Reply #26: Do you feel that there isn't a problem with the major parties ignoring big segments of the populace?

[cascadiance]

You could also say that the two major parties are also the forces that continually try to dismiss IRV as a valid voting system because it works against their interests, just as you could try to postulate that IRV is only useful to those that are trying to vend such systems to government. Sorry, but I don't buy that argument.

Whether or not a system is IRV or not, the details of implementation need to be made open source, and need to be under control of those accountable to the people, and not under those who choose to make profits from it. Our election systems and our campaign finance system as broken as it is now, is precisely why our health care system is so broken now. Some risks NEED to be taken to change the equations here. Part of it is the system for paying for it. Part of fixing this problem is also fixing the processes for choosing who our decision makers are and how they are answerable to us so that the system is created that serves us, and not the small minority that pays for them to get elected.

If you agree with me that the status quo is a problem where the two major parties ignore big segments of society's concerns (especially when they have money being used as "free speech" votes from special interests), then what do you feel is the best way to correct these problems, if we don't look at changes to the system like IRV? If you feel that the two parties are serving us adequately without third party involvement, then you just have a different concept of how government serves us than I and others do, and that is probably at the core of our differences. If you feel that third party voices are needed to effect change, then I think you owe us some alternatives that you think would work better than IRV, and then explain why you think they would work better. The current system is clearly broken now when it comes to third party representation having any sort of realistic chance. I really can't see how IRV can make or is making things worse than they are.

People can bad mouth attempts at change like IRV of being too risky until they're blue in the face, but if you don't have some sort of change ideas yourself that you would move forward with when a system is broken, you'll still have a broken system. At some point you need to take some risks. If you don't we are doomed.