First past the post concentrates political power in the hands of one person

Political power is shared evenly under proportional representation. Proportional representation is shared representation.

Banks supported by deposit insurance should either be reformed or allowed to fail

The government is printing money when it makes a loan.

First past the post governments are illegitimate

Governments elected under proportional representation have more legitimacy than those elected under first past the post.

Proportional Representation makes politicians more accountable to the electorate

Government deposit insurance enables banks to print money

Fractional reserve banking is not a justification for deposit insurance

We need to stop fractional reserve banking before we can get rid of deposit insurance. Fractional reserve banking is the reason banks can’t fail.

Fractional reserve banking destroys the value of cash

Cash might not be such a terrible investment if not for fractional reserve banking. Fractional reserve banking makes cash a terrible investment. Cash would hold value if we had full reserve banking. Fractional reserve banking enables government and borrowers to steal from savers through inflation.

Deposit insurance is communism

If banks can’t fail they cannot be considered to be part of the free market... they are communist.

Democracies are legitimate if they are proportional

To be considered legitimate democracies must be proportional... and proportionality is a requirement for democracies to be considered legitimate. If democracies are not proportional then they are not legitimate. First past the post democracies are not legitimate.

Proportional representation is anarcho capitalism

The parliament is redundant with first past the post which makes it similar to a democratic monarchy

There is little point having a parliament if members must be (are willing to be) loyal to their parties. But with fptp... at least the party is able to hold their leader to account to some extent. A parliament which is elected directly using pr has more ability to reject bad laws because members have no loyalty to the leader. Voting against the legislation is not a matter of rebellion. Under fptp bad laws get passed because loyalists vote through legislation without any scrutiny. If it’s better for voters not to have a choice then it is better not to have democracy. First past the post is anti-democratic.

Proportional Representation would remove yet more power from the government

First past the post is good for people who like dysfunctional and adversarial politics. It creates confusion (a false sense of support for the leading parties) and keeps reality and the truth from being revealed.

Government is the most senior of all criminals...

Tactical voting ceases to be a consideration for voters under proportional representation

Proportional representation would remove the need for tactical voting... Parties with a higher proportion of the popular vote than is held in parliament (by their politicians) should have their voting power enhanced to a proportional level. There is no reason for all members of parliament to have equal voting power given that they have not been elected via proportional representation.

Central banks enable fractional reserve banking

Without the central bank fractional reserve banking would be impossible for commercial banks. Central banks are unnecessary and do not need to be part of the public sector.

Banks with deposit insurance can print money

Commercial bank credit is not real money because banks don’t have deposit insurance. Central bank credit is not real money either.

The big political parties endorse first past the post for no other reason than selfishness

First past the post is communism because it lets in socialist parties.

There would be no gross domestic product if charities provided everything

People would not trade if everything is provided for free by charities... so gross domestic product (gdp) is a measurement of the extent to which people cannot get what they want through charitable means. Gdp measures the extent to which charities do not provide what people need.

Socialism is impossible under governance by pr

Parties of the left do well only because of first past the post.

Proportional Representation would be terrible because we would not know whom to vote for

Sarcasm: Proportional Representation would be chaos and anarchy.

Proportional Representation would be used by an intelligent government

An intelligent government would not use first past the post... The use of first past the post as a voting system is evidence of the stupidity of the government because it doesn’t work. First past the post doesn’t work and yet the government continues to use it which is evidence of their stupidity. First past the post does not reflect the intentions of the electorate.

No taxation without proportional representation

There is never anyone good to vote for because of first past the post

The main two positions will always be dominated by parties which pander to the dogma prevalent at the time. Bigots will not be (cannot be) excluded from holding power. The reason we cannot exclude bigots is first past the post. Only a bigot of one form or another would defend fptp against proportional representation. The outcomes of (unproportional) first past the post elections are not legitimate because they are not proportional. The only legitimate electoral systems are those which give proportional outcomes. There can be no representation (and therefore no fair taxes) without proportionality and so (unproportional and unfair) first past the post is not legitimate. Any government (taxation) derived by first past the post is not legitimate because it is not representative. There can be no (legitimate) taxation without proportionality in the democratic outcome.

