Not going to cut it? Our country may be rich, but not its people. Some people legitimately can't go cast their vote because they will get fired from their job. Another factor to consider is the influx of so many aliens into this country willing to work for a lower pay. Other countries don't have this much immigration into their country so its people's jobs are somewhat more secure.
I find it hard to believe that an employer would fire someone for trying to vote, otherwise they're practically asking to get sued. Job security is just another excuse...
They don't have to fire them for voting, they can find lists of excuses to do so. They can fire them the next day (this is just an example) for some irrelevant excuse. I don't understand what you're doing, You're basically rejecting arguments with no evidence. You're just saying it's an excuse. The fact that we're also in a recession (depression?) makes people have to work harder (I'm speaking for the lower class here) at their jobs. They can't risk losing their job over voting. Some states require buisnesses to let their employees have a 1 day paid leave to vote, but not all. If those people in the other states take off of work to vote, they won't get paid, which translates into less money.
I'm sorry, but how does this apply ONLY to the United States and not the many other countries that have MUCH higher voting percentages? Are you gonna tell me that Britain and Germany and New Zealand just don't have lower classes?
The problem with democracy is it takes away the value of a strong leader that is able to make decisions that are may be tough, but are needed nonetheless. Giving power to the people may seem good to the people, but the people are not always right. Sometimes, a decision may be made that was not the best decision, but was made anyway due to popular demand. It's like if you were to have a house with a group of teenagers and a parent, and you let the teenagers control all of the decisions with a vote.
That was just hideous. You basically said, "The people aren't always right so lets give it to one person and allow him to decide." Even though the people are made up of persons. And if the people are wrong the person is wrong. At least in a democracy you get accountability. The ability to be a strong leader IS THE WORST idea in human history. The idea of a powerful national government is foolish, robs you of your individual freedoms and allows the few to control the masses. The government that governs best, governs least.
One of the major problems with democracy is that the majority CAN be influenced into choosing one decision, and on the other hand it can be totally unpredictable. Also, they can vote just because they want to, not because they believe it's right. For example, Jediism is an official religion. Do you think the majority ACTUALLY believed that it was a good thing to vote for? Probably not. Alot of people might have just thought "Oh, I'll vote and if it does make it, It would be pretty funny, I might get a laugh or two out of it."
Many European countries have higher government regulation of business (and health care) and is a much better environment to work. I believe the average vacation time in Europe is double that of the U.S. Many factors go into why a country has a higher voter turnout (New Zealand: only 4 million people, Malta: only 400,000 people, Australia: compulsory voting).
I'd rather take the RISK of being influenced than the solid knowledge that one man will be influenced. Power corrupts. Absolute power corrupts absolutely.
lol. let me guess you're all flustered over prop-8 and have now come to the conclusion that if you were in power everything would be better? What I've described, whether or not what you actually followed this train of thought, is the reason why one person should not be in power because they can make stupid rash decisions. Where as democracy allows for the much need critical side of the descision.