What has happened to Social Security and Meidcare/Medicaid? Why are they going bankrupt? Is it because we have not put enough money in the system? Hardly! In fact, if we as individuals had invested for ourselves the same amount of money we paid for SS tax, we all would be millionaires today. Has Social Security and Medicare/Medicaid made us millionaires? Don't laugh too loudly! "(I)t is not difficult to see what must be the consequences when democracy embarks upon a course of planning. ..Democratic assemblies cannot function as planning agencies...it would certainly in the end satisfy nobody." (The Road To Serfdom (Abridged Edition), Friedrich A Hayek; The University of Chicago Press, 1994; pp 15,16)
So we made a mistake in having our Congress, our government, plan for our retirement. Does that mean that since we have spent so many years trying to make this sad mistake work, that we should refuse to give it up? That sounds like the definition of insanity: "Keep doing the same thing expecting different results." If we keep doing the same thing, we are just going to get deeper and deeper into the quicksand. Sure, we can keep screaming and shouting about our terrible circumstances, but what good does screaming and shouting do? It certainly does not fix the problem. In fact, it just makes it worse. The screaming and shouting cause people to panic and then watch how much faster we will sink.
Let's get Paul Ryan and others like him to work out a plan to get out of Social Security and MM and let's get it done.
AND while we are at it let's get out of Obamacare NOW. We have seen what Social Security and MM have done for us. Why wait any longer with Obamacare?
Tuesday, October 4, 2011
Hope
There is hope for us who want to return our country to its Constitution. The hope is that the statist form of government never works. Over time people recognize that such leaders cannot fulfill the promises they make. That is what happened in the USSR, is happening in China, happened in Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy. It will also happen here. We are beginning to see it already. The left is getting ready to throw BO under the bus because he is not fulfilling the promises he made. The public in our country is getting ready to throw our whole government out because the politicians are simply not able to fulfill all the promises they make. These politicos make all kinds of promises in order to get elected and then fall flat on their faces after they get into office. We the people are getting tired of such foolishness, such lying. "The claim that a planned economy would produce a substantially larger output than the competitive system is being progressively abandoned by most students of the problem. Yet it is this false hope as much as anything which drives us along the road to planning." (The Road To Serfdom (Abridged Edition), Friedrich A Hayek; The University of Chicago Press, 1994; p 14)
It is this claim that a planned economy would produce more than the free market is what has driven the leftists to press for a dictatorial government, one planned from the top. Yet this is a false hope. And many people are beginning to see that. A planned economy is supposed to feed the hungry better, take better care of the poor, provide better health care for the sick, make our country more loving and kind and better, but we are finding out that such a plan is just a pipe dream. Such a government does not help poor countries more, does not protect our environment better, does not help the poor in our country better, does not do anything better than a free market. And then to top it all off, such a planned society, a government that plans everything from the top down takes away all our freedoms and liberty. So it just makes matters worse. It does not help the weak and frail and it crushes anyone who is strong. What a complete failure.
So let us return to small government---a government that only serves to protect us from enemies external and internal and serves as a mediator within our boundaries and leave the rest to the free market. I bet we will find that the poor will be taken care of better and the strong will be able to do what is necessary to provide for themselves and those around them. SHRINK GOVERNMENT!
It is this claim that a planned economy would produce more than the free market is what has driven the leftists to press for a dictatorial government, one planned from the top. Yet this is a false hope. And many people are beginning to see that. A planned economy is supposed to feed the hungry better, take better care of the poor, provide better health care for the sick, make our country more loving and kind and better, but we are finding out that such a plan is just a pipe dream. Such a government does not help poor countries more, does not protect our environment better, does not help the poor in our country better, does not do anything better than a free market. And then to top it all off, such a planned society, a government that plans everything from the top down takes away all our freedoms and liberty. So it just makes matters worse. It does not help the weak and frail and it crushes anyone who is strong. What a complete failure.
So let us return to small government---a government that only serves to protect us from enemies external and internal and serves as a mediator within our boundaries and leave the rest to the free market. I bet we will find that the poor will be taken care of better and the strong will be able to do what is necessary to provide for themselves and those around them. SHRINK GOVERNMENT!
