What if we changed the game?

Why not just get a law passed that makes individual participation in fedgov voluntary?

Talk about a game changer.

Hell, an "opt-out" privilege would suffice.
 
Please forgive my ignorance here, but could you nutshell the difference between the two systems? I look a the train wreck we call Great Britain and see a situation that is far worse than our own. What advantages do you imply with your suggestion?

Great Britain doesn't have core codified constitution. If they did, there would be more restrictions on government.

Great Britain is messed up but the United States is very much messed up too with the presidential system. In a parliamentary system there is a different sort of checks and balances. The prime minister is the head of government(different from head of state) and is voted in by the legislature. The legislature can vote in a new prime minster at anytime with a vote of no confidence and the prime minister can dissolve the legislature.

The bad thing about having a combined head of state and head of government is the candidate has to take on two different roles, that of leader and that of a policy genius. What often happens is the people vote for a president that is one and not the other, for example, Barack Obama is a great speaker but he doesn't have policy experience.

There are set election dates but those can be changed with the vote of no confidence and the dissolution of parliament as I stated above.

In the presidential system it seems that many votes are "wasted" when a candidate wins with 51% because the voices of 49% of the people are not represented. In the parliamentary system you can vote for party and candidates as well. The systems differ but generally a party needs anywhere from 2-5% to get a seat in the legislature. This allows for small parties to have a voice. The libertarian party would get a few seats as well as the greens and constitution party. I would think that more parties would form because of their ability to form coalitions and gridlock government. I would think in the United States an farmers party would form or an anti war party. Many people feel unrepresented in the current Republican and Democratic party.

If we had a parliamentary republic, the state legislatures could be allowed to choose the Senate(upper house). The state legislatures would also be parliamentary systems, allowing for smaller parties to have a larger voice. In the current presidential system, smaller parties very much want to grow but are dwarfed by the two big ones. Once the smaller parties start to gain some influence, more people would join and they would have the ability to influence the choice of senators (forming coalitions with other parties to choose a more libertarian-Republican senator for example).

Basically, the system allows for greater representation of the people. If you are included in the 49% during the vote of candidate, you still have a representation. If you live in San Francisco and are Republican, you are represented. If you live in Texas and are democrat you are represented.
 
What do you do about greed? Rich people that exploit the poor and end up controlling everything? The bankers?

I would not worry too much about that. Free markets are to remain that way. Any action on the part of any corporate entity that demonstrably thwarts or otherwise alters the organic nature of the market has committed a crime and would be given a stern lesson in screwing around. The shareholders would pay a substantial part of that price and would thereby be enjoined to take a more active role in overseeing the managers they hire to run their businesses. Corporate managers convicted of such crimes would, as with any criminal, spend time in a prison that would make them cry like children. Even if they spent only two years in the klink, they would be so straightened out at the end of it that they would sooner eat their own guts than ever risk a second helping of solitary confinement.

Were I king, prison would be a horror. No violence against the prisoner at all. Just an 8x10 cell arranged such that the prisoner neither sees nor hears another human being the entire time they spend there. No outside communication of any form, not even with a lawyer, who would have to handle his client's appeals on his own. By the time a year had passed, they would be so averse to ever violating the rights and trust of others, most would never again pose any threat to the rest. The silence would compete with hell itself. No books, no photos, no amenities of any sort. Aobominably balnd and flavorless food is delivered by machine. You keep your cell clean or your sentence is extended. You are under 24 hour surveillance. Any time in the infirmary is not credited to your prison time, so you are motivated to remain as healthy as possible. I would make sentences shorter than what is typical precisely because the time is so hard.

Greed is not a problem in and of itself. All we need concern ourselves with is the behavior of the sorts of people you cite. If they violate rights, they go to hell. It is a simple formula. Anyone falsely accusing such a person sees a similar fate. Anyone knowingly participating in a frame-up wins double the sentence handed down the falsely accused, forfeits their entire material wealth to them, and makes whatever other restitution the law might require.

In my world there would exist fabulous carrots, available to one an all for the earning. There would be horrors awaiting those thinking themselves entitled to violate the rights of anyone. One's fate would be entirely in their own hands. Corruption by any "government official" would earn triple the customary penalties, or even death. Anyone assuming government office, epecially if elected to it, forfeits some portion of their rights, particularly when discharging their official duties. They could be surveilled at any time - privacy would go out the window. That is how it would be. I suspect there would be very few career politicians. In fact, I'd be willing to bet there would be none. Those assuming public office would do so a short stint because they really believed in what they were doing. Pay would be humble and the penalties for corrupt acts terrible. You do the math.

