I'm afraid I agree with this: People aren't smart enough for democracy to flourish.  "The research, led by David Dunning, a psychologist at Cornell University, shows that incompetent people are inherently unable to judge the competence of other people, or the quality of those people's ideas"  How many people know the candidates for whom they are voting, and understand their positions?  And how many understand ballot issues on which they cast votes?  Of course this unfortunate reality is exacerbated by Unnatural Selection.

So what can be done?  I've often thought maybe there should be a brief quiz, and if you don't pass the quiz your vote doesn't count.  This might prove unworkable or even unconstitutional, but it is compelling.  For a more drastic solution, please read In the Wet, and learn about multiple voting...

In the meantime, we can ask, is this true?  Absolutely.  And it's true on multiple levels.  The average man on the street didn't understand that voting for Obama meant voting for socialism.  They didn't understand that socialism doesn't work.  And they certainly didn't think it would raise their taxes or their health insurance premiums.  The average congressperson didn't understand that voting for Obamacare would mean wholesale changes to the health insurance industry, which would mean many policies would be cancelled or not renewed, and others made more expensive.  It's common sense - if you want to insure "everyone" including those previously uninsurable, then those who were previously insurable will have to bear the costs - but you have to be relatively intelligent to use common sense. 

I'm afraid "relatively intelligent" not only doesn't apply to the average man on the street, it also doesn't apply to the people they elect to represent them...

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