Independence from quasi-government

It’s Independence Day. The day we celebrate when Americans long before us stood up and said that we’d had enough of a government that was out-of-touch.

The people who crafted the Declaration of Independence and our great Constitution wouldn’t recognize what we pass for government today. They wouldn’t understand the way we’ve twisted the idea of government to provide for individual freedoms- into one that “steals from the needy to give to the greedy” (and believe it or not, I’m quoting Ronald Reagan).

The foreclosure crisis, the banking systems implosion, the casino on Wall Street, the pay-to-play politics of the major parties- where candidates are measured not by their ability to think- but their ability to raise money and sell out the people they are elected to represent- are killing our country and its freedoms.

No where did the founding fathers imagine a two-party system that shuts out the ideas of the minority by limiting access to the ballot and the ballot box. Less than half of all Americans who are eligible to register to vote register- and typically less than half of the registered ones actually vote.

We’re caught up in a blame game of epic proportions. We have expectations of those we elect to solve all of our problems- and to stick their noses where they don’t belong. So many voters believe that the only thing that matters are the “hot button issues” of abortion, the death penalty, the Second Amendment, universal health care, or even just the label of D or R- and they’ve lost track of what elected representatives are really supposed to do: watch out for you.

We’ve let the government create so much government to protect us- that we now need protection from it. Please follow this closely- it’s really the most important issue for our future- it will define the way we either come out of this depression- or have our entire system file bankruptcy.

Government or quasi-government, needs to get out of the business of business. No more “economic development” by government- because it’s proving to be a disaster.

To quote Reagan again (from 1964 no less):

“Well, now, if government planning and welfare had the answer—and they’ve had almost 30 years of it—shouldn’t we expect government to read the score to us once in a while? Shouldn’t they be telling us about the decline each year in the number of people needing help? The reduction in the need for public housing?”

Instead, we have four stories in the Dayton Daily News about “Economic Development” in the area- run by government, or quasi-government organizations– paying ridiculous salaries to make the playing field unlevel.

Going back to Reagan:

“No government ever voluntarily reduces itself in size. So governments’ programs, once launched, never disappear.
Actually, a government bureau is the nearest thing to eternal life we’ll ever see on this earth”

When government steps in and buys a video editing suite for one local ad agency– they give them an advantage over the others.

When the government contracts with a private insurance company to distribute tax dollars to the poor- the private company pays its CEO $3 million a year. Yet, no government executive would make that.

Why do we hire lobbyists to represent governments? Isn’t that what we elect people to do?

Cities throughout Ohio and the United States now farm out some, if not most, of their economic development efforts to nonprofits, many of them relying at least partly on public money. City officials say those nonprofits often provide significant expertise — the Dayton Development Coalition, for example, has developed strong ties with congressional representatives. And a Dayton Daily News examination of four area counties — Montgomery, Miami, Greene and northern Warren — found private economic development nonprofits were entrusted with nearly $5.8 million in public funding in 2009.

via Transparency at issue when it comes to funding of nonprofits.

Instead of just making it easier for small business to do business with the Federal Government (the biggest buyer of goods and services in this country) we have a system of “Procurement Technical Assistance Centers” that are federally funded to help you wade through the rules and regs.

It’s time to stop this insanity and simplify government.

It’s time to stop letting politicians buy their way into office by selling out to big business.

It’s time to stop expecting government to do anything but govern and provide basic and essential services.

It’s not a Democrat thing or a Republican thing. It’s a right or wrong thing. To quote Reagan again:

Federal employees—federal employees number two and a half million; and federal, state, and local, one out of six of the nation’s work force employed by government. These proliferating bureaus with their thousands of regulations have cost us many of our constitutional safeguards. How many of us realize that today federal agents can invade a man’s property without a warrant? They can impose a fine without a formal hearing, let alone a trial by jury? And they can seize and sell his property at auction to enforce the payment of that fine.

Just last year I wrote an interesting piece on what can happen when you run afoul of the system.

For $24.66, the State will threaten to take your home.

I’ve often wondered why the Sheriff enforces a contract for a bank- by foreclosure, while I can’t get the Sheriff to collect a debt for my business (sorry- can’t find the link right now).

And the list goes on.

I’m pretty sure that if we keep electing the same people there will only be three kinds of people left in this country: the very poor, the very rich and those who work for the government.

It’s independence day again in America- but, I’m wondering if we even know what independence is anymore. The way we’ve tangled things up- with “too big to fail”- and a seat in Congress costing on average $1 million or more every two years- maybe we should rename it:

Interdependence Day.


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