alt Hacker NewsIt's especially frustrating watching congressional hearings. Since both "sides" are aware that the cameras are rolling and that they are there to score points/create soundbites (rather than actually learn from each other--god forbid) it's just both sides talking past each other and not doing the analytical work of a good conversation.
Even when I'm on one side of the argument, it's just as frustrating to hear my own side just move on to their next pre-written question/response instead of engaging with the underlying issues. I want substantive debate and discussion and possibly consensus, but that's sadly not the reality in most cases of import.
There is no "our side" and that's the problem. There are issues with a clear majority 80% plus voters agree on and steadily over decades and yet veto points (filibuster, committee chairs, holds) plus donor capture means a motivated minority with money can block majority-supported policy indefinitely. You can always have arguments with philosophy or case law or whatever that for example carried interest loophole is good for America but overwhelming majority of US Americans support scraping it. Why haven't been able to do that? How many people benefit from this loophole? (Estimates are just a few thousands of people who benefit, not millions in a country of over three hundred million). Similarly, the IRS Direct File system was a modest improvement over the status quo. Why was it scrapped? How many people benefit from this? Remember SVB? Remember how everyone who opposed TARP suddenly supported bailing out SVB depositors just because now these were companies in which they had invested? The point is there can't be a real debate when the outcome of the debate determines your paycheck.