The Google calendar on my phone has been notifying me for the past three weeks that election day is today, November 8. This is sadly indicative of me having not written anything into my calendar for three weeks, which explains why I can never remember to do anything, but that’s besides the point.
Economists often go on about how voting is a huge waste of time, since your vote will have exactly zero effect if the election does not come down to a 50/50 tie, and the odds of that happening are incredibly slim. You’d be better off doing something productive with your time, like making money or writing papers or something. This ignores less “rational” reasons for voting, like patriotism, a sense of duty, or signaling to all of your friends how political you are because you voted.
Economists also like to say that if you see a dollar on the ground don’t waste your time picking it up as it must be a fake, since if it were real someone would have picked it up already, but I’ve found enough money on the ground in my day to disprove this. I often wonder if economists factor in such things as whether it’s $1 vs. $20, or proximity to an ATM, or if there is just a straight percentage chance it’s real vs. caloric expenditure to grab it. If there is a way to develop a formula for this, would it be worth the time spent? We should probably outsource it.
In the book Connected, Nicholas Christakis makes the case that due to the influence our actions have on the opinions and actions of others, your single vote is actually worth much more than one, as your influence radiates outward to your friends, and friends of friends, etc. This especially works for “popular” people, with densely woven social connections. To me, this would seem to mean then that the optimal strategy, assuming you care about the outcome of an election, would be to conspicuously advertise the fact that you’re voting, and why, while not actually going out and voting. Social networking sites like Facebook and Twitter now give everyone endless opportunities to show how much they truly care without the burden of actually acting on it. Occupy your Facebook wall and text $5 to Haiti. I mean, it’s pretty cold out there.
Today I am voting for the Democratic candidate, as my views are mostly democratically liberal. I believe that the government should provide help to those in need. I believe that markets should be regulated to prevent corporations from destroying people and the environment. I am pro-choice, anti-death penalty, and pro-gay marriage. Actually I’d like to see marriage as a government institution completely done away with and replaced universally with civil unions, which would go along nicely with a strong desire for the separation of church and state. I’m admittedly on the fence on the right to bear arms, but I don’t think we should have fences around our country.
I don’t really have any facts to back up why I believe these things, as they just seem like common sense to me, and I question the sanity of anyone who believes otherwise (especially on non-fiscal policies). By voting for the Democratic candidate I believe these beliefs and agendas stand the greatest chance of being maintained or furthered.
So you know who I’m voting for. I urge you today, Election Day, to go out and vote. It’s your right!
P.S. I would Google what candidate I’m voting for, but it’s kind of a waste of my time.
