A Thought on Government Over the Long Term

A THOUGHT ON GOVERNMENT OVER THE LONG TERM

By Publius II

Thruout history there have been many types of government. Many of these have been called democracies by politicians and the news media. Citizens have been urged to believe in this deception. At the least it stretches the definition.

Officials get away with this and look good because most folks don’t understand exactly what is democracy. Those who think realize that undemocratic governments do little or nothing to help citizens improve their lives and stay happy.

Some types cause widespread misery and even death. As time passes without restraint they become larger and more oppressive. Citizens are forced pay more and more for a government that abuses them and gradually takes away their liberty. Thomas Paine called this situation “—— the excess of slavery.”

Away back in feudal times serfs worked the fields unpaid in exchange for bed, board and their lord’s protection from rampaging bands of renegades. If today’s taxpayer is reduced to near-slavery and is forced to pay for this abuse Paine’s observation fits. Friedrich von Hayek wrote a book about the US called The Road to Serfdom. This prescient economist did this in 1944!

In the US most old folks can recall studying civics in junior high school, where the trappings of democracy were explored by using examples found in Washington, DC and in state governments. Over the decades since then public school curricula have been revised bit by bit. Today little if any coverage of democracy exists. Children have grown to adulthood and voted while unaware of this key omission in their education.

Personal power seeking and holding are driven by human nature. Eventually the people can stand the abuse no longer (1776 springs to mind). Such societies renew themselves through armed and bloody rebellion, only to have power seeking public officials in the next government begin again to gradually nibble away at citizens’ freedoms.

World history is loaded with examples of these vicious cycles. Some of these are the Egyptian, Greek, Roman, Spanish, Dutch, Ottoman, Habsburg and British empires, and now the American.

Each empire is established, expands, attains its peak and declines as good government turns to bad. An empire is ruled, not led as in democracy. The ruler entrenches his/her abusive personal power over the masses until he dies. He surrounds himself with yes men and thugs who permit no one to speak for vitally needed governance to meet the changing needs of society. (Venezuela springs to mind.)

He cannot voluntarily hand over power because if he did he would lose his power base and the peasants would hang him. Therefore society can move forward only through armed rebellion.

British Lord Bolingbroke, 18^th century (paraphrased): “The King ruled poorly, so he was given more power. With this he ruled still more poorly.”

Citizens want to improve themselves and their society. This desire is also driven by human nature. But top-down government officials like their comfortable lives courtesy of the taxpayer.

During the decline stage the ruler forces his/her people to pay for worse and worse abuse while government officials grow richer. The inevitable result is rebellion. In this way the vicious cycle repeats itself.

This cycle even applies to governments that begin as near-democracies. These top officials are also human. But in this case citizens have a voice through local political activity and voting. This voice often frightens officials.

Therefore they seek additional personal power through stealth. They know that people tend to trust others, so after being elected they swear to uphold the Constitution. Citizens listen to politicians’ silver tongues and believe.

As time passes these power-seeking public officials take advantage of citizen apathy. They pass more and more laws and regulations without consulting the people as often required. In this way BIG GOVERNMENT grows ever bigger and more abusive.

A few thinking citizens see coming at them the same vicious cycle mentioned above. Top officials slowly convert the mainstream news media into press agents for the government. This means those few thinking people seeking to spread the word must utilize alternative media such as the Web and YouTube. But these news vehicles are crammed with so much verbiage that it is difficult to get the masses to become aware of and appreciate what is being done to them.

Government stifles dissent by calling such people unpatriotic or worse, and the news media cooperate. In the Soviet Union dissenters were simply declared insane and locked up or shipped off to the Gulag. The list of governments that today mistreat dissenters, including killing them, is long and tragic.

Government by stealth denies people the truth about what government is really doing. One favorite shenanigan is creation of empty elections where votes count for nothing. When this condition exists public officials are often free to do whatever they want with taxpayer money. In Washington, dollars outvote voters by about 250 to 1.

