You and Stephanie should have focused on the prime issue more: the dollar as the standard of the international economy. It gives the dollar strength and financial freedoms others do not have. Like a cat falling off a building, it will always land on its feet. China has proposed a basket of international currencies and the EU has a willing ear, but does not (yet) act on this proposal.
It is a dangerous position for the US dollar. Even though the dollar would be part of the basket, the global economic wobble would no longer be based on the dollar as the single peg. If our economy were to fall off a building, it would then be more like a dog.
Let’s all agree that money is fake. One cannot eat or drink it, but it is highly beneficial to society. It helps us organize ourselves in tremendously smart ways. But the United States has one organizational problem that helps explain the deep-seated need for a better balance: the political jockeys of our economy are red and blue only.
You and Stephanie rightfully point to the problems in our society (the US is not even in the top ten nations on the happy chart; we are not the happiest people, far from). Our problems are worth addressing. And that is where the lack of political jockeys in other colors can be felt. Green, yellow and orange needs in our society must be addressed today by the red and blue jockeys.
The red and blue jockeys address all needs only in red and blue fashion. As a result we are incredibly strong in red, blue and purple respects. The other needs will be spun so they fit in with red and blue — or they will be ignored (as indeed they often are, too).
We can be awfully smart about finance and many of our clever minds are looking at ways to make the economy work better even still. But if we have red and blue jockeys only, then those economic success will particularly be red and blue economic successes.
That is the weakness of the story. The lovely carrot that hangs in front of our faces — of balancing our economy and society — is not based on finance but on political will. If an international basket gets created (or when China becomes the dominant economic player in the world, perhaps sharing that position with India), then it will be completely obvious: Our power will then have been reduced and our instruments to deal with socioeconomic issues (for ourselves) are then still limited to red and blue.
If we want to save the US from future troubles (that will arrive) and be more balanced, economically and otherwise, we should rework our republican instrument to incorporate (more) democracy. Our nation will be stronger if we have three-to-five empowered political parties (we don’t need twenty parties, better not). And we better get on the ball.
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The US Constitution can be of help. Here is a quick scheme pointing out where we are currently not following the Constitution.
The Fed and State levels are given extensive powers in the US Constitution. Cities and counties behave as if they were given those powers, too. They were not, and they must therefore follow the entire setup of the US Constitution more closely. The 14th Amendment demands that government MUST use the better system, if a better system if available. Fed and State have wiggle room where cities and counties do not.
I believe that all political scientists agree that proportional voting is a better system than district voting for the individual voter. Where we often find a single color of just red or just blue sitting in all seats at the local level throughout the United States, we should be finding a palette of three, four or five colors. The US Constitution says so. The better system is where no color is discriminated against in the eye of the voter.
Starting the movement toward (a better) democracy can be done, today, at a completely secure spot in which we can learn why proportional voting is indeed superior (it makes the distance between voters and representatives a whole lot shorter and that will make our politicians more honest and direct in their actions).
Our economy will get balanced much better when our political system incorporates the natural balance better. Today, we have two parties only. It is like having two legs (handy) but not two arms (not handy). It is like having two wheels (bicycle) but not four wheels (no car). It’s like having left and right but no other way to be three-dimensional about the beneficial directions for our society.
I think we all agree that when we compare ourselves to nations with full democracy that there are then very good reasons why we are not the happiest nation on this planet. Despite having the global financial peg to help us out, others organize their societies better for themselves because they have the correct instruments in place.
In The American Truth, one can read how exactly we were had as soon as we walk into the voting booth. The article also discusses the US Constitution a bit more. We can start changing our lives around toward a more balanced economy and society, today. There are more than 30,000 cities, townships and counties in the US. We only need a few good examples to show that proportional voting is indeed much better for all of us. Others will then gladly copy the better system.
