Felix Ling's avatar

Felix Ling

@perfectlygoodink.bsky.social

80 followers 269 following 690 posts

Libertarian from Cal married to a Green from Stanford raising 2 boys.
Californians for #ElectoralReform CFO and Secretary.
#ProRep Coalition Treasurer (#ProportionalRepresentation).
Financial Advisor.
Econ. background but enjoys reading PoliSci research.

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Center for Ballot Freedom's avatar Center for Ballot Freedom @fusionvoting.bsky.social
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In a #fusionvoting 🗳️✨ system, a minor party can cross-nominate someone who is also the nominee of a major party. This allows the minor party to say “Vote for So-and-So, but cast your vote under our label and send a message of support for our values and issues when you do so.”

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Jacob T. Levy's avatar Jacob T. Levy @jacobtlevy.bsky.social
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Siri, show me the opposite of "clickbait."

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Felix Ling's avatar Felix Ling @perfectlygoodink.bsky.social
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Wow, sorry. For me, that marked the start of chronic neck problems (although my computer and smarphone use probably contributed more to it).

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Felix Ling's avatar Felix Ling @perfectlygoodink.bsky.social
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My one car accident in my 51 years is due to an incident much like this. I was turning left, and a driver in backed up traffic in the closest opposite lane waved me through, but I got hit by someone in the other lane.

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Kieran Healy's avatar Kieran Healy @kjhealy.bsky.social
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This continues to hold up well.

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Jason Kuznicki's avatar Jason Kuznicki @jkuznicki.bsky.social
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"When you tax something, you get less of it. Canada has decided to tax news links, so they get fewer news links." Incentives continue to incent.

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Felix Ling's avatar Felix Ling @perfectlygoodink.bsky.social
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Great developments, thanks! I see that hashtags are also working as well, which are even better! Will you be doing anything to try and improve the ideological diversity? This place can feel like an echo chamber for the left (too much like Gab & Parler) compared to Twitter and Threads.

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whet moser's avatar whet moser @whet.bsky.social
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tired: seasteading wired: lars mapsteading

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Felix Ling's avatar Felix Ling @perfectlygoodink.bsky.social
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Well, I never got around to figuring that out, but it looks like hashtags work now!

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Felix Ling's avatar Felix Ling @perfectlygoodink.bsky.social
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Indeed, both NYT and WSJ could learn a lot of lessons from the Economist.

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Felix Ling's avatar Felix Ling @perfectlygoodink.bsky.social
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Another possibility is that LP candidate Lars Mapstead (who supports PR in his platform: www.lars24.com/elections) is planning to focus on Maine and Nebraska to try and win at least one electoral vote, thus possibly denying both Biden and Trump a victory if it's close. #Stop270

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Felix Ling's avatar Felix Ling @perfectlygoodink.bsky.social
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This electoral reformer in UK that I follow who has studied the history suggests that the most effective route will be for these alternative parties to gain enough seats to deny both major parties a majority in Congress, and then collectively as kingmaker demand #ProRep.

twitter.com/kyedomer/sta...

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Felix Ling's avatar Felix Ling @perfectlygoodink.bsky.social
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The fairytale case is New Zealand (www.stuff.co.nz/national/pol...), but there are probably also lessons to draw from Ireland, Denmark, Belgium, the Netherlands, Portugal, and others.

Anything to strengthen alternative parties (e.g., Green, Libertarian, Peace & freedom) will be key.

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Felix Ling's avatar Felix Ling @perfectlygoodink.bsky.social
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Certainly! And because FPTP is highly susceptible to gerrmandering, I think PR is much more likely to give you better politicians. Note that coalitions occur in FPTP two-party countries as well. Both parties are typically large static coalitions where members have little-to-no leverage.

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Felix Ling's avatar Felix Ling @perfectlygoodink.bsky.social
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Yeah, any winner-take-all system generally leads to a two-party system because all the losers of one election face strong incentives to gang up together for the next election.

And this is a great explainer video from @vox.com.

youtu.be/bqWwV3xk9Qk?...

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Felix Ling's avatar Felix Ling @perfectlygoodink.bsky.social
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To be sure, whether or not this conversion is truly fair is an extremely subjective question that I can't hope to answer!

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Felix Ling's avatar Felix Ling @perfectlygoodink.bsky.social
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Not sure what you man as "done." Smith's proposal converts each state's vote total -- regardless of electoral system used -- into a number of points for each candidate which can then be added to the points from the other states. Iterating only happens at the state level before this conversion.

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Felix Ling's avatar Felix Ling @perfectlygoodink.bsky.social
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Want to increase voter turnout? Then adopt proportional representation. Offering better choices means more voters likely to weigh in. Via Fair Vote Canada.

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Scott Santens's avatar Scott Santens @scottsantens.com
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Let's dispel a myth: Universal Basic Income isn't about funding idleness; it's about funding potential. We can have a world where every mind has the means to chase their bliss. That's not simple charity; that's an investment in human capital at its finest. Imagine more Einsteins. And da Vincis!

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Andy Craig's avatar Andy Craig @andycraig.bsky.social
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New from me: a report on electoral reform in Wyoming, in particular returning to the use of county-based multi-member districts, incorporating a new approach to proportional representation. We've been working on this for a while, tailoring a plan to WY's unique history and geography. Check it out:

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Felix Ling's avatar Felix Ling @perfectlygoodink.bsky.social
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I understand that not everybody views polarization as a bad thing. As I see it, there are two main groups that prefer polarization. 1) The Democratic and Republican Parties (anger drives up voter turnout). 2) Social media companies (anger drives up engagement). And also anybody who supports them.

