Democracy and the United States (Part Three)

Since we have identified that our federal government is a constitutional republic and that several errors have been made that threaten its continued existence as such, let’s now examine the possible solutions to restore it to its intended form. These solutions will not be easy because of the vast ignorance of the average American citizen. It will take great resolve and sacrifice by a select group of leaders who understand and value the ideas of personal freedom and individual responsibility, along with the notion of limited government.

There are several measures that need to be taken in order to put our country back on the right track. That track is one of a constitutional republic which guarantees individual freedom and liberty to every citizen of the United States. These propositions will not be easy to implement, but they are certainly necessary in order to restore the power to the People and to the States.

One of the first actions needs to be to reform our education system. Our government schools are mostly woefully inept at adequately educating their students. Private school students generally test higher and are more prepared for college and professional careers. Some of the reasons for this may be that private schools are not slowed by government mandated curriculum (such as multiculturalism studies), politically correct methods of dealing with class disruptions, or disputes with government teacher unions.

The Department of Education needs to be either drastically reformed or abolished, but that should not be the extent of improvement. Teacher unions should also be abolished. They should not exist for this very simple reason: They are government employees and therefore work for the tax-paying public. So if they cannot perform up to a respectable standard or if they refuse to work because of wage disputes, they should be fired from their job. It’s time to put the interest of the students (who are the future of this country) ahead of the teachers and their union leaders.

Another possibility would be to implement a voucher system which would allow parents to take the government money that would be used to educate their child in a public school and apply that money to any school of their choice. This would encourage competition between government and private schools alike which would ultimately result in a better overall product for everyone - a superior education. It would put the focus back on the student instead of the government employees. It may even result in higher salaries for teachers. If no feasible solution can be reached, then perhaps the entire system should be privatized. The federal government has demonstrated time and again its vast inability to be efficient and provide a superior product.

Once education improves, other problems will be more easily understood by the public and the ability to fix them will be less problematic.

One simple step that would put this country back on the right track would be the repealing of the 17th Amendment. This would give power back to the States by allowing the representation of their individual constitutions in the federal government. As I stated in part two of this series, the 17th Amendment shifted power away from the States by allowing senators to be elected by the People instead of being appointed by the individual state legislatures. When the States have proper representation in our federal government, it will restore the balance needed between the two Houses of Congress and between the state and federal governments.

The Supremacy Clause in our Constitution affirms that any treaties made with another country become the “supreme Law of the Land”. If only for this reason alone, the individual State constitutions need to be represented by the senators in our Congress. Only the President, with the consent of the Senate, can make treaties with other nations. The Senate votes on treaties because the Senate is supposed to represent the interests of the States and their constitutions, not the constituents of those States. Without the consideration of State laws, undermining state autonomy becomes much easier and can ultimately render their laws irrelevant.

The 17th Amendment ought to be repealed in order to help restore the balance of power. And since one amendment can be easily repealed, why not two?

The 16th Amendment (the implementation of the income tax) should be rescinded as soon as possible. Not only is an income tax a tool of socialism/communism, it is detrimental to our nation’s overall economic development. There is greater than a $500 billion compliance cost every year wasted on our federal tax laws. It pushes many businesses away from our own shores and into the international market in which we compete. An income tax also does not reward hard work or individual economic accomplishments. Additionally, the government’s intrusion into our personal lives, via the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), is a gross infringement of individual freedoms and liberty.

In view of the fact that this law requires mandatory compliance by United States citizens and that many people are exempt from paying taxes or actually receive more money than they pay, it would appear that our tax system violates the simple concept that “all men are created equal.” How can one decide it is constitutional that one citizen is forced - by the threat of imprisonment or severe financial penalties from the federal government - to pay taxes and another citizen is able to benefit from those taxes while being exempt from paying? The fundamental model of our system of taxation is unjust and oppressive and needs to be abolished as quickly as possible.

I understand the government needs revenue to operate, so here is the solution to this problem: the FairTax.

