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Notes -
Local politics are indeed quite impactful in the US. In fact back in the day that was the explicit goal - the founders wanted us to care more about our mayor than the president.
Unfortunately the massive rise in federal power and the hero worship of federal politicians with radio and tv has killed local politics. Even if the power is still nominally there, it’s just too boring to entertain the average person compared to the massive waves of attention grabbing content available everywhere.
If you think of electoral politics as team sports, with voting as the equivalent of cheering on your team from the sidelines (a fun activity even if it doesn't impact the result) this explains both the paradox of why people vote even though their votes almost certainly won't make a difference, and why people are drawn towards entertaining politics, even when their vote is more diluted, or even when they don't have a vote: see the numbers of non-Americans who religiously follow Trump-related news or US politics in general, but know little about e.g. their local representatives.
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