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<blockquote data-quote="Willie Oleson" data-source="post: 443178" data-attributes="member: 8">What does that voting power mean if the difference is in name only?As for consumer choices: it takes money, effort and motivation to make those choices (especially if it feels like an individual stance rather than a shared philosophy) and as it&#039;s been pointed out corporate/industrial/militairy powers will do anything to undercut that personal effort and motivation.In other words: it takes a very determined person with enough knowledge and financial leeway to begin to make a difference.And let&#039;s be honest, how many people are like that? Nohting will get done and nothing will change unless - you create significant national awareness for the reason why people should choose more carefully- point the masses in the direction of accessible and acceptable alternatives- make it &quot;attractive&quot; (is it really so&nbsp;&nbsp; hard to find a political candidate who looks like Robert Redford?)The paradox of aspirational capitalism never fails to confuse me. The land of the free and the opportunity to write your own success story, but look what happens when you succeed.That billion dollars - obtained in a charming rags-to-riches fashion - isn&#039;t going to stay a billion dollars just because you have it. You need more money to protect it and before you know it you got two billion dollars which means you&#039;ve got even more to lose.That&#039;s when you get the dealings and the mergers and the lobbying, and how companies become soulless stockholder farms. And we want our investments to pay off, don&#039;t we?The only consolation we have is in the knowledge that tycoons always get punished. Their evil arch-enemies, their dysfunctional families - the slutty wives and the ungrateful, homosexual children - the kidnappings and the private jet crash in some unnamed jungle, the pitfalls of bankrolling foreign revolutions.Without the patriarchs we don&#039;t have our big &amp; sexy stories.</blockquote>

[QUOTE="Willie Oleson, post: 443178, member: 8"] What does that voting power mean if the difference is in name only? As for consumer choices: it takes money, effort and motivation to make those choices (especially if it feels like an individual stance rather than a shared philosophy) and as it's been pointed out corporate/industrial/militairy powers will do anything to undercut that personal effort and motivation. In other words: it takes a very determined person with enough knowledge and financial leeway [I]to begin [/I] to make a difference. And let's be honest, how many people are like that? Nohting will get done and nothing will change unless - you create significant national awareness for the reason [I]why [/I] people should choose more carefully - point the masses in the direction of accessible and acceptable alternatives - make it "attractive" (is it really [I]so[/I] hard to find a political candidate who looks like Robert Redford?) The paradox of aspirational capitalism never fails to confuse me. The land of the free and the opportunity to write your own success story, but look what happens when you succeed. That billion dollars - obtained in a charming rags-to-riches fashion - isn't going to stay a billion dollars just because you have it. You need more money to protect it and before you know it you got two billion dollars which means you've got even more to lose. That's when you get the dealings and the mergers and the lobbying, and how companies become soulless stockholder farms. And we want our investments to pay off, don't we? The only consolation we have is in the knowledge that tycoons always get punished. Their evil arch-enemies, their dysfunctional families - the slutty wives and the ungrateful, homosexual children - the kidnappings and the private jet crash in some unnamed jungle, the pitfalls of bankrolling foreign revolutions. Without the patriarchs we don't have our big & sexy stories. [/QUOTE]

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