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i gave two examples of simple ideas that don't fundamentally change the status quo yet are popular
that doesn't mean that simple ideas can't work
there are simple ideas, I think, that would work very well. however a populist would never go for it because it's bad marketing.
for example I think in all cities with significant junkie populations we should have clinics giving out free heroin shots to addicts. simple idea. i think it'll work
but the majority of the people would not approve of this. they don't want to see the data and research about lowering HIV rates, lowering crime, lowering healthcare costs, etc. they don't like junkies and they feel icky giving out free heroin to addicts
i'm not saying simple idea = bad. I'm not even saying populist = bad. i said that in practice it's usually tied to ideas that seem good on the surface but when you scratch the veneer off it's not nearly as good as it seems.
like i brought up above, if we restructured how our government spends money we could increase our effective spending while lowering taxes and it would have magnitudes more impact than the marginal increase in revenue from taxing the rich. so why don't we do it?
because it's a complex overhaul that would require a large initial investment and you wouldn't see the fruits for more than a couple election cycles- something a populist cannot afford.