BO TV Time
Why does BO spend so much time making speeches and appearing on TV?
A dictator "must gain the support of the docile and gullible, who have no strong convictions of their own but are ready to accept a ready-made system of values if it is only drummed into their ears sufficiently loudly and frequently." (The Road To Serfdom (Abridged Edition), Friedrich A Hayek; The University of Chicago Press, 1994; p 20) Anybody ever wonder how many speeches Hitler made in his climb to power? Or how often Lenin and Stalin appeared publicly? Or Mussolini? Are we seeing a repeat or at least an attempt to repeat what Hitler, Stalin, Lenin, and Mussolini did? Just shout often enough and loud enough and the docile and gullible will support it.
And it does not matter if what you say is true or not. In fact, you can contradict yourself with every speech, you can make promises that you know you cannot fulfill, that does not matter. Just talk loud enough and often enough and the docile, gullible will fall right in step.
A dictator "must gain the support of the docile and gullible, who have no strong convictions of their own but are ready to accept a ready-made system of values if it is only drummed into their ears sufficiently loudly and frequently." (The Road To Serfdom (Abridged Edition), Friedrich A Hayek; The University of Chicago Press, 1994; p 20) Anybody ever wonder how many speeches Hitler made in his climb to power? Or how often Lenin and Stalin appeared publicly? Or Mussolini? Are we seeing a repeat or at least an attempt to repeat what Hitler, Stalin, Lenin, and Mussolini did? Just shout often enough and loud enough and the docile and gullible will support it.
And it does not matter if what you say is true or not. In fact, you can contradict yourself with every speech, you can make promises that you know you cannot fulfill, that does not matter. Just talk loud enough and often enough and the docile, gullible will fall right in step.
Saturday, October 1, 2011
Managing The Government
Since government is so busy chasing its own tail, how do we go about breaking that cycle? The legislators overstep their bounds by passing laws that regulate our lives in intricate, complex ways. The they realize there are unforeseen consequences to those legal regulations and so they pass more legal regulations to correct the problems with the first set. Then they realize there were unforeseen consequences for those laws and so they have to pass some more laws to correct for those consequences and then they realize...... You get the picture. How do we stop this foolishness?
We don't. This is what government is all about. That is why we have to strip government down to the bare bones because if we don't we will suffocate under the weight of all those legal regulations, all those laws. Government MUST be restrained and contained or it is going to kill us socially and even personally. That is why the Constitution was written to RESTRICT government, not to AUTHORIZE government. The founding fathers knew very well how burdensome to the private sector government can become. And so they wrote the Constitution to restrain and contain government. The Constitution was not written to restrain or even to authorize the citizens. The citizens did not need the Constitution to authorize them to have their rights. The rights we have are God-given, natural. We have them because we are born with them. The Constitution had one object in mind: restrict, restrain, contain government. The Constitution was written to prevent government from becoming so overwhelming that it would smother the private sector and the rights that we have by virtue of our birth.
Does this sound familiar? Sounds like what is happening today, doesn't it? Why is it happening? It is happening because so many of our elected officials despise the Constitution. So many of our elected officials, and even our appointed officials, consider the Constitution something to be stomped on and ridiculed. And as a result, those officials, elected and appointed, end up getting themselves all tied up in knots trying to figure out how they can correct the unforeseen consequences of the legal regulations they have created. They end up chasing their tails and get so dizzy they don't even know what is coming next.
That is why James Madison wrote: "It will not be denied, that power is of an encroaching nature, and that it ought to be effectually restrained from passing the limits assigned to it." (The Federalist Papers; Alexander Hamilton, James Madison, and John Jay; Bantam Dell, 2003; p 301) Power is encroaching; power just grows without encouragement. And so it must be restrained, contained, restricted.
