Would you give up your right to vote for $1 Million?

[nailz]

Apparently, more than half of americans would. NYU students were polled and found that 66% would forfeit their right to vote for a years worth of tuition.
~20% said they'd do it for an Ipod touch. an Ipod touch?! Seriously? Still, others said they'd give up their right forever for $1 million dollars.

I don't know whats worse, that people are so willing to give away their greatest power, or that they're getting so pathetic an economic education that they don't realize how little a million dollars is these days. The ignorance of The American Future is appaling.

edit: source: http://www.politico.com/news/stories/1107/6892.html

 

[Matt Crooks]

Considering how many people don't vote at all, it really is not surprising.

 

[Urban breed]

~20% said they'd do it for an Ipod touch.

Pick something I want instead and I think I would. (Not might, would.)
Why?
I am, and I think I will always be, not just in the minority, but in the minority and beyond. Therefore, to me, it doesn't really matter.
If you're saying that this would lead to where someone, some entity, (pick anything), could/would pay their way to power, well, that is already happening.
Without anyone getting any kind of direct compensation for their vote.
Sorry...

An interesting thing I've noticed is the fact that people that feel deeply about democracy will be terribly upset about this my stance.
They really shouldn't, because after all, I'm not voting for anything they will ever vote for and-more importantly-I'm not voting for something they're completely against.

I don't believe in anything one could ever put into practice unless everyone is me. And, if that's the case, then watch out, this world is going down...

Normally I would just look at this thread, think about part of what I just wrote and shrug it all off but I'm feeling mischievous tonight.

 

[lady_space]

The political system here doesn't work. *shrug* For a million dollars, I'd forfeit my right to vote as well. A million dollars might not make me super rich, but t would mean I'd never have to work again. Good enough for me.

 

[Jibrille]

Apparently, more than half of americans would. NYU students were polled and found that 66% would forfeit their right to vote for a years worth of tuition.
~20% said they'd do it for an Ipod touch. an Ipod touch?! Seriously? Still, others said they'd give up their right forever for $1 million dollars.

I don't know whats worse, that people are so willing to give away their greatest power, or that they're getting so pathetic an economic education that they don't realize how little a million dollars is these days. The ignorance of The American Future is appaling.

edit: source: http://www.politico.com/news/stories/1107/6892.html

The only way I'd be upset about giving up my right to vote for $1 million is if they suddenly decided to switch from the electoral system to popular votes. I live in NY. Overall, I don't care about local elections. The area I live is pretty much conservative and a republican is going to win 9x out of 10. For a presidential election, NYS is pretty much going to go democratic every time. I think Giuliani may be the one chance it doesn't happen but unfortunately a lot of New Yorkers are supporters of the evil that is Hillary Clinton (or just hardcore democrats that will vote blindly for whoever the democrat is).
So would I give up my right to vote for $1 million? Hell yes. I don't care if I suddenly didn't have to make the decision on who is the lesser of two evils since few politicians should even be considered human beings.

 

[FatesFan]

I am not so sure that the ability to vote is our greatest power. Yes, I agree that a democratic society is the way to go and yes, I feel that we have bar none the best country in the world. However, voting in it's self does not really give me a sense of power. When presidential candidate can get the popular vote and still loose an election, well, that does not make me feel all warm and fuzzy. (Particularly if my guy is on the loosing end of the deal)

Would I give up my right for 1 mill? Don’t know, but I am not surprised that there are those that would. In fact, If this was a real option and not just a hypothetical exercise, I feel that the number of those who would take the MILL would be quite staggering.


As Dennis Miller would say, “That’s just my opinion, I could be wrong.”

 

[Kaosaur]

The right to vote is not our greatest power.
The right to bear arms and revolt against an unjust government is.

Oh wait...they took that away from us already.

 

[booB]

You can make more of a dent in public policy by being an activist than you can by voting.

 

[Jibrille]

You can make more of a dent in public policy by being an activist than you can by voting.

You can make the biggest dent by being an activist with a lot of money and "donating" to several candidates' campaigns. If they fear loosing your money, they'll bend to your will.

 

[Evil]

If all the people who thought thier vote didnt count voted en mass, things could change.Granted the system is broken in terms of career politicians, something *I* think the founding fathers would have frowned on.

These college kids are so disconnected these numbers dont shock me... but it does sadden me.

 

[DarkOne]

Everyone has their price! I think mine would be $1 mill for my right to vote.

