Comment Re:It's a matter of power, not intelligence (Score 1) 184
We do vote, and we vote for the mayor. You still don't understand machine politics: it's not that the city is completely unresponsive (like some suburbs I've lived in), but that's it's only responsive to its base and doesn't address larger systemic issues.
For example, I live in relatively well-to-do Jamaica Plain. If I call the Office of Neighbor Services and say "there is a big pothole outside my house" not only will there be: a live person to take my call, but they will be considerate and listen to my issue and even dispatch a road crew to come patch that pothole probably within 2 weeks. Seriously, they are *good*.
But, is the road crew contractor repairing that pothole a major campaign contributor? Probably. Will there be a police officer (and there has to be an officer) watching them getting paid overtime? Probably. Will I have to call again about that pothole a year from now because the street itself doesn't get repaved and the snowplows will pull that temporary asphalt right up? Probably.
But they filled my simple request quickly and politely. And that is why people vote for the mayor. It's not stupidity, it's that he does a job that's good enough for most people. Is he slowly destroying the city? Of course, but I'll probably have moved by then.