But "(w)ill it be sufficient to mark with precision the boundaries of these departments in the Constitution of the government, and to trust to these parchment barriers against the encroaching spirit of power?...experience assures us, that the efficacy of the provision has been greatly over-rated." (ibid, p 301) James Madison realized that just having a piece of paper that lays out the restrictions on government is not sufficient. That efficacy is over-rated. As it should be. After all, a piece of paper does nothing to stop anything. It needs to have enforcement. But what enforcement?
"(T)he people are the only legitimate fountain of power....it is from them that the constitutional charter...is derived." (ibid, p 307) The enforcement comes from WE THE PEOPLE. The buck stops here, not at WDC, the state houses, the county courthouses, or the city halls. The buck stops with WE THE PEOPLE.
That is why it is such a shame that any official would state in any way that elections should be postponed or canceled. That is pure revolution. That is treason, even if stated in a joking manner. To state this even in a joking manner is like shouting "FIRE" in a crowded theater. To even entertain such a thought is pure revolt against the legitimate fountain of power.
And so we the people must start taking our responsibility seriously. We have the task of managing the employees of this country, the elected and appointed officials. One reason we have gotten into such a burdensome place is because we the people have not carried out our responsibility. And so our government has chased its tail until the hole has gotten so deep it will take years, decades and many elections to remove ourselves. We have only ourselves to blame for all the work we now have before us.
But what do we do? We can't get rid of government. Government is a necessity. The founding fathers called it a "necessary evil." So what do we do?
We MANAGE the government. That means that we do NOT destroy our government. God forbid! For even though, as Winston Churchill said, "Democracy is a terrible form of government, but I have found nothing better." We have the best form of government. So we do NOT want to destroy our government. We MANAGE it. We supervise, govern, direct our government. We keep it within its limits. That is what the Constitution gives us guidance in doing. We manage our government by making sure it remains within the limits that the Constitution has laid out so that our government does kill our freedoms and society and country.
And so, government being government, will continue to chase its own tail, but as long as it does this within certain limits it causes much less damage/evil than if we just let it run rampant over the Constitution, the country and us.
The problem for us now is to get it back to its limits. We have let this slip so long that we have a task that will last for years, decades, and many elections. But then, what would we expect? The buck stops here. This task is REALLY a daily task, a life-long task, for everyone, IF we want to remain free. As Benjamin Franklin answered the woman who asked him what kind of government the convention had given the citizens: "A republic, ma'am, IF YOU CAN KEEP IT." IF YOU CAN KEEP IT. Keeping a republic is a constant task. What we need to do is pass this concept onto those that come after us in this life. We, they, MUST work daily to keep the republic. That is the responsibility of we the people.
We don't. This is what government is all about. That is why we have to strip government down to the bare bones because if we don't we will suffocate under the weight of all those legal regulations, all those laws. Government MUST be restrained and contained or it is going to kill us socially and even personally. That is why the Constitution was written to RESTRICT government, not to AUTHORIZE government. The founding fathers knew very well how burdensome to the private sector government can become. And so they wrote the Constitution to restrain and contain government. The Constitution was not written to restrain or even to authorize the citizens. The citizens did not need the Constitution to authorize them to have their rights. The rights we have are God-given, natural. We have them because we are born with them. The Constitution had one object in mind: restrict, restrain, contain government. The Constitution was written to prevent government from becoming so overwhelming that it would smother the private sector and the rights that we have by virtue of our birth.
Does this sound familiar? Sounds like what is happening today, doesn't it? Why is it happening? It is happening because so many of our elected officials despise the Constitution. So many of our elected officials, and even our appointed officials, consider the Constitution something to be stomped on and ridiculed. And as a result, those officials, elected and appointed, end up getting themselves all tied up in knots trying to figure out how they can correct the unforeseen consequences of the legal regulations they have created. They end up chasing their tails and get so dizzy they don't even know what is coming next.
That is why James Madison wrote: "It will not be denied, that power is of an encroaching nature, and that it ought to be effectually restrained from passing the limits assigned to it." (The Federalist Papers; Alexander Hamilton, James Madison, and John Jay; Bantam Dell, 2003; p 301) Power is encroaching; power just grows without encouragement. And so it must be restrained, contained, restricted.