If we think government wants small government then first past the post is good

First past the post gives more power to the government. It is good to have small government so unless (if it is not true that) government is more likely to choose small government (than the electorate) then pr is better.

Fractional reserve banking is unfair but not a crime

Fractional reserve banking is not a crime but it is unfair...

It is not consistent for banks to be able to inflate the money supply if counterfeiting is illegal

If counterfeiting cash banknotes is a crime then so too is (the combination of) deposit insurance and fractional reserve banking.

Public banks should not practice fractional reserve banking because this causes inflation and creates debt

If inflation is seen as a desirable event then there are other more efficient ways to cause inflation such as printing money into the economy. Public practice of fractional reserve banking creates more debt which is not desirable. Another factor to consider is that the government is financially motivated to cause inflation and debt with the present system. There is a profit motive when the motive of the government should be nothing other than the public interest.

Deposit insurance is a problem... we are not free yet

We are not free if banks have deposit insurance. If banks have deposit insurance than the government is a bank (for profit) which provides other services... If the government is not for profit then deposit insurance would not exist. Deposit insurance is how the government makes money.

There is no reason to treat banks differently from other businesses

Many business might be considered to be a utility (such as supermarkets or appliance manufacturers) but that is not a reason to give them extra protections... Member banks should not have been given deposit insurance by the central bank. Such a practice should be against the constitution. According to the constitution the central bank should not be allowed to give deposit insurance to the member banks.

Fractional reserve banking is always possible even in a free market if the bank has access to the safe

It is only because of deposit insurance that fractional reserve banking is so prevalent. There is no incentive to choose a full reserve bank (the incentive has been removed) since a crash will be averted. Deposit insurance turns bank credit into money because it prevents a crash. Bank credit is money because of deposit insurance. Deposit insurance is the reason banks can’t crash and bank credit is money.

There is no need for proportional representation

...but first past the post makes it easy for politicians to ignore voters.

Those who do not support electoral reform are not progressive

First past the post seems more benign than it is because of its name

First past the post is an empty phrase which communicates nothing. We can assume that the winner of an election will be the person who comes first... the issue with fptp and the difference between that method and others is that the winner (the first) takes all. It could be called first takes all. First past the post sounds innocent of any bias or iniquity because there is no objection to the first person winning as no one would want the second or third to win. The problem is that the winner takes everything. This name removes any criticism and negative connotations from its description making it (falsely) seem benign.

Taxation is worse when the government demands paper currencies... instead of hard currencies

Proportional Representation devolves power from the leader of the government to the people

Proportional Representation ensures freedom because there is more choice... unless people do not want to be free for reasons of inequality. All government is bad but pr would be less bad than first-past-the-post. First-past-the-post protects rich people who have land...

It’s pointless having individual members of parliament if they are elected under fptp

The only reason government is generally able to establish a majority (and is not always forced into a coalition) is the fptp voting system.

Fractional reserve banking can never be a free market phenomenon...

...and for that reason there is no such thing as fractional reserve banking... the deposits are always fully backed with government credit. At least the banks are democratically accountable.

Deposit insurance destroys the value of money

Inflation is caused by nothing other than deposit insurance... and printing money. Deposit insurance turns deposits into real money.

State deposit insurance makes it easy to get money

State deposit insurance is always inflationary... In a taxed economy being protected from insolvency means that your credit will always have value... you can print money.

Poor people cannot afford a place to live because of deposit insurance

Deposit insurance hurts poor people because it means they cannot afford anywhere to live. The housing crisis is caused by deposit insurance.

Proportional Representation gives power to individual members of parliament not the parties

Removing first past the post would collapse the party system like removing deposit insurance would collapse the banking system.

First past the post is simply the illusion of democracy at the constituency level

First past the post is a presidential rather than parliamentary system. First past the post is analogous to electing a city mayor for prime minister. We do not elect a parliament (as we would with proportional representation) just a prime minister... The eventual prime minister is not chosen by the MPs but instead the parties and the electorate.

The government guarantee of bank deposits means that cash is not the only form of money

Proportional Representation is not a threat to economic liberalism

We don’t need first past the post