According to this week’s issue of The Economist, Ecuador’s new Constitution (which it is widely presumed will be ratified at the end of September) is 444 articles long, gives state-owned companies control of the economy, gives the president the power to dismiss the legislature, guarantees a minimum wage for labor, and outlaws foreign military bases.

About that last bit concerning foreign military bases, I’m delighted. President Correa of Ecuador (described by The Economist as a, “youngish Catholic economist") may be a socialist, but at least he understands sovereignty. At least one implication of the approval of this Constitution would be that the United States would no longer be able to operate anti-drug missions from there, which is a plus. Although, there seems to be little else to get enthusiastic about. But, then, I (like almost certainly virtually every citizen in Ecuador), haven’t read all 444 articles.

This will be Ecuador’s 20th Constitution. It reminds me just how resilient (and mercifully brief) the Constitution of the United States is. We’ve been working from the same document for over 2 centuries, and have only once been faced with a serious risk of secession or collapse. Perhaps if we weren’t so fitfully busy minding the business of so many other countries around the world, they might be more inclined to examine our model, which, while flawed, has stood the test of time the way few other nations’ have.

I just recently purchased a DVD of America: Freedom to Fascism, a documentary claiming that no law requires the average American to pay personal income tax.

Aaron Russo, the film’s creator and ‘08 presidential hopeful, borrows somewhat unskillfully from the docutainment toolbox of Michael Moore to highlight the cause of several groups that claim there is no law requiring us to pay our income taxes. Despite Russo lending his own gutteral, Brooklyn brogue to many of the voice-overs and the cheap title work and graphics, the documentary does manage to get you wondering.

After all, the Internal Revenue Code, at 16,000+ pages, is a hallmark product of bloated government bureaucracy, and who knows what’s really in there? Now, I recognize that government ought to cost something, but I’m a strong proponent of abolishing the IRS in favor of a low flat tax. That being said, it would be nice if these guys were right, wouldn’t it?

Some of the arguments the documentary presents seem more sound than others, which range from claims that the 16th Amendment was never ratified, to interpretations of Supreme Court rulings, and even that income tax is merely voluntary to pay.

It would be great if these arguments were true, but the film stops short of presenting any actual research. Interviews? Oh yes, those galore, but mostly with the people who say the tax is illegal and none with unbiased experts. The fact that no government official would speak on camera is provocative, but government officials are bureaucrats who wouldn’t know the answers to tough questions even if there were answers to give. And, in fact, to many of the questions the documentary asks, there are answers right on the IRS website.

Just because the IRS has answers doesn’t necessarily mean they’re right, but in America: Freedom To Fascism, Russo chose not to analytically examine the arguments. Instead, he simply suggests that there is no side whatsoever, which, to my mind, weakens the legitimacy of the case the documentary is intended to make.