Is this Democratic Underground?

[Anatos]

279. Bravo

I agree wholeheartedly with almost everything you've said, and certainly your basic point (which is that Rocco is a libertarian, not a liberal.)

But I have to disagree with you on two points. Not that I'm agreeing with Rocco, not at all. But there are a couple of points you made that I'd like to address.

First, it isn't possible to "authentically audit" the Federal Reserve. There are no standardized accounting methods for reviewing the activity of a central bank. This would not prevent anyone from choosing who they want to jail or discredit, investigating the Fed, and then indicting them or impugning them with those charges, and calling it an "audit". This is one of the reasons the libertarians are so hot to do that. It is a jackpot for political populists. You can criminally investigate the Fed, or anyone at the Fed you might want to use as a scapegoat. But you can't AUDIT the Fed, even if you really wanted to. And besides, central banks like the Fed are exactly what Adam Smith was describing. All the banks cooperate to create a financial entity that lends them money so they can create wealth.

Second, the thing about the electoral college is a similar case of a well-worn misunderstanding. We aren't the "United Areas of the Country of America", we are the United States. Neither the geographic or demographic size of a state is what makes it a state, and every single state demands and deserves an equal representation in Congress (two votes in the Senate). In other words, I couldn't disagree more with either of you (and, I know, most people here) on the benefits or purpose of changing either the electoral college or representation in general. None of you seem to be aware that this is the EXACT SAME argument the Founding Fathers had when they were writing the Constitution. Since no aspects of either the argument or the circumstances have changed since then, I defer to their wisdom over your own. Not blindly, of course, but because it seems obvious to me that changing things from the way they are now only makes sense if you abolish states altogether. And it really doesn't matter how admirable you think that might be, it isn't ever going to happen.

To be honest, I stopped reading Rocco's list with #1: End the Corporate State. Because hopelessly vague and idealist demands aren't good for OWS. Our lawfully elected Representatives (some of them) are already working on starting the Constitutional Amendment process to strip corporations of civil rights (and restore progressive taxation), so this whole "assembly" in Philadelphia might be a dead letter. But still worth the effort. As long as we can keep the libertarians and conservatives from hijacking it.