Businesses to be handed the vote - NSW Australia. Brilliant idea, nothing can go wrong.

[Narapoia]

Fuckit, as if money in politics was not bad enough already the New South Wales state government is proposing to make it compulsory for business to be given, and exercise, the vote in city council elections. It is apparently a ploy to get rid of the current mayor of Sydney who, for the past decade, has been selected by the people of the city to represent their interests. Those with money to influence the state Liberal Party (Equiv Republicans) have decided that the people of Sydney have chosen poorly and have taken upon themselves to rectify the problem by handing the franchise to non-human entities. Because, you know, fuck people.

Now far be it from me to suspect I am living in a Robocop (1987) style satire reality and all but this is just ridiculously fucked up. What makes it more amusing is that the only reason I am aware of this is because a friend active in the Greens party in New Zealand chucked up a link on facebook. And I live in Sydney. There has been zero news coverage on this, no protests and almost zero attention. The state government may as well have given the vote to pets, with rights of representation by owners of course, in Liberal voting areas of the city. The level of subversion of Democracy would be no different. Holy shitting fuckballs.

I'm not making this up

 

[Deepak]

Hopefully they check ID

 

[Ojuice5001]

Hopefully they check ID

Would it be better, or worse, if a business had to be eighteen years old in order to have the vote? Probably worse; that would only favor the established businesses and harm the struggling new small businessmen. Which is how it is with most plutocratic laws, of course. On the other hand, if the beneficiaries of corporate personhood had to be eighteen years old in order to get the vote, there would be fewer of them, and it would be harder for them to outvote the real individual citizen voters.

 

[RavenSky]

If this was in the US, I'd say allow it but require the businesses to show not only proof that they "reside" in the municipality they want to vote in, but part of that residency be that they pay taxes there. Foreign nationals don't get to vote in US elections

 

[Deepak]

If this was in the US, I'd say allow it but require the businesses to show not only proof that they "reside" in the municipality they want to vote in, but part of that residency be that they pay taxes there. Foreign nationals don't get to vote in US elections

I like it. Perhaps a 3/500ths compromise for non-management employees above the poverty line too.