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1500 questions
30
votes
10 answers
Do any countries have a pensions system funded entirely by past contributions, rather than current taxes?
The pensions systems that I'm familiar with usually work as following:
Workers pay a tax on their salaries
The government uses that money to fund the pensions of current retirees
When the current workers retire they'll rely on future generations…
JonathanReez
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9 answers
Is there an unambiguous name for the social/political theory "liberalism" without "leftist"?
Wikipedia defnes liberalism as follows:
Liberalism is a political and moral philosophy based on liberty, consent of the governed, and equality before the law. Liberals espouse a wide array of views depending on their understanding of these…
Athari
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Why is the population of post-Soviet states declining?
After the fall of the Soviet Union, many modern European states gain independence: the Baltic republics, Ukraine, Belarus.
But there is something common among nearly all of them: their populations has been declining directly from the fall of the…
user2501323
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What is wrong with Justin Trudeau (or anyone) masquerading as Aladdin?
I live in a part of world where people of color represent a small minority of the population, and TBH the issue of racism is non-existent in my surrounding (or severely understated, I can't judge). Hence, my understanding is limited.
I'm trying to…
Aleksandar Stojadinovic
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8 answers
Would it be illegal for Facebook to actively promote a political agenda?
There's a lot of discussion in the past years on whether or not Facebook is using their platform to promote a certain political agenda and influence elections. Facebook denies such accusations but even if they did try to influence things behind the…
JonathanReez
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Why don't hard Brexiteers insist on a hard border to prevent illegal immigration after Brexit?
This is a follow-up to this question about what hard Brexiteers want with respect to the Irish border. It appears that hard Brexiteers are mostly happy to leave this question for the DUP and Ireland to sort out, and they are OK with keeping it a…
Erwan
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5 answers
Could the UK unilaterally "restart the clock" on Brexit?
Assume that:
The UK withdraws its Article 50 notice (or purports to do so) as the ECJ says it can.
The UK waits for whatever length of time is politically expedient. Optionally, the UK holds a "people's vote" at this step, or does other things…
Kevin
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13 answers
How can the common citizen defend democracy principles?
There is this question bugging me for a while now. I can't really state it other than the title of this question. What do I mean by that?
It seems to me that, besides going to vote once every 4-5 years or taking the streets to protest some event or…
Pips
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Can the U.S. technically be called an oligarchy and a democracy?
I thought theoretically the U.S. could be a democracy (because people have a say in the daily workings of the government) and an oligarchy ( the president, the Supreme Court, etc... are the only ones who have any actual power, meaning making all the…
user50780
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6 answers
What does Brett Kavanaugh mean with "revenge on behalf of the Clintons"?
During his personal statement in confirmation hearings before the Senate Judiciary Committee, Brett Kavanaugh said:
This whole two-week effort has been a calculated and orchestrated political hit, fueled with apparent pent-up anger about President…
elliot svensson
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7 answers
Why does the Israeli-Palestinian conflict receive so much media coverage?
In terms of casualties at least, the conflict isn't that important - there were around twice as many casualties in the last year due to the ongoing Somalian civil war as Israeli casualties in the last 50 years (statistics taken from wikipedia). Yet…
rlms
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5 answers
In the US, why does the government have the right to regulate how political parties hold their primaries?
In the US, various states have different rules on how parties may hold their primaries: some require direct ballots, some require caucuses, some states hold "open" primaries and some are "closed. But to me this seems perplexing as in principle…
JonathanReez
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6 answers
Why didn't Barack Obama try to force the Senate to hold hearings on SCOTUS nominee Merrick Garland?
US Constitution Article 2 says this about the appointments to the Supreme Court:
[the President] shall nominate, and by and with the Advice and Consent
of the Senate, shall appoint (...) Judges of the supreme Court
Clearly, it seems to me, the…
Mark Galeck
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2 answers
Why can a bill be blocked by one MP saying the word "object"?
In regards to this story
"New upskirting law blocked by Tory MP"
A single MP in the Houses of Parliament can say the word “object” and prevent a bill being passed.
Why can one MP block proposed legislation like this? What is the parliamentary rule…
AJFaraday
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What are the claimed benefits of splitting California into 3 states?
According to a news article by CBC, Californians will vote on whether to split the state into 3.
Which are the reasons that proponents of the initiative give in favor of it.
user11963