Page 11 - Forbes - Asia (March 2020)
P. 11
Unlike the two-party system the Electoral Col-
lege fosters today, there would be numerous candi- Don’t Ground
dates competing in a national election. More basic These Sneakers
and ominous is that in contrast to the moderating
bias of the Electoral College, a direct popular-vote Nike has produced a sneaker called the Vaporfly 9
system would put a premium on inflaming passions that is roiling the sports world. Its technology, ac-
to gin up support for candidates in a crowded field. cording to critics and competitors, gives users an
Of course, if no aspirant reached a certain “unfair” advantage in elite running races, thereby F A
threshold—and what level should that be: 40%? threatening the integrity of the sport. It appears CT
50%?—there would have to be a runoff. Since there the shoes won’t be banned in this summer’s Tokyo &
would be so many candidates vying to occupy 1600 Olympics; however, the world governing body for
Pennsylvania Avenue, one could easily envision track and field is trying to curb further improve-
elections in which the runoff would be between two ments in this technology. COMMENT
extremist candidates who each received, say, 10% of Huh? What’s the big deal here? We’re not talking
the vote in the first round. To win a runoff, contend- about drugs. Isn’t sports equipment supposed to get
ers would have to bargain with the field’s losers for better? The way Vaporflys are constructed reduces
support in the final round. The horse-trading and a runner’s “energy cost.” Runners love them. Win-
outright payoffs this new system would encourage ners of recent marathons, at which records were set,
would make today’s political bargaining look tame wore versions of the sneaker. Naturally, Nike’s com-
in comparison. petitors are unhappy that prestige (and amateur)
Then, of course, you would have crucial, nitty-grit- athletes are flocking to Vaporflys. They would be
ty details to resolve. Who would police the 175,000 delighted to see Vaporflys banned in competitions—
voting districts to avoid chicanery? Who would en- for now. They’re scrambling to create their own ver-
sure that absentee ballots were not tampered with? sions—free-market competition works!
All of this could involve a major expansion in the cen- Over the years sneakers have made quantum
tral government’s power. Each state today has its own leaps in comfort, style and durability. So have sports
rules for voting. Some states, for example, encourage fabrics and other kinds of equipment. Isn’t this what
early voting; others do not. Under a direct-voting progress is supposed to be all about?
system, these rules would have to be uniform—again,
another extension of Washington’s power.
Democrats hate the Electoral College because
in both the 2000 and 2016 elections they lost the Bloomberg
White House even though their candidates received Blows It
more popular votes than their GOP opponents. This
ignores the fact that if the College hadn’t existed Mike Bloomberg proclaims he
during those contests, the candidates would have can best beat Donald Trump. But
waged entirely different kinds of campaigns. Donald he made a blunder that will hurt
Trump, for instance, would not have taken precious him badly if he is the Democrats’ nominee this No-
time near the end of the campaign to visit Maine in vember: He came out for raising economic-growth-
the hope of garnering an electoral vote in a congres- killing taxes on a scale that would ostensibly raise
sional district (which he did). almost 50% more revenue than Joe Biden’s sup-
Our Founders knew exactly what they were doing posedly more moderate schemes. Bloomberg’s nos-
when they created the Electoral College. We ignore trums would crush capital creation and business
their wisdom at our peril. investment and tank the stock market. Economic
growth would stagnate, and wage growth would
wither, if not decline.
By contrast, the president will be unveiling an-
other round of tax cuts to be enacted if he’s reelected.
Introducing Bloomberg and the rest of the Democratic field
What’s Ahead, have forgotten what happened the last time their
the new podcast hosted party standard-bearer so loudly trumpeted raising
by Steve Forbes. taxes: In 1984, pro-tax Walter Mondale carried only
Subscribe now on iTunes one state and the District of Columbia against the
or GooglePlay Store. tax-cutting incumbent, Ronald Reagan. F
MAR CH 2020 F ORBES A SIA
