If You Could Rewrite the US Constitution

[DGuller]

Germany seems to have figured out how to do the democracy thing, after that period of unpleasantness eight decades ago.  Maybe use them as the starting point.  They even seemed to handle absorbing a whole other country with a different ideology, so that probably speaks good things about its ability to handle potentially zero-sum conflicts.

In West German constitutional terms, East Germany was of course not another country, just a part of Germany under different administration. East Germans for example never had to apply for citizenship as they were already citizens. The relations to the GDR were under the interior minister, not the foreign minister.

I guess where I was going with that was that after reunification, there was a potential to fall into zero-sum thinking:  what's good for Eastern Germany is bad for Western Germany, and vice versa.  The biggest challenge for any democratic system is to handle situations where internal divisions are so fundamental that everything else is viewed in light of that, which is the situation right now in the US.  I don't know if that was the case in Germany, though, maybe East Germans capitulated culturally to the West Germans and raced to assimilate themselves rather than view themselves in the old terms.

[Tonitrus]

I expected this thread to be well supplied with Euro/Canadian self-masturbatory superior-smugness, and I was not disappointed. 

[Barrister]

I expected this thread to be well supplied with Euro/Canadian self-masturbatory superior-smugness, and I was not disappointed. 

Hey, to be fair I thought you should adopt an improved version of the Canadian Constitution, not just adopt the current one wholesale.  Though it would be fun to see what the USSC would do with the guarantees of minority French language rights...

[Admiral Yi]

Hey, to be fair I thought you should adopt an improved version of the Canadian Constitution, not just adopt the current one wholesale.  Though it would be fun to see what the USSC would do with the guarantees of minority French language rights...

At the risk (meaning certain guarantee) of a hijack, could you tell me or direct me to a link that shows exactly what the law/Constitution says about French language rights?

I googled Meech Lake, and all that tells me is that it recognized Quebec as a nation and it was never ratified.

[Barrister]

Hey, to be fair I thought you should adopt an improved version of the Canadian Constitution, not just adopt the current one wholesale.  Though it would be fun to see what the USSC would do with the guarantees of minority French language rights...

At the risk (meaning certain guarantee) of a hijack, could you tell me or direct me to a link that shows exactly what the law/Constitution says about French language rights?

I googled Meech Lake, and all that tells me is that it recognized Quebec as a nation and it was never ratified.

Meech Lake was a proposed amendment to the Constitution.  Although it largely revolved around getting Quebec to sign, I don't recall it said much if anything about language rights (those were already enshrined).  There was later a modified Meech Lake Accord, called the Charlottetown Accord.  It was put to a national referendum and voted down.

But just because I like you so much, here are the portions of theCanadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms dealing with language rights.

Official Languages of Canada
Marginal note:Official languages of Canada
16. (1) English and French are the official languages of Canada and have equality of status and equal rights and privileges as to their use in all institutions of the Parliament and government of Canada.

Marginal note:Official languages of New Brunswick
(2) English and French are the official languages of New Brunswick and have equality of status and equal rights and privileges as to their use in all institutions of the legislature and government of New Brunswick.

Marginal note:Advancement of status and use
(3) Nothing in this Charter limits the authority of Parliament or a legislature to advance the equality of status or use of English and French.

Marginal note:English and French linguistic communities in New Brunswick
16.1 (1) The English linguistic community and the French linguistic community in New Brunswick have equality of status and equal rights and privileges, including the right to distinct educational institutions and such distinct cultural institutions as are necessary for the preservation and promotion of those communities.

Marginal note:Role of the legislature and government of New Brunswick
(2) The role of the legislature and government of New Brunswick to preserve and promote the status, rights and privileges referred to in subsection (1) is affirmed. (85)

Marginal note:Proceedings of Parliament
17. (1) Everyone has the right to use English or French in any debates and other proceedings of Parliament. (86)

Marginal note:Proceedings of New Brunswick legislature
(2) Everyone has the right to use English or French in any debates and other proceedings of the legislature of New Brunswick. (87)

Marginal note:Parliamentary statutes and records
18. (1) The statutes, records and journals of Parliament shall be printed and published in English and French and both language versions are equally authoritative. (88)

Marginal note:New Brunswick statutes and records
(2) The statutes, records and journals of the legislature of New Brunswick shall be printed and published in English and French and both language versions are equally authoritative. (89)

Marginal note:Proceedings in courts established by Parliament
19. (1) Either English or French may be used by any person in, or in any pleading in or process issuing from, any court established by Parliament. (90)

Marginal note:Proceedings in New Brunswick courts
(2) Either English or French may be used by any person in, or in any pleading in or process issuing from, any court of New Brunswick. (91)

Marginal note:Communications by public with federal institutions
20. (1) Any member of the public in Canada has the right to communicate with, and to receive available services from, any head or central office of an institution of the Parliament or government of Canada in English or French, and has the same right with respect to any other office of any such institution where

(a) there is a significant demand for communications with and services from that office in such language; or

(b) due to the nature of the office, it is reasonable that communications with and services from that office be available in both English and French.

