A new beginning for America and this website
The press tells us a series of exciting stories, but does little to pull these threads together to see the full picture. Here’s my version, dark and grim.
legitimacy
Unequal representation caused problems for Britain in 1776, & will for us soon
Summary: Conservatives belittle concerns about America’s increasingly unrepresentative government. Citizens in these big states have 29% the voting weight of small states in the Federal government (even slaves were weighted at 60%). Citizens in cities have less representation than those in rural areas (just as in Britain’s 18th century rotten boroughs). Unequal political representation has caused serious …
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What are the limitations of the Fed’s power? It’s neither impotent nor omnipotent!
Summary: Although one of the most power agencies of the US government, obsessively discussed in the financial news, it remains one of the least well understood. Here we examine the limitations on its power. Readers can decide for themselves if these limitations are too tight, or too loose. Next in a series about Central Banks, …
What are the limitations of the Fed’s power? It’s neither impotent nor omnipotent! Read More »
Undercutting people’s trust in the Republic: another step to destroying the Republic
Summary: Skepticism of authority is an element of wisdom, but with careful encouragement can become malignant distrust of government. It’s a step towards de-legitimizing the Republic, a powerful element of a elites “divide and concquor” strategy — leaving a people with no obvious rallying point. Here we discuss an example being run on us today. …
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Is the US government illegitimate? If so, does that justify violent revolution?
Summary: US constitutional law discusses illegitimate government motives, purposes, and actions. But political extremists have long labeled our political regime itself as illegitimate. Now such views move into the mainstream. It’s poison, preventing rational discussion and compromise — much as the discussion about slavery turned toxic in the decade before 1860. This post looks at an …
Is the US government illegitimate? If so, does that justify violent revolution? Read More »