Showing posts with label federalism. Show all posts
Showing posts with label federalism. Show all posts

Tuesday, October 15, 2019

Nazi Platform

A reflection on the Nazi Platform and its possible basis of comparison to modern American politics.

The Program of the German Workers’ Party is a program for our time.
The leadership rejects the establishment of new aims after those set out in the Program have been achieved, for the sole purpose of making it possible for the Party to continue to exist as the result of the artificially stimulated dissatisfaction of the masses.
National Socialist German Workers Party Platform American Equivalent Basis
1. We demand the uniting of all Germans within one Greater Germany, on the basis of the right to self-determination of nations. Right Nationalism
2. We demand equal rights for the German people (Volk) with respect to other nations, and the annulment of the peace treaty of Versailles and St. Germain. Libertarian Isolationism
3. We demand land and soil (Colonies) to feed our People and settle our excess population. Right Nationalism
4. Only Nationals (Volksgenossen) can be Citizens of the State. Right Citizenship
Only persons of German blood can be Nationals, regardless of religious affiliation. Right Nationalism and Religious Freedom
No Jew can therefore be a German National. Far Left / Far Right Antisemitism
5. Any person who is not a Citizen will be able to live in Germany only as a guest and must be subject to legislation for Aliens. Right Immigration
6. Only a Citizen is entitled to decide the leadership and laws of the State. Right Voter ID
We therefore demand that only Citizens may hold public office, regardless of whether it is a national, state or local office. Right Nationalism
We oppose the corrupting parliamentary custom of making party considerations, and not character and ability, the criterion for appointments to official positions. Left Democracy over Republicanism
7. We demand that the State make it its duty to provide opportunities of employment first of all for its own Citizens. Left Government Job Creation
If it is not possible to maintain the entire population of the State, then foreign nationals (non-Citizens) are to be expelled from the Reich. Right Immigration
8. Any further immigration of non-Germans is to be prevented. We demand that all non-Germans who entered Germany after August 2, 1914, be forced to leave the Reich without delay. Right Immigration
9. All German Citizens must have equal rights and duties. Left Equal Rights
10. It must be the first duty of every Citizen to carry out intellectual or physical work. Right Duty to Work
Individual activity must not be harmful to the public interest and must be pursued within the framework of the community and for the general good.