What was good government for generations very gradually becomes authoritarian. People are no longer governed as citizens. They are ruled as subjects. Public service becomes self service. Eventually armed rebellion enters the thinking of abused citizens.

Is there a way for society to renew itself without the mass tragedy of bloodshed? The answer could be direct or pure democracy. The time is right. In the US people smell something rotten and the news media seem to be reporting more abuse than previously. Pocket Gofers 19 and 20 provide insights.

Activists are taking to the streets. This is potentially dangerous because reason could descend into negative passions. Hotheads would rule the mob, leaving no opportunity for thinking and discussion based in reason. The next step would involve bloodshed, which Publius II is and has been striving hard to prevent.

When the media come over to the citizens’ side there will be momentum for change. If citizens were to demand truth from the media they would be forced to do the job right for the first time in several decades.

The following example demonstrates how in politics the short term swamps long-term thinking. As the economy continues to underperform thinking and concerned citizens may begin to realize that huge mistakes made by government are largely responsible for their plight. In most cases these “mistakes” are really actions to favor those wealthy individuals who support authoritarian government.

In 2009-2015 President Obama, treasury bureaucrats and congressmen were talking hundreds of billions, — nay, trillions, of taxpayer dollars. Before Bush left office the biggest banks were given about $350 billion and no one seems to know just what the managers did with all this loot.

Actually, most of it went to shore up banks’ capital bases, which banks need in case large numbers of depositors decide to claim their money. This is true, but why did bankers lend so much as to deplete their capital?

The answer lies in human nature. Just as home buyers who overextend when house prices are rising, so also bankers who lend to them. But bankers make their livings doing this. They should know that prices can drop and eventually will, whereas the typical home buyer dips into the business only 2-3 times in his/her entire life-span.

Then there are the bonuses that top bankers keep getting even after their companies have failed and are receiving billions in taxpayer money. This too is due to human nature. It surely seems that today the dark side rules. Love of money twists minds. Some have called this condition a disease.

Columnist Charles Krauthammer – “The ruling democrats have a choice: Rescue this economy to return it to market control. Or use this crisis to seize the commanding heights of the economy for the greater social good. Note: The latter has already been tried. The results are filed under ‘History, ash heap of.’”

Unfortunately the misguided Bush administration reduced the number of congressmen who favor limited government to a small minority. This result enabled those who favor seizing the commanding heights to stir the ashes by passing a top-down health care reform bill. The outlook is not good.

The Great Depression of the 1930s was caused by 2-3 terrible mistakes in policy made by the government. One of these was the Smoot-Hawley Tariff Act. This act threw up huge barriers to international trade in order to protect weakened US companies and save disappearing jobs. Predictably, other nations retaliated in kind and world trade was all but shut down for years. Everyone suffered.

The big kicker here is that the mistakes made in 1930 were done with good intentions and in good conscience. Today the grim lesson of history is broadcast for all to see, but career politicians scared stiff of losing the next election are ignoring that lesson.

In the 1930s there were practically no career politicians, primarily because there were far fewer lobbyists with far less tainted money distorting policy decisions. Those were extremely lean years.

Today the economy is again sliding downward: this one also caused by bad government policies. Among these is what economists call “overliquification” of the economy. This means the Fed (Federal Reserve Board of governors) by lowering interest rates made money and credit too plentiful. Chinese trade-surplus money crossed the Pacific and further expanded credit.

This policy led banks and home buyers to believe that home prices could do nothing but increase. Both took the high-risk route and overextended themselves. This gamble led to what economists call a “bubble,” which when it necessarily burst caused house prices to plummet.

Banks were left holding loans, millions of which were larger than the houses they supported were worth. Suddenly unemployed home owners could not pay and in a down market they could not sell. For the same reason the dot-com bubble burst in 2006. People poured surplus money into new companies that had no real wealth.

Summarizing, anyone who thinks about the situation must be alarmed to observe a short-term-oriented government working hard to fix a crisis that was caused by much the same government. The outlook is surely grim.

As of April 2010 the news media were hyping an incipient economic recovery. Top officials in Washington were encouraging (may have ordered) them to publish this news while hoping that consumers will spend the economy back into health and thus generate jobs as the prophesy becomes self-fulfilling.

