Fitz File

I have just finished an unfortunately relevant book,  How Democracies Die  by Steven Levitsky and Daniel Ziblatt. Their in-depth analysis of the road to authoritarianism directly references the norm breaking actions of the Trump administration and how it has harmed our institutions. While neither party is innocent, their work shows the republican party taking large steps to undermine democracy and secure their power over the will of the people. In functioning democracies, the actions of those in power to ensure the survival of the institutions are marked by two general practices: mutual tolerance and institutional forbearance. The first is more self-explanatory. A democracy is a political system based on compromise and cooperation; all parties will need to work together at some point. Institutional forbearance is more complicated and the subject of this piece. There are many weapons in the arsenal of elected officials, great and small, that can be used against...

Today we are examining whether or not officials at the FBI may be guilty of treason, sedition, or other high crimes against the United States. Recently, Andrew McGabe, the former deputy director of the FBI disclosed in his book and in multiple interviews, that he and Rob Rosenstein had discussed ways to deal with Donald Trump in the early days of the administration. During those discussions, they floated the possibility of one wearing a wire, or to recruit members of the cabinet to use the 25 th amendment to remove President Trump from office. The exact details of these conversations are  unclear, but this has already prompted the President and various media outlets to call these actions “treason”. These conversations took place in the middle of the FBI becoming extremely alarmed by the actions of Donald Trump, who seemed to be oddly involved with Russia. Out of the many concerns the bureau probably had, one that they disturbingly found to be a possibility was tha...

A consistent talking point and rallying cry for all politicians is to create jobs. Every ideology has some platform dedicated to job growth or change. Yet the two most prominent political parties, Democratic and Republican, have not addressed the true stimulant for job growth and wage increases that have predicated every “boom” in our capitalist society. President Trump and the majority of the Republican party had continually stuck with the age old supply-side economic theory: if you cut taxes on the wealthy and corporations, they will take the money they save a reinvest it in the economy, creating production and job growth. With the rise of Trump Republicanism, Democrats have moved to the left, slowly embracing a job guarantee system along with demand-side economics. The government will provide a job if you cannot find one yourself, along with lower taxes for lower- and middle-class people, ensuring their ability to continuously buy, causing production to match demand. Both sides d...

            One of the platforms for the incoming House Democrats, now empowered with a majority in the chamber, is a ‘Green New Deal’. Harkening back to FDR and his New Deal, this plan would put a focus on educating our work force, heavy investment in green tech, and a federal job guarantee, among other things. While I have not done an enormous amount of research on the details of the plan, I cannot help but think about the rebukes surely to come. In the age of Trump and Twitter, it is important to have a set group of quick, marketable talking points that a voter can easily grasp. This is one of the reasons why I always say Democrats win debates, Republicans win elections: they always have an easily digestible message that Dems don’t. But, not heeding my own advice, I want to take on two common talking points that conservatives claim will kill jobs: environmental regulation and wage increases.    ...