Adopting the FairTax (HR 25, S 1025) would not only abolish the income tax and the IRS, but it would eliminate other taxes as well - such as Social Security and Medicare taxes, corporate income taxes, capital gains taxes, and death taxes - and replaces them with one simple, voluntary, and easy-to-understand sales tax. It also completely lifts any tax burden from the poor. The tax burden for anyone living at or below the poverty level will be nothing (zero, naught, nil, zilch). Nobody – rich or poor – will pay taxes on the basic necessities of life. Furthermore, the FairTax will make the United States the world’s largest tax haven, bringing trillions of American dollars back to our own economy, stimulating economic growth, and strengthening the dollar in the world market.

Oh, and it also takes a vast amount of power away from the demagogues in the federal government and restores it to the People. It nearly eliminates one of the politician’s favorite tactics…class warfare or class envy, and “soaking the rich.”

Another way to help restore our Republic may be to limit the number of Americans that are eligible to vote. There is no guarantee of a right to vote anywhere in our Constitution. We only have laws that prohibit discrimination based on race and gender. Too many citizens go to the polls and vote without an elementary understanding of social, fiscal, or foreign issues, without basic knowledge of the candidates, and some vote while they are currently receiving money from the government for not working. The vote needs to be limited to those citizens that take the time to learn about their country and how it functions, to learn about the candidates and their policies, and they ought to be productive citizens who are not a financial burden to society and consequently will not vote simply for their own economic needs.

The requirements to vote ought to include an age minimum much higher than we currently have. Teenagers should not be voting. The minimum age should be set around twenty-five years old, thus giving citizens enough time to discover and understand their adult interests and attain a higher level of education. Once a person reaches the mandatory age, they should be required to pass a test on American history, government, and politics. This will ensure that they are knowledgeable about our country’s policies and government procedures, and will also show that they actually want to be a part of the process, instead of voting based on family traditions or worthless mass voting campaigns. Having a vote in our elections should be an earned honor or privilege, not a reflexive duty.

Once these main obstacles have been overcome, it will be much easier to fix other problems that plague this nation. When education improves and the States and the People are able to properly utilize their constitutionally protected powers over the federal government, we will be well on our way to restoring the exceptional nature of our Republic. The average United States voter could retain the influence over their elected officials and apply their knowledge and power accordingly in a system that would not be easily manipulated by an uncontrollable Congress. When the People regain their individuality and understand their opportunities and potential in this country, we can then focus our politicians’ attention on other issues – like social programs.

We are currently facing several problems with our welfare-state mentality. Our federal government spends over half of its annual budget on social programs like Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid, and welfare/unemployment. Despite the fact that several hundred billion dollars are spent on these programs every year by the federal government (and funded by taxpayers), many people feel it is not enough and that the government should, in fact, do more. There is an ever-growing push for socialized medicine and increased spending and coverage for these programs even as Social Security is headed for bankruptcy.

Those are the types of problems that arise from a largely misinformed and improperly educated public who has been conditioned over time to believe that our federal government’s system of collecting and distributing wealth is perfectly acceptable and essential to maintain our way of life. Those are the types of problems that arise when individuality is replaced with collectivism and personal responsibility is replaced with endless litigation. Those are the types of problems that arise from democracy, when the will of the majority supersedes the freedoms and liberties of the individual.

The reality of the situation is this: Democracy is what is causing the domestic problems we face today. It is no longer accepted by our congressmen that they are there to abide by constitutional law. They now act according to the demands of the people even when the constitution explicitly forbids a certain action. Law is rewritten and the language is obscured. If they were to treat this government like that of a constitutional republic, many of the problems we face today would have been avoided.

It’s time for the citizens of the United States to stop flirting with disaster and start acting responsibly to restore the promises of greatness and opportunity.

“We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain inalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. – That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, - That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness. Prudence, indeed, will dictate that Governments long established should not be changed for light and transient causes; and accordingly all experience hath shewn that mankind are more disposed to suffer, while evils are sufferable than to right themselves by abolishing the forms to which they are accustomed. But when a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same Object evinces a design to reduce them under absolute Despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such Government, and to provide new Guards for their future security.” – Excerpt from the Declaration of Independence, July 4th, 1776

Democracy and the United States (Part One)

Democracy and the United States (Part Two)