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The next to last installment.

7. Information age issues – truth, privacy, and foreign intrusion.  The internet and social media are having fundamental effects on all aspects of society.  Its presence in the 2016 US election was a lesson on how it impacts truth and understanding and how it can allow unwanted foreign intrusion.  Yet governments, including ours, don’t know how to regulate the internet and social media.  This is partly due to the libertarian idealism of the internet’s origins and partly due to old white men in government simply not comprehending modern technology – we have 20^th Century government grappling with 21^st Century issues.  On top of this is greed.  Social media and other internet business models were formed on the notion of giving free services paid for by advertising at the cost of privacy.  When is this model harmful?  There are other possible models.  Consider this:

• Now, most social media/internet models are based on incomprehensible terms of use that include automatic opt-in for releasing personal information.  One is forced to opt-in to be allowed use of  the program.  Should there be an easy way to opt out of the data privacy issue?
• Now, if you don’t agree to terms of use you can’t use the app at all.  Should there be a way to agree to everything except privacy issues and still have access to an app?
• The amount of personal data owned and sold by companies and the government is staggering.  What should be done?
• Internet based companies are secretive about how they invade your privacy.  For example, it is well known that Amazon’s Echo records everything after its wakeup command and its employees listen to these recordings, but no one knows for sure if it records you when it is “sleeping.”  Should there be more transparency?  Should there be controls?
• Twitter just banned political ads; should this be the case for all social media, particularly given its poor track record in this area?  Why should “social” media care about politics? (The current answer is advertising.)
• Social media facilitates confirmation bias (directing one’s information sources to only those that agree with one’s preconceived notions).  What should be done about how people get factual information?
• Russian election meddling would appear to be an act of war.  What is the appropriate response to this and other forms of cyber attack?
• An alternative to the current social media model is to generate revenue by charging for service, thus eliminating the need for revenue from advertising and selling personal data.  How much should we be willing to pay under such a model?  Can some kind of hybrid ensure personal privacy?

8. Good Government – representation, electoral college, budgeting, legislation, checks and balances, Supreme Court politicization.  The US was founded on the notion that good institutions are the pinnacle of good government.  It was hoped that would avoid demagoguery, among other things.  That was the purpose of 3 coequal branches of government with a system of checks and balances while recognizing the importance of a free press.  Desirous of a representative democracy but with competing views about how to view “the masses” and state’s rights, the founders compromised on some things like presidential elections (some wanted the president selected by Congress, some wanted voter selection, so we got the Electoral College), and a senate having equal representation for all states (small states feared big state power, so we got the representative House and the state-based Senate).  Some of the consequences (unintended?) of those compromises are that a president can be elected with a minority of the popular vote and a Supreme Court justice can be appointed with representation of just 18% of the population.  Given Congress’ inability to fulfill its role (for example, the US has only had a real, legislated budget 4 times over the past 40 years, the other years have used the default, continuing resolutions, which is an inferior and dangerous way to run the government), the wild disregard paid to Congress by the Executive branch, and the political speech given by the latest candidate for the Supreme Court, consider this:

• Should the Electoral College be eliminated?
• Considering the politicization of the Supreme Court, should the Senate have almost total control over its staffing?  Should justices have the job for life?
• Although most Americans believe their democracy is based on “one vote” true representation, the power of the Senate defies this because senate seats are not representative of population.  For example the 2 senators of Wyoming represent 600,000 people while the 2 from California represent 40 Million people).  Given the great power of the Senate, should something be done about this?
• After adding $1Trillion to the deficit following the 2018 federal tax changes, it is fair to say that deficit protection is no longer a Republican plank.  The published national debt is $23 Trillion and debt service is currently about 8% of the US budget.  That is a manageable fraction with today’s low interest rates and most economists would argue that some borrowing is needed for growth.  However, when interest rates rise, as they invariably will, debt service could go over 20% of the budget, more than our Defense Budget.  What should we think and do about the national debt?
• Is the sacrosanct US systems of checks and balances eroding?  If so, what should be done about it?