Rogers SmithA lecturer at the University of Pennsylvania, he shared his thoughts on the American constitutional order. Smith basically identified four factors regarding the United States Constitution that are the greatest successes and failures of the American system.
- the Constitution Emphasizes the importance of trade and entrepreneurship. Alongside this idea, the United States has become one of the most important trading powers in the world Drove away part To today’s society that is centered around consumption and unequal wealth.
- One of the cornerstones of the American Constitution is The cause of religious freedom and support for science. Thanks to them, Smith said, the country could become a world leader in academic life and acceptance of followers of other religions. The same factors, in turn, alienate traditional value setsAnd the representatives of science, isolated by the ultimate power of science, have become isolated from these classes.
- Smith The extension and protection of civil rights is a success, Also stipulated in the Constitution, But he says this is stirring up resistance in many segments of societyWhose traditional values fear these trends.
- As a fourth aspect, Smith mentioned the foundation of democracy, thanks to which Decision making has become much closer to people In recent decades, in part This led to political polarization It provided an opportunity for the rise of demagogic politicians.
According to Smith, the above issues need to be addressed from several angles. who is this Its role is to overcome wealth inequality, democratize the scientific world, reassure traditional social classes, and strengthen the democratic institutional system.
Smith says the solution is still more democracy, but in a more thoughtful way than before.
At the end of the lecture, the issue of possession of weapons was raised. According to Smith, even the conservative-minded judges do not deny this It would not be unconstitutional to have a stricter regulation of the possession of weapons, which was not achieved due to a lack of political will.
Shawn TheriaultThe University of Texas professor gave a lecture on the American legislative process, with special reference to the workings of the Senate. According to Terriolt Congress is a particularly unpopular institution in the United States that stems primarily from the polarization of political life. In his opinion, this was done well, seeing that representatives of the two major parties have been unable to agree on the budget on time on a regular basis in recent years, which has resulted in the closure of federal institutions in the country more than once. Under United States law, the House of Representatives must first negotiate and pass a bill, which is then submitted to the Senate. If the bill passes here as well, it must be approved by the president, who also has veto power. Hesitation, according to Terriolt, is the most characteristic of the Senate due to The House of Representatives is a majority institution. On the other hand In the case of the Senate, the minority party also has significant powers to obstruct the legislative process. Based on a number of studies, he came to the conclusion that although the Republican and Democratic sides have differed in almost all respects in recent decades, there are fewer and fewer laws that are based on bipartisan consensus, in fact A small number of senators able to compromise would be sufficient to make the legislation more effective on both sides.
However, he said that also requires voters to send to Congress politicians who are willing and willing to make concessions.
Regarding the questions asked, Theriault also mentioned that he was unlucky The Democrats surpass the RepublicansAs a budget adjustment Adopt the $ 1900 billion coronavirus rescue package provided by Joe Biden. Instead, he thought it would have been better to vote for a smaller package with Republican support and accept the rest only through a budget revision. He also spoke of a delaying tactic known as stalling, which is often used by the Senate minority party to block a bill. In order to bring a bill to a final vote, it is necessary to support three-fifths of the senators present and voting. Theriault A. The procrastination considered that it would be abolished for the first time once one of the parties obtained a comfortable majority in both houses and could relinquish the identity of the president..
According to him, there is a chance for that in 2024 at the earliest, because by then the by-elections will take place, and in 2024 the presidential election.
Miranda Wu, An assistant professor at CEU has given a lecture on crises in American society, with a special focus on wealth inequality. It began by comparing that in 1989, 67% of the national wealth was concentrated in the top 10% of society, while the bottom 50% was 3%. This is the ratio 2016 outside More distortion, resulting in The top 10% increased their share of total assets to 77%, while that number decreased to 1% for the lowest 50%.
According to Woo, differences in wealth stem primarily from unequal opportunities, especially in education.
It also highlighted the shortcomings of people of other races, the young, the low-paid and the educated, who are also the main losers in the current Coronavirus pandemic. Wu accepted the idea of raising the minimum wage at the federal level, urging support for education as an opportunity in combating wealth inequality, which he said a wealth tax could make a big difference.
Randy and Ray A lecturer at Bard College spoke to the public about the United States’ responses to the coronavirus pandemic from an economic and financial perspective, and separately analyzed modern monetary policy theory. In his presentation, he stressed that The world is likely to face a number of crises in the future, which must be addressed by preserving jobs and resources rather than austerity. According to him, government spending and associated spending of money plays an important role in this. According to him, modern monetary theory, which states that a government that spends its own money can never run out of it, could be a good solution to the challenges of the future. In this respect, Wray thinks much more They are worse off Eurozone countries, Those who gave up the right to independently issue money, and countries that do not use large reserve currencies as their official currency.
According to him, modern critical theory has also provided the back of the Biden government’s virus rescue package.
