The Duopoly and how it has Legalized Corruption

The Duopoly

Before we get into it, let's get the definition down as the precedent. Merriam-Webster defines corruption as, “dishonest or illegal behavior especially by powerful people (such as government officials or police officers)." It’s pretty easy to see what happens in this nation as corruption when the two political parties who are in power for the greater part of two centuries basically snuff out any other competitors and can seemingly make all the rules they want. This is particularly apparent when it comes to so-called elected representatives and senators from their respective states they're from. One of the issues that highlights this ever so delightfully is the matter of marriage equality.

Same-Sex Marriage (Gay Marriage)

The majority of Americans agree and would like to see same-sex couples have the same legal recognition and rights opposite-sex couples do in marriage. In 2021, the percentage was 70%. In 2022, it’s now 71%. This is roughly a supermajority in America and, out of all the issues plaguing this country, almost everyone agrees to the right to marry. Still somehow 157 Republicans voted “Nay” for the “Respect for Marriage Act." Mathematically, if every representative who cares about their voters looked at the statistics within their voter base, there would be 301 votes for "Yea."

The Stair Party’s three main goals of self-determination, humanity over ideology, and decentralization address this issue and implement concrete reforms to reverse such anti-democratic and anti-American practices. In this article, we're specifically covering representative democracy and decentralization in modern politics. Some people would argue that more democratic or decentralized solutions would lead to gridlock or inefficiency. So, let's look at the most recent Supreme Court decision for guidance.

Federalism and the Supreme Court

The overturning of Roe v Wade is a historic and necessary decision. It restored the separation of powers and the devolution of constitutional authority back to the states. A republican (the form of government not the political party) association where individuals band to make communities to create a society. America is founded on the ideal of voluntary subservience to the law and protecting said communities. What happens when disputes arise? The Supreme Court is there to settle said disputes and where respective parties can go their separate ways. In order to get a better idea of what is trying to be captured, lets look at how the Coronavirus pandemic popularized the acceleration of political decentralization among moderate and working-class Americans.

The Pandemic and Decentralization

The pandemic has created the largest disruption in the daily lives of the globe on unprecedented levels. So much so that the only time something has come close was roughly two decades prior. Authoritarian policies have shone brightly in the faces of Americans showing truly how large and bureaucratic these federal institutions have become. While officials are focused on reopening policies from late 2020 and deep into 2021, the real focus for many people have been governing practices. Many of these institutions have waived or changed many of their traditional regulations to avoid the disastrous delays in medical tests, delivery services, and staffing shortages. One of the best examples is the increasing intervention from the Federal Reserve again which showed Americans the radical levels of absolutism the aforementioned institutions have reached.

Given the hyperpartisanship and polarization of modern politics, under the guidance of president Trump (despite his foolish rhetoric that the White House has full authority over individual state governments), it was these state governments and the respective Governors that led us through the pandemic. For good or for worse, they were forced to take on leadership like no other time in American history up until this point. For many, this was the first time they’ve even heard the name of their Governors. The division between such states in respect to higher levels of restrictions or lower such as New York, Michigan and California being strict and Florida, North Dakota or Texas being less, has highlighted attention of the outcomes from these policies and the blatant propaganda consequently. As a result of the pandemic, each state and their budgets were faced with major challenges in 2020-2021 when it comes to tax revenue. Therefore, question arose: should the federal government bail them out? A counter question was proposed: why should Florida bailout New York? This puts a ton of weight on the differences in governing practices between the two similarly sized states in terms of population and/or land geography.

Conclusion

Given the situation, it is increasingly apparent that the federal government has no stomach for fiscal restraint with stimulus programs and increasing our national debt (as the Stair Party has been consistently highlighting for over a year now). Thankfully, one of the positives from the pandemic in prospect of American citizens is a renewed shared experience and unity around economic policy for most Lower and Middle Class Americans which is great for democratic and free-market aspirations. However, in the modern age of politics, the Coronavirus pandemic will continue to leave America as divided as ever thanks to the Duopoly's shenanigans as well as their ideological hold on hyperpartisan voter). National tragedies tend to bring countries together and this much is true about America. If we have any hope in bringing this nation from its knees by building a new republic based in humanity, then we have to take aim at the two-party system.