Yesterday, I talked about how the U.S. has become obsessed with voting. The two most obvious examples are in terms of politics and polling. But voting has also taken over the broadcast airwaves through another medium, TV reality shows.

“Survivor”, where the participants vote, has been followed by “American Idol” and “So You Think You Can Dance”, where anyone with a phone can vote, all in aid of casting off one more disappointed soul. (Never mind “The Apprentice”, where only Donald Trump has a vote and gets to say, “You’re fired!”) The fact that these shows routinely have more votes cast than there are adults in Canada is a sobering thought.

There is a final form of voting that might be considered a bad-seed distant relative, or alternatively, an aloof rich uncle, depending on one’s point of view. This encompasses several kinds of gambling. For example, establishing the odds in horse racing and other sporting events is done by “voting”, in the form of dollars laid down on each of the contenders. Such “voting” – otherwise known as gambling – on NFL and NBA games sets both the odds and the point spread.

The consequences of this kind of voting lead to a strange twist. There is an actual monetary payoff. However, getting the most votes reduces the odds and lowers that payout. This hardly seems fair and, in my opinion, gamblers should be outraged at this injustice.

In summary, all day long, we’re expected to give our opinions on every subject under the sun. I’m developing carpal tunnel syndrome from casting too many votes. It has even changed the language – think “dangling chads” from the previous Presidential election and the contest in Florida.

The U.S. has become addicted to voting and other nations are following in her footsteps. Global rule by plebiscite, both on a political and a societal level, is fairly quickly becoming the natural order of things.

Alex Carrick

Find Canadian construction-related economic articles in Canadian Construction Market News and in the Economic Outlook section of Daily Commercial News.

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