Burwhale the Avenger wrote:
In a few posts I have read and the one that I have made, I have realised that although I have a good understanding of the way govt works in my country, I have almost no idea how it works in the US. If someone in the know could give me some quick tips on how the different levels of US govt works ( congress, senate, president etc) and what their powers are at various levels. Feel free to post me a link if you know a good concise description on the net.
Be as brief as you like. Bullet points, whatever etc.
Thanks for any help in advance.
Think of it as a big auction. We have 535 people in the legislature, of whom almost all want kickbacks from someone, so they get bribed by special interest groups. They then make bills that favor these groups against the interests of the public.
The president has to decide whether or not he wants to pass each bill into law. He usually weighs his own special interests against each bill and from there can decide whether to pass it or not. If he chooses not to, then the legislature can still attempt to override the veto. Vetoes are rarely overriden though.
As for the judicial branch, each Justice on the Supreme Court is appointed for life by whatever president is lucky enough to rule while a vacancy on the court is present. Congress still has to confirm each appointee, but that's usually not so hard after the right palms are greased.