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1500 questions
34
votes
8 answers
How far can gerrymandering go?
Gerrymandering can keep a relatively unpopular party in power for longer than it otherwise would be. Assuming the unpopular party becomes even more unpopular, just how unpopular would they need to be before the stratagem of gerrymandering itself is…
agc
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34
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8 answers
Is there a legal way for US presidents to extend their terms beyond two terms of four years?
If I remember correctly in one Episode of Stargate SG-1, the president of the United States declares some state of national emergency (world was attacked by aliens) and was able to suspend elections, weaseling around the 22nd Amendment and being…
Takiro
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34
votes
8 answers
How do governments keep track of their issued currency?
If a government issues currency and it ends up in bank accounts abroad, what stops banks from making a 'mistake' during a transfer, accidentally duplicating the currency?
Is there some central register somewhere indicating exactly who has how much…
Oliver Mattos
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34
votes
2 answers
How can a single member of the House derail a Congressional bill?
I read a news article today that claims that a Congressional bill to provide disaster relief to US communities has been derailed, because a single member of the House of Representatives objected to it.
How is it possible for a single member of…
Time4Tea
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34
votes
14 answers
Why should universal income be universal?
The idea behind universal income is to take care of people who can't afford the most basic of needs. That sounds great.
But why then should the income be universal when the situation where somebody cannot afford basic needs is not a universal…
Tchalla
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34
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4 answers
Why are there so many Republican governors?
In the House and the Senate the balance between Republicans and Democrats, the two dominant political parties in the United States, is fairly close, but among state governors it is not even close. Republicans have a 2 to 1 advantage over the…
Tyler Durden
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34
votes
2 answers
Why does the British PM meet the Queen every week?
The British PM traditionally meets the Queen every week to discuss government matters. However this seems like a pointless exercise given that the British monarch lacks any direct influence.
So why does the PM bother meeting the monarch at this…
JonathanReez
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34
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7 answers
Why do few/no countries claim capitalism as their ideology?
Think about it: capitalism has brought so much prosperity to so many people.
Yet no country claims our national ideology is capitalism - none that I know of.
Americans can proudly claim they are capitalists. Well. First. Not so much. And then, it's…
user4951
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34
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2 answers
Why don't Sinn Féin take their seats in the UK parliament?
It seems that whatever happens (or happened) in a UK general election, the Irish nationalist party, Sinn Féin, will presumably always be in opposition.
This means that the British government - whoever they may be at the time - will always be happy…
komodosp
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34
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1 answer
If Puerto Rico becomes the 51st U.S state, would the U.S flag be altered to include 51 stars?
In the event that Puerto Rico becomes the 51st American state, will this result in the alteration to the U.S flag to include 51 stars instead of 50?
I'm not from the U.S, but one of those ubiquitous facts from my childhood, "The 50 stars on the Flag…
paracetamol
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7 answers
Why are there "bad school districts" and "good school districts" in the US, assuming that the government works hard to increase education standards?
In many areas of the US people choose the place to live based on the quality of local schools. In districts where schools are geographically segregated, many parents even resolve to various scams in an attempt to get their child into the "right"…
JonathanReez
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34
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5 answers
What reason would the Obama Administration have for releasing $221M to Palestine, right before leaving office?
I had just learned of this from Bradley's question here.
What reasons would that administration have for suddenly giving such a large amount of money to a country in direct conflict with one of its only allies in the Middle-East? The transfer…
Matt Brennan
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34
votes
8 answers
Can a president win the electoral college and lose the popular vote?
Let me preface this by saying I'm not American (but I'm British so I can't be too high and mighty about voting systems -Brexit).
Last chance I got to look at the popular vote figures, Hillary is amazingly close (<100k votes) behind Trump. But I…
user6916458
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4 answers
What's the point of continuing not to recognize the Taliban government of Afghanistan?
As per Wiki, no countries have so far recognized the Taliban-led Islamic Emirate as the legitimate successor of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan. But... what's the point of delaying the official establishment of diplomatic relations?
The US…
JonathanReez
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33
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3 answers
What if no Speaker is elected by Jan 6th after a presidential election?
By law, January 6th is the date on which a joint session of Congress meets in the House chambers to count the electoral votes cast for the presidential election, and certify the results.
What if on January 3rd (of the year after a presidential…
Gouvernathor
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