: Mike I sometimes wonder if the parliamentary democracies don?t work better
: then ours in the U.S. Ours seems to have stalled on critical issues and is
: stuck in the mud. Our inability to get out of debt, from our government
: down to the individual is now threatening the rest of world, which is
: accelerated with the sub-prime mortgage mess we passed on around the world
: that was hidden in creative financing packages.

: John

Hi John,
There's for and against for both types. The parlimentary type does seem to put a slow-down on the less competent politicoes, where the US type actually looks like an elected monarchy.
The US style does allow for very rapid response to emergencies, assuming a competent leader and advisors. But there's less ability to stop a less competent leadership from really fouling up.
The opposite applies to parlimentary styles.
Kind of like kayaks, one style is very good for one set of conditions, a different type for other conditions.

I think we have more fun with elections, there's more parties to play with. It's fun to watch the different parties trying to juggle alliances with different agendas. Plus, we can vote for candidates from different parties, if we want. It's a preference list.

Oh yeah, carry salt with you when talking to politicians. That way you can take what they say with a pinch of salt.

I think I'm skirting the limits for this forum, sorry Nick. Back to kayaks.
Mike Savage
South West Cork