But "(w)ill it be sufficient to mark with precision the boundaries of these departments in the Constitution of the government, and to trust to these parchment barriers against the encroaching spirit of power?...experience assures us, that the efficacy of the provision has been greatly over-rated." (ibid, p 301) James Madison realized that just having a piece of paper that lays out the restrictions on government is not sufficient. That efficacy is over-rated. As it should be. After all, a piece of paper does nothing to stop anything. It needs to have enforcement. But what enforcement?
"(T)he people are the only legitimate fountain of power....it is from them that the constitutional charter...is derived." (ibid, p 307) The enforcement comes from WE THE PEOPLE. The buck stops here, not at WDC, the state houses, the county courthouses, or the city halls. The buck stops with WE THE PEOPLE.
That is why it is such a shame that any official would state in any way that elections should be postponed or canceled. That is pure revolution. That is treason, even if stated in a joking manner. To state this even in a joking manner is like shouting "FIRE" in a crowded theater. To even entertain such a thought is pure revolt against the legitimate fountain of power.
And so we the people must start taking our responsibility seriously. We have the task of managing the employees of this country, the elected and appointed officials. One reason we have gotten into such a burdensome place is because we the people have not carried out our responsibility. And so our government has chased its tail until the hole has gotten so deep it will take years, decades and many elections to remove ourselves. We have only ourselves to blame for all the work we now have before us.
But what do we do? We can't get rid of government. Government is a necessity. The founding fathers called it a "necessary evil." So what do we do?
We MANAGE the government. That means that we do NOT destroy our government. God forbid! For even though, as Winston Churchill said, "Democracy is a terrible form of government, but I have found nothing better." We have the best form of government. So we do NOT want to destroy our government. We MANAGE it. We supervise, govern, direct our government. We keep it within its limits. That is what the Constitution gives us guidance in doing. We manage our government by making sure it remains within the limits that the Constitution has laid out so that our government does kill our freedoms and society and country.
And so, government being government, will continue to chase its own tail, but as long as it does this within certain limits it causes much less damage/evil than if we just let it run rampant over the Constitution, the country and us.
The problem for us now is to get it back to its limits. We have let this slip so long that we have a task that will last for years, decades, and many elections. But then, what would we expect? The buck stops here. This task is REALLY a daily task, a life-long task, for everyone, IF we want to remain free. As Benjamin Franklin answered the woman who asked him what kind of government the convention had given the citizens: "A republic, ma'am, IF YOU CAN KEEP IT." IF YOU CAN KEEP IT. Keeping a republic is a constant task. What we need to do is pass this concept onto those that come after us in this life. We, they, MUST work daily to keep the republic. That is the responsibility of we the people.
Friday, September 30, 2011
Sober Reform Of Government
There can not be much doubt that our government, especially federal but also state, needs major reform. But what kind of reform is needed? Would this include more 2000 page legislation that lawyers can haggle over endlessly, thus creating more work for themselves? Oh, I hope not, but what needs to be done to reform our government?
You know what? The government can not reform itself. We the people need to reform our government. No one else can do it. For when the government tries to reform itself, it just gets in deeper and deeper. The government trying to reform itself is like a dog chasing its tail. The faster it goes the dizzier the politicians get. And the dizzier they get the more madness/confusion we get from the government. The government passes reform which it then has to reform which it then has to reform, etc. Do you see where this ends? We finally end up spinning ourselves right into the ground.
James Madison could have told us that 235 years ago. Those gullible, unscientific, aged, old-fashioned founding fathers knew human nature. Listen to James Madison: "(The sober people) have seen, too, that legislative interference, is but the first link of a long chain of repetitions; every subsequent interference being naturally produced by the effects of the preceding. They very rightly infer, therefore, that some thorough reform is wanting which will banish speculations on public measures, inspire a general prudence and industry, and give a regular course to the business of society." (The Federalist Papers; Alexander Hamilton, James Madison, and John Jay; Bantam Dell, 2003; p 273)
The legislative interference is but the first link of a long chain of repetitions. Does that sound familiar? Congress passes a law and then realizes all kinds of unsuspected consequences for which they have to pass another law to clear up which leads to all kinds of other unsuspected consequences for which they have to pass another law to clear up which leads.... You get the picture.
