Indifference

So yesterday was Election Day. While I understand that it's my civic responsibility to vote, I didn't really find sufficient justification for me to take the extra time out of my schedule to go and actually do it this year.

Part of the problem is that Cambridge's government has an indirect mayoral election: an instant runoff voting scheme is used to elect councillors, none of whom have campaigned this year with sufficient zeal that I felt compelled to vote for them.

In addition, the other major issue--rent control--was something I could see being problematic either way. The pros are obvious--students like me don't have to absorb 15-20 percent rent increases each year. The cons are equally obvious--since rates are controlled by law, there isn't much incentive on the part of landlords and property managers to invest much in their properties, since their return on investment won't be much, if anything. So, I didn't know which way to vote on that issue, and thus, I stayed out of this election.

It of course goes without saying that next year's election is far more important, and especially as I will in all likelihood be casting my ballot in a state where the race might be in dispute, I will do my level best to cast a ballot.