[ExI] Repudiating the national debt

[Dan TheBookMan]

On Thu, May 12, 2016 at 1:24 PM, John Clark <johnkclark at gmail.com> wrote:
> On Thu, May 12, 2016 at 3:41 PM, Dan TheBookMan <danust2012 at gmail.com>
wrote:
>>> In today's modern fast changing world some important decisions
>>> must be made in just hours or even minutes and there is no time
>>> to consult with congress.
>>
>> I actually think that's part of the problem.
>> In any age, problems can be viewed as needing quick and decisive action.
>
> Yes, and especially in this age.  If the president is woken at 3am and
informed that ICBMs
> have been detected over Greenland moving Southwest in a ballistic arc at
12,000 miles an
> hour he's going to have 15 minutes to decide what to do about it. If the
president hasn't
> made a decision after 15 minutes then he can relax because he never needs
to make
> another decision for the rest of his life.

Aside from that hypothetical, how many actual decisions of late have
required that kind of quick action? How often are they likely to occur?
What are they compared to the vast majority of decisions presidents now
make without consulting anyone yet that might plausibly be better made by
consultation? Why would they do better than Stanislav Petrov?

>> The excuse that 02016 demands this more than fifty or a hundred years
ago is bullshit.
>
> A hundred years ago few weapons moved at 12,000 miles an hour.

Again, aside from that, which has never yet happened, what decisions
require that decisive decision-making by a national executive?

And, further, imagine there was a need for that, why not simply limit
executive authority to only those decisions and NONE of the others? And who
would ensure that the executive never exceeds their authority? As it
stands, it seems like your fear that this decision will have to be made
trumps all else -- indeed, all limits on power.

And I'm leaving aside that if there is an ICBM attack, it's unlikely the
president can do much about it. If there's no missile shield in place -- if
one is possible -- then all a president can do is really authorize a
counter-strike, no?

Regards,

Dan
  Sample my Kindle books via:
http://www.amazon.com/Dan-Ust/e/B00J6HPX8M/
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