So James Madison states that a reform is wanting which will banish speculations on public measures. But what kind of reform? Won't this just lead to Congress chasing its tail some more? How can this cycle be broken? What kind of reform is needed?
There is only one answer: GET THE GOVERNMENT OUT OF OUR LIVES. REPEAL GOVERNMENT. Oh, not all of it, but repeal all the laws that are beyond and outside of what the Constitution requires our government do for us. What would that be?
Well, our Constitution requires our government to defend us from enemies external and internal. And internal enemies do NOT mean business enemies, competitive enemies, sports enemies, but enemies that would destroy our freedoms of life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. And notice it does not mean people who prevent us from being happy, but prevent us from pursuing happiness. We may pursue happiness our whole life and never get there. So be it! The government is not commissioned to give us that happiness, but just protect our right to pursue it. And by the way, pursuit of happiness originally meant the freedom to own property, to own what we have earned by our own labor.
The Constitution also requires our government mediate between states in any disputes between them. That does not mean that the national government has the right to create a relationship between the states, but to only mediate if the states cannot agree with each other and to monitor it so that those states do not go to arms in their dispute. Nor does that mean that the national government can dictate to the states how they may do business in their own states or even between each other unless it interferes with the business of another state. And even then, the national government is to only mediate in the dispute, not dictate. The states are to find their own solution to the dispute and to use the national government in the dispute only if necessary and desired by the states.
So what do we do with the rest of the national government, all the bureaucracies, agencies, czars and every other structure the government has created. All these creations of the government has created nothing but confusion and burden.
REPEAL THEM! Sounds quite simple, doesn't it? Well, just try it. You will find a bunch of screaming, crying idiots.
Well, what do we do? Do we just go along the way we have and sink right down the toilet or do we shrink government down to survive and put up with the whining and crying? The choice is ours. It will take a horrendous amount of work. It will be a life-time job. Indeed, the reason the job has gotten so big is that we have not been paying attention to it all along. We thought our officials, elected and appointed, were taking care of business, but you know what? IT DOES NOT WORK THAT WAY. We the people are the responsible ones and if we are not paying attention why should we expect our officials to pay attention? The buck stops HERE! Not in WDC or the state capitols or the county courthouses/city halls. No, the buck stops HERE at "we the people". And if we are not taking care of business, no one else will do so. So let's get to work and let's expect to work for decades, indeed for life, because that is what it takes to manage our freedoms and protect them. God bless our efforts!
You know what? The government can not reform itself. We the people need to reform our government. No one else can do it. For when the government tries to reform itself, it just gets in deeper and deeper. The government trying to reform itself is like a dog chasing its tail. The faster it goes the dizzier the politicians get. And the dizzier they get the more madness/confusion we get from the government. The government passes reform which it then has to reform which it then has to reform, etc. Do you see where this ends? We finally end up spinning ourselves right into the ground.
James Madison could have told us that 235 years ago. Those gullible, unscientific, aged, old-fashioned founding fathers knew human nature. Listen to James Madison: "(The sober people) have seen, too, that legislative interference, is but the first link of a long chain of repetitions; every subsequent interference being naturally produced by the effects of the preceding. They very rightly infer, therefore, that some thorough reform is wanting which will banish speculations on public measures, inspire a general prudence and industry, and give a regular course to the business of society." (The Federalist Papers; Alexander Hamilton, James Madison, and John Jay; Bantam Dell, 2003; p 273)
The legislative interference is but the first link of a long chain of repetitions. Does that sound familiar? Congress passes a law and then realizes all kinds of unsuspected consequences for which they have to pass another law to clear up which leads to all kinds of other unsuspected consequences for which they have to pass another law to clear up which leads.... You get the picture.
So James Madison states that a reform is wanting which will banish speculations on public measures. But what kind of reform? Won't this just lead to Congress chasing its tail some more? How can this cycle be broken? What kind of reform is needed?
