To Vote or Not to Vote: Philosophy vs Practicality

Does voting matter? With the 2024 US elections being 5 days away, Brian Moody and Hans Toohey move beyond the typical conversation of Trump vs. Harris (because the choice between the two is pretty obvious) to examine the fundamental nature of federal elections.

Brian makes the case for strategic engagement with an admittedly flawed system, but Hans explains why he abstains from voting at the federal level altogether, questioning whether participation legitimizes a system that has strayed far from its constitutional roots. Through the lens of history, particularly the transformative year of 1913, which brought us the income tax, direct election of senators, and the Federal Reserve, they explore how America's political landscape has shifted from its original design.

Despite their differences, both agree on several key points: the federal system has serious problems, voting won't fix everything, and personal financial independence ultimately matters more than politics.

• To Vote or Not to Vote: Hans takes a principled stand against participating in federal elections and instead only votes on a state level. Brian, while acknowledging these systemic flaws, advocates for practical engagement with the federal system. He argues that federal elections drive major changes regardless of original intent, pointing to Supreme Court appointments and Trump's unprecedented questioning of the income tax system as evidence that voting can effect real change. Even a flawed tool can be used strategically for positive outcomes.

• Can You Trust Federal Voting Legitimacy? The federal voting system operates more as a corporate consent mechanism than genuine democratic representation. When you've got D.C. legally structured as a corporation and statistically impossible ballot patterns from 2020, it raises some questions.

• The Trump-Harris Dynamic is Unprecedented: Harris is an exceptionally weak candidate, garnering less than 10% support in her home state and dropping out first in the 2020 Democratic primaries, with no enthusiastic support base. Voters aren't choosing between two viable candidates with distinct support bases; instead, they're either voting for Trump or against him, with Harris serving as a placeholder for the anti-Trump position.

• 1913: The Year That Changed Everything: The trifecta of the 16th Amendment (income tax), 17th Amendment (direct election of senators), and the Federal Reserve's creation effectively reconstructed the federal-state relationship. This wasn't just a minor administrative shift - it represented a complete transformation of how American governance functions, creating many of the systemic challenges we grapple with today.

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