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Re: Constitutional issue

By: Cactus Flower in ALEA | Recommend this post (0)
Sat, 16 Jul 11 8:45 PM | 37 view(s)
Boardmark this board | The Trust Matrix 		Msg. 05459 of 54959
(This msg. is a reply to 05458 by Hari Selden)
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Hi Hari,

Quick point of clarification: I am using a small c at the beginning of the word constitution to include arrangements that extend beyond the Constitutional document. For example, the filibuster arrangement in the Senate is constitutional in this regard, but it isn't Constitutional.

I don't think the Tea Party people will split. It suits them to control the Republican Party with around a half of its voters. The moderate Republicans cannot afford to toss them out. The result is the unholy alliance that is the conservative status quo, with the moderates increasingly exasperated by the Limbaugh puritans (witness the NYT's Brooks).

Certainly the leaders of the Republican Party in the Senate and the House are not mad enough to wish for a default. But, absent a Presidential over-rule (which has questionable legal validity) I believe the House Republicans must vote in favour of raising the threshold in order for it to be raised. The problem is that the Tea Party folks are not susceptible to argument and seem happy enough to destroy the government, as the anti-government dogmas are entrenched.

I don't think anyone contemplated this particular strain of politics when the Constitution was written. The hazards of anarchy have always been known, even if some people have chosen flagrantly to disregard them. Wealth is a product of order (even a kind of dynamic order) rather than chaos.

The mere fact of contemplating default has probably already damaged the US.

I am hoping that one of the Tea Party folks wins the Republican nomination. It is only a good hiding which will send those folks back to the boonies.

By the way, although I mostly disagree with the austerity folks, and agree with the neo-Keynesian folks who think the issue is mostly about growth and demand, there are some portions of government expenditure which might take a haircut - the US military being one area.

Perhaps someone might introduce a kind of national service on the domestic front which will allow young adults to build infrastructure, provide useful services and get some practical training for a year or two after school or college.

On the other hand, as you will remember, I believe it is blindingly obvious that tax rates on upper threshold income earners must increase.


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The above is a reply to the following message:
Re: Constitutional issue
By: Hari Selden in ALEA
Sat, 16 Jul 11 8:06 PM 		Msg. 05458 of 54959

Hi Alea

Hopefully the Republicans will only have that majority until 2012. They aren't really the problem. The problem that lies at the root of this issue is that people know very little about economics in this country (apparently) and are willing to follow whichever pundit sounds most convincing-and unfortunately there have been several successful pundits that have advocated austerity for quite some time.

Any political strategy in this country focuses on the 1/3 principle. A third of people are solid Republicans, another third are Democrats, and the last third are independents. In order to win an election, either your party must have a much larger turnout on election day than the other thirds, or you must convince the independents that your program is better than the other guys.

I dont think the Republicans are as willing as you seem to think to let us default. There are too many interests on Wall Street that will take massive losses if a default happens. Instead, what I think you are going to see is a potential split of the Tea Party from the mainstream Republicans. Once the Tea Partiers see that the Republicans aren't willing to cause a default, they will begin to fragment away, which is exactly what Boehner and the real establishment is afraid of.

Meanwhile, the only thing protecting us from the austerity fools is our constitution, which spreads power out over three branches precisely for situations like this. When wackos get control of one branch, they must still get the other branches in order to do their damage.


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