Marginal note:Communications by public with New Brunswick institutions
(2) Any member of the public in New Brunswick has the right to communicate with, and to receive available services from, any office of an institution of the legislature or government of New Brunswick in English or French.

Marginal note:Continuation of existing constitutional provisions
21. Nothing in sections 16 to 20 abrogates or derogates from any right, privilege or obligation with respect to the English and French languages, or either of them, that exists or is continued by virtue of any other provision of the Constitution of Canada. (92)

Marginal note:Rights and privileges preserved
22. Nothing in sections 16 to 20 abrogates or derogates from any legal or customary right or privilege acquired or enjoyed either before or after the coming into force of this Charter with respect to any language that is not English or French.

Minority Language Educational Rights
Marginal note:Language of instruction
23. (1) Citizens of Canada

(a) whose first language learned and still understood is that of the English or French linguistic minority population of the province in which they reside, or

(b) who have received their primary school instruction in Canada in English or French and reside in a province where the language in which they received that instruction is the language of the English or French linguistic minority population of the province,

have the right to have their children receive primary and secondary school instruction in that language in that province. (93)

Marginal note:Continuity of language instruction
(2) Citizens of Canada of whom any child has received or is receiving primary or secondary school instruction in English or French in Canada, have the right to have all their children receive primary and secondary school instruction in the same language.

Marginal note:Application where numbers warrant
(3) The right of citizens of Canada under subsections (1) and (2) to have their children receive primary and secondary school instruction in the language of the English or French linguistic minority population of a province

(a) applies wherever in the province the number of children of citizens who have such a right is sufficient to warrant the provision to them out of public funds of minority language instruction; and

(b) includes, where the number of those children so warrants, the right to have them receive that instruction in minority language educational facilities provided out of public funds.

Basically you have the right to your language of choice in dealing with the federal government, the courts, or in getting your child educated.

https://laws-lois.justice.gc.ca/eng/const/page-15.html

[The Minsky Moment]

I wouldn't put fiscal mechanisms into the Constitution.  It would just produce tons of disputes about what a "crisis" is, what a "contraction" is and even what a "deficit" is (e.g. is social security considered on or off budget?)  Unless the remit of the Supreme Court is beefed up (would not recommend) the Court would most likely decline to adjudicate these issues, viewing them as political questions and deferring to the other branches, which in effect negates the point.  Alternatively, the Court would create standards of its own, which is probably even more problematic.

The way to control deficits is to create a political consensus around it and enforce it as a political norm, not to attempt to constitutionalize it.  The EU tried the latter and it's been a mess.

It doesn't seem to create these issues at the state level.

State balanced budget rules typically limit exceptions more sharply then what you propose -e.g. they usually don't permit fiscal offset of a business cycle contraction.  Most of then are very mechanical in their application. The state BBRs also have to be understood in a federal context where federal spending automatically flows to states in distress even in the absence of specific emergency funding and   because the federal bankruptcy code doesn't permit states to file.

[Admiral Yi]

Marginal note:Communications by public with federal institutions
20. (1) Any member of the public in Canada has the right to communicate with, and to receive available services from, any head or central office of an institution of the Parliament or government of Canada in English or French, and has the same right with respect to any other office of any such institution where

(a) there is a significant demand for communications with and services from that office in such language; or

(b) due to the nature of the office, it is reasonable that communications with and services from that office be available in both English and French.

Thanks.  This is the one I guess is veep's bone of contention.

[Admiral Yi]

State balanced budget rules typically limit exceptions more sharply then what you propose -e.g. they usually don't permit fiscal offset of a business cycle contraction.  Most of then are very mechanical in their application. The state BBRs also have to be understood in a federal context where federal spending automatically flows to states in distress even in the absence of specific emergency funding and   because the federal bankruptcy code doesn't permit states to file.

OK.  Then a supermajority requirement.

[katmai]

I can't believe not one of you fuckers said repeal the 19th amendment.

[Monoriu]

I forgot the most important point.

The British monarch should be reinstated as Head of State.

[11B4V]

I can't believe not one of you fuckers said repeal the 19th amendment.

You Trumper

[grumbler]

I can't believe not one of you fuckers said repeal the 19th amendment.

I can't believe that you cared so much and yet still didn't suggest it yourself. 

[katmai]

I can't believe not one of you fuckers said repeal the 19th amendment.

I can't believe that you cared so much and yet still didn't suggest it yourself. 

[Grey Fox]

Having non elected head of state can be very cheap, especially if another country is footing the majority of the bill.

[Admiral Yi]

Having non elected head of state can be very cheap, especially if another country is footing the majority of the bill.

I've never seen the point of a low rent appointed fake monarch.  You don't need a human to ask someone to form a government.