Once I was part of an organization that was trying to design a group t-shirt. Our discussion was a mess. There were simply too many of us with too many ideas to reach a consensus. The more we talked and voted, the more frustrated people grew. Eventually someone realized that in addition to the split…
What is Democracy? Arizona Edition
Some recent events in Arizona highlight the difficulty of creating, maintaining, and evaluating a democratic system: 1. Redistricting Fight: The governor (with ratification by 2/3 of the state senate) recently acted to remove the non-partisan head of the independent redistricting commission. While there were some alleged improprieties with the process, the main dispute revolves around…
How Much Democracy?
Democracy, most basically ‘rule by the people,’ is an easy thing to support in principle. But in practice it can be an awfully tricky concept to implement. This post is the first in a series examining the principles of democracy and democratic systems. First, a bit of historical background in preparation for the next piece…
UC Davis as a Sign of Deep Division
I had been planning to do some writing today on ‘Democracy.’ They would have focused on some events in Arizona and the new governments in Greece and Italy. But the events at the University of California, Davis have brought me up short. So before turning to those topics, some thoughts on this event closer to…
A Nation Without Courts
Newt Gingrich is running as an ideas man, as ‘the smartest person in the room’ wherever he goes. Recently he boasted that one of his campaign documents was “the most thorough statement of the Constitution and the balance of power, I think, that’s been written by a political figure since Lincoln’s first inaugural in 1861.”…
Perry’s Answer
I’ll admit that I wasn’t watching last night’s debate when Gov. Rick Perry made his infamous “oops.”* But an earlier statement he made had already caught my attention. Perry was hammering on government regulation. And he had a proposal: Audit all federal regulation since 2008 and ask whether it creates jobs or hinders job growth….
On Greece and Democracy
Should someone hold a referendum on the Greek bailout? A few days ago Greek Prime Minister George Papandreou shocked the world by announcing that his country would hold such a vote. European leaders, who had just concluded a tough negotiation on Greek’s debt, condemned the move. Financial analysts the world over warned of the potentially…
The Need for Bureaucracy
I listened to an interview the other day with Rep. Paul Ryan (R-WI). The interviewer (Ari Shapiro) asked him about a Treasury Department report finding that over-regulation was not killing business. In fact, the most highly regulated industries are experiencing the strongest growth. His response was, “Well, that’s just not what I’m hearing from my…
Perry’s Plan
This week Rick Perry announced his tax reform plan, the first step in an effort to revitalize his image after some brutal debates. (Unfortunately for him, his comments on Obama’s place of birth overshadowed the carefully-crafted announcement.) The Washington Post has a good article and accompanying chart comparing the various tax plans put forward by…
When Capitalism and Citizenship Collide
Lately I’ve been hearing more references to an old argument: That our present (and growing) income inequality is ok as long as everyone’s life is improving a bit. This is an old conservative saw and one which I find particularly miserly. It’s as though the invention and seeming ubiquitousness of computers made it acceptable for…