, in fact, behind many of the country’s economic problems. But after debt servicing, the military is Pakistan’s biggest economic burden. Already, over 20 percent of the annual budget officially goes to the military, but the armed forces have been pushing for more every year. Just in the last budget cycle, it won a 20 percent hike in its yearly allocation. The actual expense of the military is even higher, but it is hidden by moving some of the expenses to other budget lines. The parliament neither seriously debates the military budget nor subjects its spending to audit. By contrast, the country spends less than 5 percent of GDP on social services like education and health care, well below the regional average.

The military mainly protects itself by keeping the threat of India alive. The two nuclear-armed neighbors have been in conflict since the partition of South Asia in 1947. The militaries have fought four wars, with three of them over Kashmir valley. Even though Pakistan initiated these conflicts, it has told the public that it was only countering Indian aggression. In recent years, Pakistan has avoided a direct war, perhaps because it lost all previous ones. But it relies on militant groups based in Pakistan to keep tensions alive. This February offered a glimpse of such dynamics at play. In turn, the Pakistani Army gets the perfect excuse for its oversized burden on the country’s economy. Like a mafia protection racket, the military creates its own demand.

https://foreignpolicy.com/2019/03/21/po ... rich-army/

[SuburbanFarmer]

Sounds familiar.

[Speaker to Animals]

Oh look. The people who never served a day in their life can't miss a chance to shit on the military that makes their shitty lives possible. Who could have seen that coming?

[SuburbanFarmer]

Oh look. The people who never served a day in their life can't miss a chance to shit on the military that makes their shitty lives possible. Who could have seen that coming?

Not so much. But I am shitting on their ridiculous portion of our budget, and the massive corruption that it entails.

[Speaker to Animals]

100% so much.

[Smitty-48]

I'm not seeing the similarity.

America is an OEM massive military exporter, so the American MIC is a cash cow for America.

Pakistan is a net importer, they don't make money off their military like America does.