Simulated Presidential Debate: Liberalism v. Anarcho-Capitalism

I am unable to find a viable source that refers “chapitalarchy” in any way whatsoever. The only three websites with a mention of “chapitalarchy” are: (a) http://www.booksie.com... (b) http://www.debate.org... In both these links, “chapitalarchy” is mentioned only by my opponent. Con was also supposed to defend their position, but Con has only presented their stance, violating the debate structure. Contentions C1) Lack of Enforcement An anarcho-capitalist state will not have a government, so how will the “Pro” section be enforced? A death penalty, etc. can only be delivered via. lynching, as there is no power to enforce or administrate the country. In a republic, all my administrative policies can be enforced. How will the Constitution be upheld in a state of anarchy? The small government needs taxes to enforce policies such as the death penalty, and these minute taxes against the flat tax will absolutely cripple administration and result in the smallest imaginable government. This viewpoint may first be viewed as utopian, until it becomes either (a) anarchy, or (b) oligarchy, with emergence of Reactionary ideologies and absolutely no enforcement. “Chapitalarchy” also does not fit the definition of “anarcho-capitalism”, and is, therefore, against the terms of this debate. It is impossible to legislate anything in a state of anarchy. C2) Gold Standard CIIA. The Gold Standard Restricts Preventing Deflation Under a gold standard, central banks cannot expand credit at a fast enough rate to offset deflationary forces. [1. http://tinyurl.com...] Mainstream economists believe that economic recessions can be largely mitigated by increasing the money supply during economic downturns. [2. Mankiw, N. Gregory (2002). Macroeconomics (5th ed.). Worth. pp. 238–255. ISBN 0-324-17190-0.] A gold standard means that the money supply will be determined by the gold supply and hence monetary policy can no longer be used to stabilize the economy. [3. http://tinyurl.com...] CIIB. The Gold Standard is Deflationary The above graph shows the CPI inflation of the United States under the gold standard from 1919 to 1933. The deflation was massive, causing a drop in inflation by 25% in 12 years. I shall now demonstrate why the gold standard is deflationary. “To increase its money supply, the government must mine more gold. … Limited gold supply stifles economic growth and causes deflation. … According to the World Gold Council, annual production of gold is about 2,500 metric tons or 80 million troy ounces. This implies that world GDP cannot grow more than about $80 billion (at $1000/oz), had we been on the gold standard today. Thus, the gold standard would cause a severe deflation in the world economy.” [4. http://tinyurl.com...] Therefore, because of the limitations of gold, the world GDP’s growth would have been limited to $80 billion. This severe deflation will result in economic shutdowns, especially in an anarchic state. Thus, the gold standard is irrational. Defense of Ideologies D1) Federal Reserve In a state of anarchy, the Federal Reserve will be abolished. Now I shall state why the Federal Reserve is essential in maintaining US economy. Without the Federal Reserve, there will not be any monetary stability. The lack of stability will crash down all the positives of maintaining a gold standard. Today, the Fed has ensured virtually no deflation since the gold standard, and has kept an inflation rate of 1-2%. This economic stability allows for the sustenance of American trade policy, etc. Monetary stimulus, used by the Fed, is essential, free and can be reversed easily. As President, I will be against the fiscal stimulus used by the Fed, which is minor, has no major effect in increasing inflation or maintaining stability, and nonetheless is spent stimulus. D2) Executive Orders vs. Constitutional Amendments Constitutional amendments should be made with approval of the people. In an anarchy, the power to amend the Constitution allows for the gradual enforcement of oligarchy, i.e. one person having slight power above other people and there being no restricting body, e.g. Congress. As this is a simulated presidential debate, there has to be a President as part of the small government, who will assume virtually dictatorial powers, as a small government of such small size cannot declare elections, etc. Executive orders, on the other hand, are not as omnipotent as constitutional amendments; the President will be limited by a directly elected legislative body, i.e. Congress. D3) Flat Tax My next major proposition is the introduction of a flat tax in the United States limited by a “poverty line” income. One cannot call for any taxation whatsoever without a government, halting administration and construction of infrastructure [which alone can be handled by a system of direct democracy, while qualifying the nation as anarchic]. “Simplicity is considered a significant benefit of the flat tax system. One tax rate makes for easy computation by the Internal Revenue Service and straightforward payments from taxpayers. Because the flat tax taxes only one income, it is easier to understand and to report. Taxpayers save the financial cost of complying with current IRS regulations, which often includes lawyers, accountants and other resources. The flat tax remains a popular idea in part because it eliminates double taxation. It removes the section of the tax code that is biased against the formation of capital. It eliminates the death tax, capital gains tax and double taxation of savings and dividends. Families and individuals are not required to report dividends, interest or other business-related income; this income is taxed at the business level. The flat tax makes it unnecessary to pay interest, dividends and other business tax at the individual levels. A flat tax employs territorial taxation, which is when the government only taxes income that is generated within national borders. In the global economy, taxes remain a critical component of business; countries with low-taxes benefit from jobs and capital. A good tax policy is important to generate revenue for business and also because the penalty for a poorly received tax system on a global scale may be substantial and long-term. The flat tax eliminates global taxation and allows the United States to compete more evenly in global markets. Fairness remains a lauded feature of the flat tax. For example, a taxpayer who makes $5,000 pays the same tax rate as someone who earns $500,000. The taxpayer making $500,000 pays more taxes simply because the income is greater, however, this taxpayers pays an equal percent to the $5,000 taxpayer. This tax system does not discriminate based on income level; everyone pays the same percent of income.” [5. http://smallbusiness.chron.com...] “In January 2001, Russia introduced a fairly dramatic reform of its personal income tax, becoming the first large economy to adopt a flat tax. The Tax Code of 2001 replaced a conventional progressive rate structure with a flat tax rate of 13 percent. Over the next year after the reform, while the Russian economy grew at almost 5% in real terms, revenues from the personal income tax increased by over 25% in real terms. Besides this revenue yield performance, advocates also have credited the flat tax with beneficial changes in the real side of the economy. The Russian experience would appear to have been so successful that many other countries have followed suit with their own flat rate income tax reforms, and an increasing number of countries around the world are considering the adoption of a flat rate income tax.”[6. http://smallbusiness.chron.com...] Therefore, a flat tax will be helpful in maintaining the economy, and will be liked by the people. CONCLUSION Ultimately, under my administration, the United States shall retain its state on democracy, and will not maintain irrational economic systems such as the gold standard. Con’s economic strategies will result in immense deflation and economic crisis, versus my stable maintenance of the Fed to ensure proper economic administration of the United States.