Give a one-word answer: "What is the single most important problem our government needs to fix?"

[SlipperySlope]

Question: "What is the single most important problem our government needs to fix?"

Looking for your one or two word answer. Interesting to know what others think the top priority should be.

[greyl]

1. Apathetic citizenry.

;)

[ThomasQED]

2. the

[SlipperySlope]

6. LOL

[Dogmudgeon]

3. Ignorance

By far!

--d!

[NYC_SKP]

Corporate meddling.

In elections, media, every fucking thing that happens.

Worded differently, we could say an incredibly disproportionate power among the wealthy few, usually corporations.

So, I'll go with "corporate meddling".

:hi:

[napi21]

4. the split. Nothing else will ever get done until that's fixed. nt

[DURHAM D]

5. jobs

[krispos42]

7. tariffs

The only way to make products made with decently-paid American labor competative with products made with Chinese slave labor.

[SlipperySlope]

8. interesting answer

Tariffs have almost become a dirty word lately, I think they have almost fallen off the political horizon. But they *do* have their place (even if they invite retaliation). Thanks for a thought provoking answer to a "one word" question.

[DeltaLitProf]

9. Lack of compassion in the culture

n/a

[hyphenate]

10. There IS only one word to answer that:

Republicans

[metapunditedgy]

11. Class warfare.

Everything else is just a symptom, I'm coming to believe more and more.

[SlipperySlope]

14. Tsk-tsk-tsk

It's only class warfare when *we* do it, don't you know....

[nebenaube]

12. Pot n/t

[Angry Dragon]

13. Fear

[Kurovski]

15. Socialism.

All that terrible, terrible Socialism.

[nemo137]

16. Representation

Seriously, the current 435-representative cap is outdated and entirely unworkable. Makes everything out of whack. Removing it and restoring "1 representative for ever X population (number TBD)" would be a great start to fixing our tremendously broken legislature.

[SlipperySlope]

20. It would certainly be harder to buy congress.

Paying off enough representatives to get something to pass with a majority out of 435 is doable. Buying a majority out of 4350 would be harder.

[exboyfil]

26. I think a representative body after a certain

number becomes unworkable. If you think about it 435 is already a large number. How could you have any level of meaningful debate in a room of 4350? I guess we could split into a multicameral bodies, but would any legislation then get passed? Some discussion could be made regarding the distorting effects of apportionment by state (small states getting 1 Representative and 2 Senators) but we are the United "States" of America after all.

Also, given the perks associated with Congress, I don't think we are ready to add another 3900 mouths to feed.

[SlipperySlope]

33. (nevermind)

(deleted)

[Kalyke]

17. Fascism.

[InvisibleTouch]

18. Climate Crisis.

Lots of other important issues, but if we don't get the runaway climate change under control, all other problems are moot.

[global1]

19. Government......nt

[Clovis Sangrail]

21. money in politics

"corruption" doesn't really convey the same thing - so 3 words

I really think the success of all other social justice issues are dependent on solving this first.
As long as AT&T, BP, ADM, et. al are allowed to pour money into our political system corporations are going to drive government policy rather than what's good for the country.

[exboyfil]

22. Trade Deficit

[Hawkowl]

23. Corporations

Corporations need to be severely limited in scope, power and "rights". Holding companies need to be forbidden and monopolies prohibited. Corporations need to be forbidden from giving political donations and corporate board members and executives need to be held criminally liable for negligent damages. They also need to be taxed at the same rate as they were before Reagan.

[Pirate Smile]

24. jobs

[dkf]

25. Jobs

[seattleblue]

27. Jobs, jobs.

[fasttense]

31. Jobs, jobs, jobs and more jobs. n/t

[PDJane]

28. jobs are connected to Corporate hegemony......

and that needs to be fixed before anything else.

[snot]

29. the media,

which is systematically mis-educating us about everything that matters.

[Bluebear]

30. Owned politician$

[LatteLibertine]

32. Inappropriate financial market regulation

[Gidney N Cloyd]

34. Roger Clemens.

(Laugh at me if you wish but I'm the only one in this thread who's going to wind up satisfied. ;-) )

[OneGrassRoot]

60. ...

:rofl:

My first belly laugh of the day. Thanks! :hi:

:rofl:

[Hosnon]

35. Jobs. nt.

[ThomWV]

36. War

[hamsterjill]

43. That was my thought, as well.

Stop the wars, and most of the other stuff will fall into place because there will be money available to fix some things!

[SlipperySlope]

59. I am surprised you were the only one with this answer

I would have expected a handful more.

I'm also relieved that there weren't a bunch of "gay rights" or "pro-choice" answers. They may be important, but they can't be the single most important.

[Lance_Boyle]

37. campaignfinancing.

Needs to be STRICTLY publicly funded, no outside or personal money of any kind permitted. No more Bloombergs, Fiorinas, McMahons, Whitmans, Schwartzeneggers. Lots of problems would be solved by eliminating money from politics.

[mike r]

38. Jobs

The unemployment/underemployment situation is unacceptable.

[niceypoo]

39. Campaign Finance

It is the first domino

[immune]

40. NAFTA

[Bluerthanblue]

41. selfishness-

the me, mine, mentality.

don't know how to do it, but that's what ails us the most imo.

[Kurt_and_Hunter]

42. Demand

[ljm2002]

44. Unemployment. n/t

[yella_dawg]

45. Elections.

Otherwise, the rest is moot.

[bullwinkle428]

46. Unemployment.

[AsahinaKimi]

47. Energy

More green energy, less oil dependency.

[Dulcinea]

48. Unemployment. Economy.

In that order. The economy will never recover until rampant unemployment is addressed. There is NO SUCH THING as a JOBLESS RECOVERY!

[EOTE]

49. Poverty.

Funny how so few realize that this is the root cause of the great bulk of issues in this country.

[rucky]

50. Corruption. n/t

[Parker CA]

51. End useless wars.

[one_voice]

52. Corporate and government collusion. n/t

[blm]

53. Closed government. Protecting the secrecy of the powerful elite is the root of EVERY OTHER PROBLEM

,

[NickB79]

54. Consumerism

All of our problems stem from our rampant desire to consume every available resource on this planet to the point that vital ecological systems are starting to break down.

Trying to build a capitalist system with the premise of infinite growth on a planet with finite resources is lunacy, and if we don't figure that out soon we won't have much of a future to speak of.

[lightningandsnow]

55. Oppression.

[pampango]

56. Economic inequality. n/t

[Moostache]

57. Military Imperialism

We are curently being primed to accept "austerity measures" - ie. cuts in social and infrastructure spending to keep the spigots of cash flowing into the veins of our bloated Military-Industrial Complex as long as possible.

In the end, while all other problems are important as well, if we do not get this bloated, trillion-dollar-a-year addict off our backs, the nation will be bankrupted and the future will be written and recorded in Chinese only...

[COLGATE4]

58. Assholes (syn. Republicans)

[BlueCheese]

61. Three-letter word

J-O-B-S.

[SusanaMontana41]

62. Corporatocracy.

[blindpig]

63. Capitalism.

It should be outlawed.

but the people will have to take control of the government to make it so.

[onethatcares]

64. corporatepersonhood

along with the outsourcing of employment.

[oldlib]

65. Economy.

I noticed that you asked for one word and you got dozens. Fixing the economy will make everyone happy.