We therefore demand:
Left Limitation on Freedom of Expression
11. The abolition of all income obtained without labor or effort. Left Unearned Income
Breaking the Servitude of Interest. Left Anti-Bank
12. In view of the tremendous sacrifices in property and blood demanded of the nation by every war, personal gain from the war must be termed a crime against the nation. We therefore demand the total confiscation of all war profits. Left War Profiteering
13. We demand the nationalization of all enterprises (already) converted into corporations (trusts). Left Government Ownership of Production
14. We demand profit-sharing in large enterprises. Left Profit-sharing
15. We demand the large-scale development of old-age pension schemes. Left Social Security
16. We demand the creation and maintenance of a sound middle class; Left "Maintenance" of Middle Class
the immediate communalization of the large department stores, which are to be leased at low rates to small tradesmen. Left Communism and Trade Unions
We demand the most careful consideration for the owners of small businesses in orders placed by national, state, or community authorities. Left Small Business over Low Prices
17. We demand land reform in accordance with our national needs and a law for expropriation without compensation of land for public purposes. Left Eminent Domain for Public Use
Abolition of ground rent and prevention of all speculation in land. Left Anti-Speculation
18. We demand ruthless battle against those who harm the common good by their activities. Persons committing base crimes against the People, usurers, profiteers, etc., are to be punished by death without regard to religion or race. Left Anti-Bank
19. We demand the replacement of Roman Law, which serves a materialistic World Order, by German Law. Left Anti-Capitalism
20. In order to make higher education – and thereby entry into leading positions – available to every able and industrious German, the State must provide a thorough restructuring of our entire public educational system. Left Free Education
The courses of study at all educational institutions are to be adjusted to meet the requirements of practical life. Left Government Mandated Curriculum
Understanding of the concept of the State must be achieved through the schools (teaching of civics) at the earliest age at which it can be grasped. Right Civics
We demand the education at the public expense of specially gifted children of poor parents, without regard to the latters’ position or occupation. Left Free Education
21. The State must raise the level of national health by means of mother-and-child care, the banning of juvenile labor, achievements of physical fitness through legislation for compulsory gymnastics and sports, and maximum support for all organizations providing physical training for young people. Left Compulsory Education
22. We demand the abolition of hireling troops and the creation of a national army. Right National Military
23. We demand laws to fight against deliberate political lies and their dissemination by the press. In order to make it possible to create a German press, we demand: Right Anti-Press
a) all editors and editorial employees of newspapers appearing in the German language must be German by race; Right National Language
b) non-German newspapers require express permission from the State for their publication. They may not be printed in the German language; Right Non-Citizen Laws
c) any financial participation in a German newspaper or influence on such a paper is to be forbidden by law to non-Germans and the penalty for any breach of this law will be the closing of the newspaper in question, as well as the immediate expulsion from the Reich of the non-Germans involved. Right Immigration
Newspapers which violate the public interest are to be banned. Left Government Controlled Media
We demand laws against trends in art and literature which have a destructive effect on our national life, and the suppression of performances that offend against the above requirements. Right "Right and Wrong" in Art
24. We demand freedom for all religious denominations, provided that they do not endanger the existence of the State or offend the concepts of decency and morality of the Germanic race. Right Freedom of Religion
The Party as such stands for positive Christianity, without associating itself with any particular denomination. Right Pro-Christianity
It fights against the Jewish-materialistic spirit within and around us, and is convinced that a permanent revival of our nation can be achieved only from within, on the basis of: Public Interest before Private Interest. Far Left / Far Right Antisemitism
25. To carry out all the above we demand: the creation of a strong central authority in the Reich. Left Authoritarian Government
Unquestioned authority by the political central Parliament over the entire Reich and over its organizations in general. Left Anti-Federalism
The establishment of trade and professional organizations to enforce the Reich basic laws in the individual states. Left Trade Unions
The Party leadership promises to take an uncompromising stand, at the cost of their own lives if need be, on the enforcement of the above points.
Munich, Germany
February 24, 1920.

source:
https://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/platform-of-the-national-socialist-german-workers-rsquo-party

Wednesday, November 30, 2016

Mob-rule democracy versus a republic

i continue to see (supposedly) educated people seriously discuss revising the US republic into a one-person-one-vote semi-direct "democracy"... and they don't see the problem with this... it makes me want to choke some sense into people... but i'm afraid their brains aren't getting enough oxygen to begin with!

we have 50 states... that's why we're called the "United States" of America... our founders recognized that individual states will have differing needs and desires, so they are independent of each other, except where common needs overlap (such as interstate commerce).

so, let's examine the idea of what i call mob-rule democracy and compare it to what happens in our republic... first, we must understand population/demographics and the electoral college.

the population of each state determines the amount of "electors" in the electoral college... there are 538 electors... each state gets one for each Representative and one for each Senator, per Article II of the US Constitution... there are 435 Representatives, divided among the states based on population, but no less than one per state... there are 100 Senators, divided among the states equally (2 each)... there are an additional 3 electors representing the District of Columbia, as required by the 23rd Amendment.

as of 2013, the estimated population of the US is 316,128,839 people.

now, to get elected, you need 50%+1 of the electors, 270, to vote your way... due to current population trends, it takes only 11 states to get 270 electors... CA, TX, FL, NY, IL, PA, OH, GA, MI, NC, & NJ.

that doesn't sound very "democratic", does it?... where 11 of 50 states, 22%, dictate to the other 39 states who will be the President of the United States... shouldn't it take 26 states (50%+1)?... wouldn't that be more "democratic"?

but there are people who want "one-person-one-vote" democracy, where it takes 50%+1 of the popular vote for presidential elections... that's their version of "fair"... but is it?... it would only take NINE states to elect the President... CA, TX, FL, NY, IL, PA, OH, GA, & MI... 9 of 50 states, 18%, would then dictate to the other 41 states.

how is that "democratic"?

furthermore, some states have population centers which can easily override the rest of the state... in California, the Los Angeles - Long Beach - Anaheim area has around 12 million residents, fully one-third of the population of the state... New York City metro area has around 8 million, where the entire state has 19 million; nearly one half of the state in one area... Clark County in Nevada (home of Las Vegas) has a population of nearly 2 million, while the entire state has only 2.8 million!