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Felix Ling's avatar Felix Ling @perfectlygoodink.bsky.social
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I can't decide what was the most polarizing thing said on this thread:

1) Your blaming my attitude (i.e., framing everything positively) for driving country's polarization just now

2) You accusing me of supporting imperialism and white supremacy (bsky.app/profile/reco...).

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Felix Ling's avatar Felix Ling @perfectlygoodink.bsky.social
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Well, if you prefer, I can hunt down your quotes and explain how I interpreted them. But you'll have to wait until Monday. This is a day off for me, and I'm about to go outside and get some exercise and sunshine before the rain arrives tomorrow. Take care!

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Felix Ling's avatar Felix Ling @perfectlygoodink.bsky.social
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Yes, and what I'm choosing to "sell" are methods, organizations, and institutional reforms that I think will reduce political polarization. Do you agree that polarization is reaching dangerous highs right now? If so, what I'm "selling" should be useful.

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Felix Ling's avatar Felix Ling @perfectlygoodink.bsky.social
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As I interpreted what you've said, you broadly agree with those three points. If my interpretation was wrong, this is a good opportunity to clarify how you disagree with them.

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Felix Ling's avatar Felix Ling @perfectlygoodink.bsky.social
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Yes, and in my experience, I have found that framing everything positively is a good technique for overcoming this polarizing fear of difference.

What techniques have you found useful in combating polarization? Have you heard of Braver Angels?

braverangels.org

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Felix Ling's avatar Felix Ling @perfectlygoodink.bsky.social
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Do you agree or disagree on the three main points I've raised in this thread? 1) racism is wrong 2) the two-party system (including the Democratic Party) has not helped address it 3) political messages tailored to their target audience are more effective than those that are not

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Felix Ling's avatar Felix Ling @perfectlygoodink.bsky.social
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I saw my activity as supporting the idea that we agree on the important things. And not enough people do that on social media. There are just way too many people quibbling about the unimportant things.

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Felix Ling's avatar Felix Ling @perfectlygoodink.bsky.social
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Nobody who supports UBI believes that. As I see it, capitalism only requires the assumptions that 1) people respond to incentives 2) central planning is inefficient Note that a free market plus a Universal Basic Income still works under those assumptions.

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Felix Ling's avatar Felix Ling @perfectlygoodink.bsky.social
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And if this place is little more than a Gab or Parler for the left, then the value add of this community to my overall experience is not as high as that of Threads, Twitter, or even Reddit. My more argumentative younger self enjoyed bursting bubbles, but my opportunity costs now are too high.

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Felix Ling's avatar Felix Ling @perfectlygoodink.bsky.social
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My guess (given complaints I've heard from others) is that this is not caused by my approach, but because the people here have become comfortable dealing largely only with likeminded people. The behaviors are very akin to "circling the wagons" I often see in ideologically homogenous communities.

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Felix Ling's avatar Felix Ling @perfectlygoodink.bsky.social
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What works for me on Twitter is to simply have a friendly attitude and frame everything positively/constructively. That generally results in positive exchanges with people of any ideology (unless they are a paid troll). I have yet to discover what -- if anything -- works similarly here.

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Felix Ling's avatar Felix Ling @perfectlygoodink.bsky.social
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When it comes to values, beliefs, and principles, I think it's more helpful to view conversations as a chance to share and enrich each other with perspectives we may not have encountered before to avoid bubbles and echo chambers. Trying to prove/disprove such things is unnecessarily combative.

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Felix Ling's avatar Felix Ling @perfectlygoodink.bsky.social
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These posts make a claim about what *I* believe that were inaccurate (see the replies to them). I think a conversation is more productive when people share about themselves (e.g., their values/beliefs), rather than what they think about others -- especially negative things, which can be offputting.

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Felix Ling's avatar Felix Ling @perfectlygoodink.bsky.social
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One is about morals (poor people need to be uplifted), the other is purely about economic efficiency and welfare (a country should use free-market capitalism instead of socialism).

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Felix Ling's avatar Felix Ling @perfectlygoodink.bsky.social
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Regarding the charge of "socialism." Socialism centralizes the economic decision-making to the government (i.e., central planning). UBI actually *decentralizes* economic decision-making to all of us individuals. It allows free-market capitalism to work the way it really ought to work.

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Felix Ling's avatar Felix Ling @perfectlygoodink.bsky.social
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"Houston is joining dozens of American cities and counties... that are experimenting with [UBI].... They reflect a growing sentiment... that distributing money without strings is one of the most effective and least bureaucratic ways to help struggling Americans."

www.wsj.com/politics/pol...

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Felix Ling's avatar Felix Ling @perfectlygoodink.bsky.social
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For the most part, the Founding Fathers hated political parties. I see political parties as inevitable due to economies of scale. They are also invaluable means by which complex policy issues can be translated into simpler labels that voters can more readily understand.

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Felix Ling's avatar Felix Ling @perfectlygoodink.bsky.social
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That being said, my Libertarianism derives less from property rights and more from Lord Acton's observation that power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely. I am perhaps unusual in seeing this as applying both to government power as well as economic power and thus seek to limit both.

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Felix Ling's avatar Felix Ling @perfectlygoodink.bsky.social
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It can also derive from the belief that economies are more efficient and productive when people are provided with incentives to earn their rewards instead of being gifted them or stealing them.

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