The situation was dicey. In September some analysts predicted another down-turn before the economy finally gets back on track. (Financial crises take years to fix.) If this happens consumers who believe today’s media hype will be in deeper trouble yet as house prices continue downward.

The discussion now returns to the long term. In 1989 the world saw a ruler become a leader when Mikhail Gorbachev permitted nonviolent revolutions in several Soviet satellite states. The results today are definitely not democracies, but the principle of nonviolent regime change moved to the forefront of many people’s thinking. This is happening just when wars and armed rebellions are becoming impractical and even counter-productive. (See the essay “A Thought on the Futility of War.”)

Today the US has a republic, which includes a congress that is supposed to represent the wishes of the citizens. Direct democracy omits this branch of government, whose members have betrayed the public’s trust.

Direct democracy has never before existed in world history. In this type of government every official, including the president, is a public-spirited official. Each would serve for a very limited time only. He/she would operate as an agent of the people, obeying their orders.

Texas congressman Ron Paul: “—— real purpose of govt —— protection of liberty, peaceful commerce, and keeping itself out of our lives, our economy, our pocketbooks, and certainly out of the affairs of foreign nations.” Jefferson: “———— avoid entangling foreign alliances.”

George Washington observed “——– the great rule of conduct for us, in regard to our foreign relations, is in extending our commercial relations, to have with them as little political connection as possible.”

Such a government would be forced by citizens to create an environment where citizens could improve their lives. They would become happier and thus create a virtuous cycle of continuing improvement. Furthermore they would favor news media that actively help them keep government shaped up.

The people would govern themselves, with officials helping them to realize their dreams by coordinating their efforts. As in business, officials know their bosses would fire them if they do not provide this help. Pocket Gofer 20 suggests a procedure for conducting local political meetings.

Jefferson believed that every 20-30 years or so the Constitution should be scrapped and a new one created that reflected changes in the society since the former document was ratified. This provision would have prevented subsequent supreme courts from distorting the original meaning of parts of that document in order to enhance the power of government over the citizens.

During summer of 1787 Jefferson was serving in France as ambassador. It is tempting to speculate that if he were sitting in the constitutional convention then the proposed document that emerged would have included a termination date. In that way a vital precedent could have been set. But alas! Videoconferencing across the Atlantic ocean was not available in 1787.

Knowing human nature, Jefferson advocated periodic small and nonviolent revolutions. If a government guided by the principles of democracy were to excite citizens to pursue their shared common interest in good government these would not be necessary. Active citizens would monitor tendencies on the part of elected public officials toward devious actions based in the negative side of human nature, but only if they stayed active.

Here is a list of the principles that could guide direct democracy. (The entire preliminary draft of a proposed Constitution of The United States of America can be found in Pocket Gofer 21. It includes an introduction and a plan for organization of government.) If citizens were to govern themselves they surely would want to discuss, debate and improve this list (plus the organizational plan). The whole idea here is to create a federal government that exists in fear of the wrath of citizens.