There is only one answer: GET THE GOVERNMENT OUT OF OUR LIVES. REPEAL GOVERNMENT. Oh, not all of it, but repeal all the laws that are beyond and outside of what the Constitution requires our government do for us. What would that be?
Well, our Constitution requires our government to defend us from enemies external and internal. And internal enemies do NOT mean business enemies, competitive enemies, sports enemies, but enemies that would destroy our freedoms of life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. And notice it does not mean people who prevent us from being happy, but prevent us from pursuing happiness. We may pursue happiness our whole life and never get there. So be it! The government is not commissioned to give us that happiness, but just protect our right to pursue it. And by the way, pursuit of happiness originally meant the freedom to own property, to own what we have earned by our own labor.
The Constitution also requires our government mediate between states in any disputes between them. That does not mean that the national government has the right to create a relationship between the states, but to only mediate if the states cannot agree with each other and to monitor it so that those states do not go to arms in their dispute. Nor does that mean that the national government can dictate to the states how they may do business in their own states or even between each other unless it interferes with the business of another state. And even then, the national government is to only mediate in the dispute, not dictate. The states are to find their own solution to the dispute and to use the national government in the dispute only if necessary and desired by the states.
So what do we do with the rest of the national government, all the bureaucracies, agencies, czars and every other structure the government has created. All these creations of the government has created nothing but confusion and burden.
REPEAL THEM! Sounds quite simple, doesn't it? Well, just try it. You will find a bunch of screaming, crying idiots.
Well, what do we do? Do we just go along the way we have and sink right down the toilet or do we shrink government down to survive and put up with the whining and crying? The choice is ours. It will take a horrendous amount of work. It will be a life-time job. Indeed, the reason the job has gotten so big is that we have not been paying attention to it all along. We thought our officials, elected and appointed, were taking care of business, but you know what? IT DOES NOT WORK THAT WAY. We the people are the responsible ones and if we are not paying attention why should we expect our officials to pay attention? The buck stops HERE! Not in WDC or the state capitols or the county courthouses/city halls. No, the buck stops HERE at "we the people". And if we are not taking care of business, no one else will do so. So let's get to work and let's expect to work for decades, indeed for life, because that is what it takes to manage our freedoms and protect them. God bless our efforts!
Thursday, September 29, 2011
No Trust In The Government?
Why does it seem that the public has no confidence or respect for our government? Why is BO ridiculed so relentlessly? Why is a Senator chased out of a restaurant in his home state? Where has the civility gone?
"(The people's) confidence in and obedience to a government, will commonly be proportioned to the goodness or badness of its administration." (The Federalist Papers; Alexander Hamilton, James Madison, and John Jay; Bantam Dell, 2003; p 156) Alexander knew what it took for a government to be respected and for civility to rule in the country. It took good administration of the government.
When BO and his minions complain about the civility in this country, Alexander Hamilton would have them look at themselves. The tone of the country is set by the leaders, elected and appointed. Does the public seem to lack civility? Is it because the administration of our government, the actual work being done in WDC lacks civility or as some want to call it, common sense? Lack of civility by leaders leads to lack of civility by the public.
The founding fathers were very wise. Let us not think them unsophisticated. Let us not think them old-fashioned, unscientific. Times have not changed. Oh granted, we have technology and medical science and other scientific achievements they may not have had. Yet they were just as intelligent as people today, and sometimes even more intelligent and at least civil. Now we have leaders who tell bold faced lies and don't care. Why would we think the public would be any more civil than that?
Don't complain about the civility, the morality, the industriousness of the public today unless you are willing to look at yourself.
"(The people's) confidence in and obedience to a government, will commonly be proportioned to the goodness or badness of its administration." (The Federalist Papers; Alexander Hamilton, James Madison, and John Jay; Bantam Dell, 2003; p 156) Alexander knew what it took for a government to be respected and for civility to rule in the country. It took good administration of the government.
