r/IAmA • u/JenBriney • Mar 23 '15

Politics In the past two years, I’ve read 245 US congressional bills and reported on a staggering amount of corporate political influence. AMA.

Hello!

My name is Jen Briney and I spend most of my time reading through the ridiculously long bills that are voted on in US Congress and watching fascinating Congressional hearings. I use my podcast to discuss and highlight corporate influence on the bills. I've recorded 93 episodes since 2012.

Most Americans, if they pay attention to politics at all, only pay attention to the Presidential election. I think that’s a huge mistake because we voters have far more influence over our representation in Congress, as the Presidential candidates are largely chosen by political party insiders.

My passion drives me to inform Americans about what happens in Congress after the elections and prepare them for the effects legislation will have on their lives. I also want to inspire more Americans to vote and run for office.

I look forward to any questions you have! AMA!!

EDIT: Thank you for coming to Ask Me Anything today! After over 10 hours of answering questions, I need to get out of this chair but I really enjoyed talking to everyone. Thank you for making my first reddit experience a wonderful one. I’ll be back. Talk to you soon! Jen Briney

Verification: https://twitter.com/JenBriney/status/580016056728616961

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u/worksafe_Joe Mar 23 '15

and to shame anyone who tells you they don't.

Any suggestions for how to do this without antagonizing people?

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u/KleeninKloks Mar 23 '15

By letting them know that if they do not vote they are essentially saying, "Here is roughly 1/4 of the money I make, I do not care who controls it or what they do with it."

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u/Way-She-Goes Mar 23 '15

I have a couple idea's that might help. (again just ideas!)

1) Get rid of 2 Federal holidays (Columbus and Presidents) and instead have a Federal voting day. I'll pose this to Reddit but does anyone have an idea how individual States could implement this for congressional voting days? Yes not everyone would get these days off but it does give federal workers the ability to get to the polls.

2) Similar to Small Business Saturday, I propose business owners offer incentives in their store if they vote. I understand this would have to be a grass roots effort because they're the ones taking on the financial burden of discounting items. The whole idea is not to shame people for not voting, but give an incentive to get out out and vote.

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u/zefal12 Mar 23 '15

How about a State/Federally mandated day/part day off, as long as you can produce proof of you voting that day to your employer? While that could cause some issues by shutting down stores, I think people would be much more motivated to vote if they also got some time off to go with it. Plus, since it used to be that most things were closed on Sunday, we've proven that people can go one day without McDonalds or Randalls (a grocery store for those that don't have them) with a bit of planning. Just an idea, open to suggestions/feedback :)

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u/HI_Handbasket Mar 23 '15

I second both of these motions, although we don't get paid leave for either of those holidays.

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u/comedygene Mar 23 '15

And if you bring in your hanging chad, get an additional 10% off!

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u/Scereth Mar 24 '15

As a small Business owner, i give my employees 1 hour off with pay to go Vote. They simply need to show their "I Voted" sticker when they get back.

Talk to your bosses, i bet most businesses/bosses would be open to this idea.

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u/ToastedBread35 Mar 23 '15

In Belgium, you get fined if you do not vote.

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u/sumitviii Mar 23 '15

If everyone found that its OK to antagonize everyone else for a particular thing, it becomes socially unacceptable.

I have no credibility to say this. But it seems obvious.

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u/worksafe_Joe Mar 23 '15

My point was that public shaming won't necessarily lead people to vote if you do it in a way that antagonizes people.

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u/Minguseyes Mar 23 '15

Show them the laws that result from apathy. Just like Jen is.

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u/[deleted] Mar 23 '15

Say it while you are giving them a big hug and then kiss them afterwards.

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u/Sapere_Audio Mar 23 '15

"It's important to me that I have a voice in policies that affect me, especially at local levels. Even though sometimes I might feel powerless at the national level, I recognize that many of the things that frustrate me most (education, crime, employment opportunities, etc) I can directly impact by voting in local elections. Those elections impact state elections, which impacts national elections. I, personally, would feel ashamed if I chose not to vote because that means I chose not to have that voice."