Steve in Philly

 

[spag]

I don't blame people for not giving a shit. I'm not happy with it, but I understand the thinking. For many people, even the ones that DO care, they see the system as broken, and why bother. As long as we are locked in to a two party system with the electoral college, I don't see how anything is going to change. Both parties are basically the same when it really comes down to it.

 

[Yippee38]

I give a shit. I would give it up. My vote doesn't count for squat. Our leaders are of the corporation, by the corporation, and for the corporation. Besides, I'm tired of voting for lousy candidates.

 

[skyrefuge]

That can be sort of a misleading survey. If I knew they were offering *everyone* in the whole country the same deal for giving up their right to vote, then no, I'd be less likely to take it, because I would think that everyone else would take it, and thus a tiny minority of people would be left to vote, which could be bad. But if it was only *me* they were offering the deal to, then I'd totally take it, since my single vote would be pretty meaningless, and I could just try to influence other people to vote as a proxy for me.

Oh, and if I got $1 million today, I could retire and be set for life (I'm 30). So for people who aren't so nonchalant about their resource consumption D), it still is plenty of money.

Neil

 

[Kenso]

Considering how many people don't vote at all, it really is not surprising.

yea im in that category

id probably give it up for about 200 bucks, a million would be nice though.

i have a feeling elections are probably rigged, so voting isnt that important to me unless its something very local where me and my friends votes could actually determine the outcome of something.

for instance my county was voting for a casino to be built here, i was going to vote but got mixed up on the dates.

also, what if you just took the 1 million and donated it to someones campaign, that would results in many more votes than just your one.

 

[nailz]

I wish I could say I was shocked an appalled by the amount of you who don't care about voting. But, to be honest, and this is not a slam, though it certainly is going to sound like one, considering the group, I'm not.

I understand the system is broken, but it's like none of you are interested in doing anything about it, you'd rather just throw your hands in the air and yell "fuck it! I don't care!". You'd damn well better care, because like it or not, weather or not you participate in an election, the outcome is going to affect you.

Metal is all about fuck the system, fuck comformity and all that bullshit, but you all seem to be complacient in apathy.

._.

 

[freakchylde]

It's not pathetic, it's apathetic. Have you looked at the status quo lately? It'll be a while before we get any new blood up there, because the old guard is still there, and they still suck.

 

[Kenso]

I wish I could say I was shocked an appalled by the amount of you who don't care about voting. But, to be honest, and this is not a slam, though it certainly is going to sound like one, considering the group, I'm not.

I understand the system is broken, but it's like none of you are interested in doing anything about it, you'd rather just throw your hands in the air and yell "fuck it! I don't care!". You'd damn well better care, because like it or not, weather or not you participate in an election, the outcome is going to affect you.

Metal is all about fuck the system, fuck comformity and all that bullshit, but you all seem to be complacient in apathy.

._.

myself personally, im under the impression that my vote actually doesnt count. i know im never going to be high enough in politics for my opinion to be heard, we dont know if the elections are set up or not, and even so, my one single vote isnt going to change anything. also if everyone in america voted, i still think that the outcome would be about the same, since the people that dont vote are probably about equally split between the candidates/parties as the ones who do vote... if that makes sense.

everytime i get looking into politics i just get disgusted/pissed off about how screwed up everything is, and the thing is there isnt much i, as one single person can do about it. i can join in on some kind of group and march and shit but at the end of the day me as a single person, i dont make a difference. but if everyone had this attitude we would be nowhere.

i dont get too involved, but i dont bitch when someone i dont want in gets elected either.

my attitude is probably not the best one, i was simply just stating my position on it.

 

[skyrefuge]

Voter apathy is a good thing.

I don't really understand why people think it's bad. Places that have high voter turnout often have really bad problems, and that's why everyone goes out in hopes of changing things with the thought that it can improve their lives. The reason US turnout is so low is because everyone has it pretty darn well, in the whole scheme of things. It means we're comfortable. Which is a good thing. Sure, we like to complain, but for the most part, the government isn't actively screwing us over.

Of course, we're kept comfortable and content in no small part because the government is feeding us short-term benefits that are eventually going to screw us over quite mightily in the long term, but it's not like voting is going to be able to significantly affect that process anyhow.

Neil

 

[nailz]

It's not pathetic, it's apathetic. Have you looked at the status quo lately? It'll be a while before we get any new blood up there, because the old guard is still there, and they still suck.

Whats stopping you from running? Run on an internet campaign and save a ton of money

Yes, I didn't call it pathetic for that specific reason, hence the use of the word "apathy" in my post :\