When BO and his minions complain about the civility in this country, Alexander Hamilton would have them look at themselves. The tone of the country is set by the leaders, elected and appointed. Does the public seem to lack civility? Is it because the administration of our government, the actual work being done in WDC lacks civility or as some want to call it, common sense? Lack of civility by leaders leads to lack of civility by the public.
The founding fathers were very wise. Let us not think them unsophisticated. Let us not think them old-fashioned, unscientific. Times have not changed. Oh granted, we have technology and medical science and other scientific achievements they may not have had. Yet they were just as intelligent as people today, and sometimes even more intelligent and at least civil. Now we have leaders who tell bold faced lies and don't care. Why would we think the public would be any more civil than that?
Don't complain about the civility, the morality, the industriousness of the public today unless you are willing to look at yourself.
Wednesday, September 28, 2011
Was James Madison A Prophet?
I am totally stunned by the wisdom and foresight of James Madison. Listen to this: "I will add as a fifth circumstance in the situation of the House of Representatives, restraining them from oppressive measures, that they can make no law which will not have its full operation on themselves and their friends, as well as on the great mass of the society. This has always been deemed one of the strongest bonds by which human policy can connect the rulers and the people together...without which every government degenerates into tyranny...what is to restrain the House of Representatives from making legal discriminations in favor of themselves and a particular class of society? I answer...above all the vigilant and manly spirit which actuates the people of America, a spirit which nourishes freedom and in return is nourished by it. If this spirit shall ever be so far debased as to tolerate a law not obligatory on the Legislature as well as on the people, the people will be prepared to tolerate anything but liberty." (The Federalist Papers; Alexander Hamilton, James Madison and John Jay; Bantam Dell, 2003; p 349, 350)
No wonder there is such a chasm between the "ruling class" inside the beltway and the "country class", the rest of us. Congress passes a law and the law exempts the Congress and government employees from the law. Talk about creating two classes, the ruling class and in the eyes of the ruling class, the hicks, the country class. The representatives and senators and their staffs and the bureaucrats are exempt from the law and the rest of us are subject to the law and also pay for the law. So the members of the ruling class sit on their high and mighty thrones inside the beltway and the rest of us kiss their feet and thank them for passing such intelligent laws. This is one impetus that has been leading us towards tyranny. Without the bond of living under the same laws, we will degenerate into a tyranny.
The fact that we have allowed this to happen is really sad. We need to demand that all exemptions for employees of the government, elected and appointed, be repealed retroactive. Maybe we need to consider an amendment to the Constitution that states that no law shall exempt government employees from its obligations. It is a shame that we would even have to consider such an amendment. Certainly the employees of government are moral enough to consider such an exemption an outrage. It also is a shame that the lawmakers don't consider their laws to be worth living under. If we continue to allow this we will tolerate anything "except liberty." What a sad state of affairs we have allowed to government to come to! We have been running toward tyranny, but thanks to BO we have come awake.
Thank you, James Madison, for being so clear minded.
No wonder there is such a chasm between the "ruling class" inside the beltway and the "country class", the rest of us. Congress passes a law and the law exempts the Congress and government employees from the law. Talk about creating two classes, the ruling class and in the eyes of the ruling class, the hicks, the country class. The representatives and senators and their staffs and the bureaucrats are exempt from the law and the rest of us are subject to the law and also pay for the law. So the members of the ruling class sit on their high and mighty thrones inside the beltway and the rest of us kiss their feet and thank them for passing such intelligent laws. This is one impetus that has been leading us towards tyranny. Without the bond of living under the same laws, we will degenerate into a tyranny.
The fact that we have allowed this to happen is really sad. We need to demand that all exemptions for employees of the government, elected and appointed, be repealed retroactive. Maybe we need to consider an amendment to the Constitution that states that no law shall exempt government employees from its obligations. It is a shame that we would even have to consider such an amendment. Certainly the employees of government are moral enough to consider such an exemption an outrage. It also is a shame that the lawmakers don't consider their laws to be worth living under. If we continue to allow this we will tolerate anything "except liberty." What a sad state of affairs we have allowed to government to come to! We have been running toward tyranny, but thanks to BO we have come awake.
Thank you, James Madison, for being so clear minded.
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