by now, it should be obvious that "one-person-one-vote" is as un-democratic as possible... mob-rule is possibly the worst form of governance.


source:
Population of US States (plus Washington D.C.)
Distribution of Electoral Votes
Article II of the US Constitution
Map: California Home to Most Densely Populated Areas

Tuesday, November 15, 2016

try strengthening the electoral college

with all of the wringing of hands and gnashing of teeth over the electoral college following the 2016 Presidential Election, it is highlighting the disparity of power between populous states and more rural states... it highlights the disparity of power between the House (the people's house) and the Senate (the state's house)... there are 435 representatives (divided according to the latest census) in the House, and there are 435 electoral college votes associated with their states... there are 100 senators (two per state) in the Senate, and there are 100 electoral college votes associated with their states... add three for the District of Columbia, and you have 538 electoral votes at stake during any Presidential Election.

so, the population of a state has a 2-to-1 advantage... having a state with a higher population density (or one large city like Las Vegas which overwhelms the rest of the state) causes this 2-to-1 advantage skew to a 25-to-1 advantage, such as in California... New York City controls the electoral votes of the entire state, and it's not even the state's capital city!

but, what if we were to make a small change, such as adding Senators to each state, thereby adding electoral votes, also?... how would that affect an election?

below, I have taken the electoral college votes of each state as they were cast in the 2016 Presidential Election and tallied them... then I added one vote per state and tallied them... then added two.

STATEEV-REV-DTOTAL VOTESR+1D+1R+2D+2
Alabama902,113,96310
11
Alaska30253,6244
5
Arizona1102,419,55512
13
Arkansas601,125,7787
8
California05510,147,220
5657
Colorado092,725,831
1011
Connecticut071,642,330
89
Delaware03441,535
45
D. C.03286,275
45
Florida2909,478,59030
31
Georgia1604,085,66717
18
Hawaii04428,827
56
Idaho40692,2165
6
Illinois0205,501,217
2122
Indiana1102,729,89612
13
Iowa601,564,4437
8
Kansas601,147,1437
8
Kentucky801,923,3469
10
Louisiana802,028,1969
10
Maine13736,6601415
Maryland0102,602,561
1112
Massachusetts0113,231,531
1213
Michigan16*04,792,24017*
18*
Minnesota0102,945,238
1112
Mississippi601,162,6077
8
Missouri1002,776,51911
12
Montana30492,6724
5
Nebraska50804,3866
7
Nevada061,122,990
78
New Hampshire04731,931
56
New Jersey0143,774,743
1516
New Mexico05792,328
67
New York0297,113,118
3031
North Carolina1504,688,82116
17
North Dakota30344,1564
5
Ohio1805,380,09619
20
Oklahoma701,452,9928
9
Oregon071,939,678
89
Pennsylvania2006,033,16121
22
Rhode Island04460,165
56
South Carolina902,103,02510
11
South Dakota30370,0474
5
Tennessee1102,490,79912
13
Texas3808,933,17939
40
Utah60905,4857
7
Vermont03315,065
45
Virginia0133,972,371
1415
Washington0122,927,086
1314
West Virginia50712,4196
7
Wisconsin1002,977,29511
12
Wyoming30255,7914
5
Total306232130,076,807336253365274
*Michigan has not been finally called, but only marginally affects the outcome.

the outcome of this thought experiment is to widen the gap between the parties... with the electoral college votes as they currently are, the gap between the parties is 74 votes, or 13.8% of the votes.

with only one additional electoral vote per state, the gap widens from 74 votes difference to 83 votes, but only changes it to 14.0% difference in the votes.

by adding two electoral votes per state, the gap goes from 74 votes difference 91 votes, which is only a 14.2% difference.

what this appears to show is that smaller states begin to have greater impact on the overall race... while each iteration only changes the electoral college results by 0.2%, it becomes evident that the candidates will need to appeal to a much more diverse group, and not solely rely on population dense areas of the country... instead of knowing the result of every election after the east coast polls close, we would need to see how many more states vote.

and, in a republic, isn't that what we want?