(This is similar to the First Amendment in the current Constitution.) Add the following: The people shall be informed of the presence of a monetary influence in any free-speech issue being discussed.
Government shall make no law that infringes the fundamental rights to legally and honestly acquired private property: preservation, improvement, modification, repair, transportation, inheritance, gift and conveyance through voluntary agreement between seller and buyer. The taking of private property for the public good shall be in accordance with law made by citizens within the appropriate jurisdiction, and fair compensation shall be independently determined and promptly provided in full.
The Rule of Law shall prevail: Laws enacted by citizens shall apply exactly and equally to every person or group of people in the appropriate jurisdiction, with absolutely no exceptions under any conditions. Citizen-made law shall provide for punishment of violators.
Citizens shall be protected from unreasonable searches of property or person, and seizure of private property. What is reasonable shall be determined by citizens.
Every citizen shall be protected against incursions by force or fraud on the part of government, other person or people or nation-states, provided that his/her behavior is legal and reasonable.
Every citizen or legal alien accused of a criminal offense is entitled to a prompt and fair trial. He/she may not be tried more than once for the same offense, excepting appeals. He shall not suffer cruel or unusual punishment, nor shall he suffer harsher punishment than others for the same offense. He shall promptly be informed of the nature of his offense, and shall have access to witnesses and competent counsel for his defense. He remains innocent until proven guilty and the news media shall report on his case without bias. Civil law shall prevail over criminal law.
Political power shall originate in ideas, recommendations and programs proposed, discussed, debated, and decided by citizens at the local level. With bottom-up government; citizens pass responsibility for implementation on to other levels only when they deem it necessary. The citizens shall carefully specify powers given to government at all levels, and disseminate information about them. Any powers not so delegated shall remain in the citizens. The right to take back any of those given powers shall not be questioned.
State governments shall not inhibit legal goods, services, capital, and citizens from travel and relocation between states, for employment or other legal purpose. In instances of real or potential danger, information and persuasion shall guide behavior, not law. Said governments shall negotiate taxation of citizens with interests in more than one state, while guided by the objective of fairness.
Government shall make no law or regulation that favors one citizen or group of citizens over another or others, or discriminates against the same.
The federal government may not give or send public money to individual citizens or private organizations or state governments, except for provision of bona fide goods or legal services at open market prices. Nor shall said government directly receive money or kind from citizens with or without force of law.
Education shall not be subject to interference by government. Quite the contrary: the federal government shall encourage excellence in education without exerting any authority, monetary or otherwise, or any type of undue influence. Government recognizes that an enlightened public can determine truth through free and open discussion and debate of relevant issues, and that the public can thru these activities discover and act against any type of subterfuge or corruption on the part of government officials.
Good citizenship includes tolerance of those whose appearance, speech, beliefs and actions are perceived as different. It includes a democratic mentality, internal morality, and the desire to share a common interest in good government. The good citizen knows that eternal vigilance is the price of liberty.
By definition government is force, and therefore the principle of persuasion shall be utilized as often as practical, with reliance on force only as a last resort. The right action is that which is determined by citizens and not government officials, who shall remain public servants and serve for a specific and limited time..
Every ballot for public office at all levels shall include a space called NOTA, or None of the Above, beneath each list of candidates. If no candidate earns more votes than NOTA, another election shall be expediently conducted with different candidates.
Government and affiliated organizations shall place no restriction on candidates’ access to the ballot, except according to citizen-made law. Election monitors selected by citizens shall have unlimited access.
Members of a minority shall accept majority rule, but the majority shall respect the fundamental rights of the minority, including the right of equal participation in government. The right to speak and be heard shall be protected by the chair at political meetings.
Citizens shall make laws, first at the local level. Issues not amenable to disposition at local level shall be handed on to the next level, for which citizens shall make additional laws, etc. A body of law at national level shall address only issues left over from all previous actions. Citizens shall provide for timely repeal and modification of their laws.
A maximum proportion of money raised for government operations at all levels shall be spent where it is raised. Well organized books shall be subject to examination by anyone during regular business hours.
Any state, part of a state or group of states retains the right to secede from the Union. Citizens shall establish the procedure by law.
Citizens must be formally consulted according to law whenever plans are discussed for ANY foreign military deployment or action whatsoever. Emphasis on defense of the homeland shall remain paramount.
Neither national security nor any other reason shall be utilized to justify government at any level withholding information from the public. Citizen-made law shall guide exposure and punishment for any type, amount and/or duration of impedance.
There shall be absolutely no taxpayer-financed bailouts of any private or quasi-public organization, no other assistance thereto, and no exceptions.
Every federal government budget must be balanced. Absolutely no monetary commitment, expressed, implied or contingent, shall be placed off-budget. Accrual accounting shall replace cash accounting. Citizens shall make laws for independent auditing and to punish officials found guilty of any significant deviations.
There shall be no executive orders issued by any official in the federal government, and there shall exist no executive privilege. Pardons may be issued subject to citizens’ approval.