Corporate entities would enjoy certain granted "rights" as they do today. Corporation are not persons and therefore any "rights" they may possess may be so possessed only at the pleasure of the law. Therefore, those rights may be altered under conditions that would have to be codified in law. Abuse would result not only in punishment for those persons responsible, but possibly to the corporate "person" as well including abridgement of those privileges (AKA "rights"). Because a corporation may become a super-organism that wields super-human powers, they are to be subject to certain controls such that fascism would be a highly unlikely outcome. Fundamental rights belong to individual people ONLY. Corporate "rights" are bestowed by way of principles. Corporations would be protected by all due process, but their prerogatives would be somewhat limited when compared with the fundamental rights of people.

The other side of that is this: if silly Billy Gates invents a better mousetrap and the world beats a path to his door and he corners the mousetrap market, barring any criminal activity on his corporation's part, he is it. So long as he commits no provable crime against the rights of others, he will own that market. In truth, if that market proves profitable, chances are slim to none that he would be able to monopolize it. Barring very specific and unusual circumstances, any market that lucrative would become target for competition. If silly Billy was discovered to have set up barriers to entry such that competition would not be able to get a foothold in the markets, he would see prison time and his corporation would be taken to the cleaners. To beat the already dead horse, in my world committing crimes against people would be handled most unequivocally. I would strike white terror into the hearts of those who saw fit to violate our rights in criminal fashion.
 
I say you allow militias to simply come into being of their own accord, which they almost always do in the case of foreign aggression. But just in case, you retain a mercenary force on contract as part of the mutual defense

This may be workable. Contract defense forces... but how is this really different from a standing army? How would they be paid? By whom would they be hired? Just wondering.
 
Why not just get a law passed that makes individual participation in fedgov voluntary?

Talk about a game changer.

Hell, an "opt-out" privilege would suffice.

Good thought, however...

That may take care of the problems of the federal government, but it fails to address the issue of state-originated tyranny. One is as bad as the other. What then - make participation in state government voluntary as well? Then where would we stand in terms of criminal justice? I do not believe we could afford to completely abandon the concept of courts. Were we to, could it not lead to a resurgence of feudalism? I'm not that keen on the idea that I could end up in prison just by driving from WV down to GA wearing a short-sleeved shirt only to discover some local yahoos decided wearing short-sleeved shirts constituted a felony. I know that sounds ridiculous, but is banning the bearing of a firearm or possession of a joint any less arbitrary and stupid?

Just wondering where your boundaries rest in all of this.
 
Good thought, however...

That may take care of the problems of the federal government, but it fails to address the issue of state-originated tyranny. One is as bad as the other. What then - make participation in state government voluntary as well?

Ideally, yes.

But fedgov is a start. :)

Then where would we stand in terms of criminal justice?

Where do we stand now?

I do not believe we could afford to completely abandon the concept of courts.

Not a big fan of the courts, myself...

but I'll stop there before I get the "Ron Paul believes in a constitutional republic, why are you even here if you disagree" squad coming out all:

howlers.jpg


Were we to, could it not lead to a resurgence of feudalism? I'm not that keen on the idea that I could end up in prison just by driving from WV down to GA wearing a short-sleeved shirt only to discover some local yahoos decided wearing short-sleeved shirts constituted a felony. I know that sounds ridiculous, but is banning the bearing of a firearm or possession of a joint any less arbitrary and stupid?

It would sound ridiculous, but unfortunately, as you know, it is real. :(

In answer to your question, absolutely not, imo.
Banning firearms or possession of a joint is equally arbitrary and stupid.

Just wondering where your boundaries rest in all of this.

Personally, I believe that people should be free to associate with or disassociate from any individual or group of individuals as they please and at their will. :)

As for me in the meanwhile? That's exactly what I plan to keep doing until someone stops me.

IMO, the only way to sell freedom, to sell liberty is to lead by example.
 
I AM CURRENTLY INTOXICATED HOWEVER I WANT TO GO AHEAD AND SAY IF THIS EVER DID HAPPEN YOU YOURSELFS WOULD BECOME THE FUTURE ILLUMINATI BEHIND THE SCENES PULLING STRINGS AS THE WORLDS ELECT AND POWERFUL OF THIS NEW "REPUBLIC".....WHO DO YOU THINK YOU ARE!!!BbHJ

That's the point!!!! ;)
 
This may be workable. Contract defense forces... but how is this really different from a standing army? How would they be paid? By whom would they be hired? Just wondering.

Well that's what I'm asking you!

They could be paid for either by "entrance fees," minuscule taxation, tariffs, or however else we fund this Utopian Confederation. It would differ from a "standing" army however in that it would avoid the needless bureaucracy and bullshit that hampers modern armies (it's a private enterprise, so there is less waste). Also, we'd be free to fire them and hire their competitors, which you can't really do with a standing army.
 
Well that's what I'm asking you!
however else we fund this Utopian Confederation.

SCREEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEECHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH...

Whoa there big feller, this would NOT be utopian by an means. To my understanding a utopia is really the ultimate nanny state. This would be anything but that.

Ack... I think my brain needs to go vomit now.
 
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