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Robert R. Owens, PhD
You Say You Want a Revolution
December 15, 2009
Our revolution changed the world. Our
Declaration of Independence proclaims self-evident truths: that all men are
created equal; that they’re endowed by their Creator with unalienable rights,
among these are “Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.” These words shook
a world held in the vise-grip of hereditary privilege, inspiring people around
the globe. Our Constitution established a Representative Republic with a limited
government
of the people, by the people and for the people.
We’ve watched as our constitutionally limited government grew until today its
leviathan runs amok like
Godzilla in Tokyo smashing things and scaring boy scouts. Today the federal
government is the
largest employer in America. States are the
largest employers in the states and counties are among the
largest employers in the counties. Get the picture? Government’s on a
rampage and unless
Mothra is going to fly in to save the day we’ll have to deal with
Frankenstein-on-the-Potomac ourselves.
Such brazen power-plays, as the Executive Branch issuing the Legislature an
ultimatum – “either pass
Cap-N-Trade or we’ll impose it administratively through
command-and-control,” make the dramatic changes in our
political culture shockingly apparent.
Has our
balance of powers melted away under the glare of executive orders, signing
statements and now ultimatums? Some people say this is evolution. To others it’s
devolution. Our hard-won and dearly-paid-for Republic is devolving into a
command-and-control, all-encompassing central-state. With political dynasties
bequeathing congressional seats like hereditary fiefdoms, it’s becoming hard to
explain why we left the British Empire.
Today we not only have
taxation without representation as congressional party-line voters ignore
their constituents, we also have
representation without taxation as the perpetually re-elected Lords and
Ladies represent the
illegal immigrants, the professional welfare hammock-riders and now
Khalid Sheikh Mohammed and his band of war-criminals.
These big government social planners may believe they’ve achieved their
community organizing goals, fulfilling historian
Will Durant’s paraphrase of
Lincoln’s famous quote, “It may be true that you can't fool all the people
all the time, but you can fool enough of them to rule a large country.” They may
believe their revolutionary administration will
fundamentally change America. However, if they’d step 20 miles outside the
Beltway they would see that there’s a
counter-revolution brewing. The
Tea Party is
overtaking the Republican Party in popularity. It has already supplanted
them at the grassroots of the conservative movement. By 2010 an avalanche of
voters will throng the polling places demanding their country back.
Following the tactics of
Saul Alinsky brought the
Obama-ACORN-SEIU
coalition to control of the Democratic Party and the country, but following the
Cloward-Piven Strategy for overwhelming the system to impose an alternative
system is going to lead to a complete repudiation of this radical departure from
traditional American politics and economics. We aren’t
Venezuela.
Even after decades of legislative efforts to progressively create a permanent
underclass of government dependants who’ll follow the leader to the next looting
of productive members of society the majority in this country still want freedom
and opportunity not cradle-to-grave mediocrity.
We can and should stage a counter-revolution against this growing tyranny; a
peaceful, lawful revolution at the ballot box and “if you’re talking about
destruction, you can count me out.” The last thing we need in this crowded
theater full of combustible emotions is either a match or someone shouting fire.
Any incident right now would trigger a massive response.
Just as the Executive is using the
EPA to impose the onerous restrictions of a Cap & Trade style economy –
stunting, strangulating regulation, he’s also using
ICE to
change the enforcement of immigration policy without any messy debate.
Ruling by decree is hardly compatible with constitutionally-limited government.
We’re told the administration has solutions. A solution to heal the greatest
healthcare system in the world, a solution to save or create jobs while we lose
jobs every month, a draconian solution for the man-made global warming hoax, a
solution for endless wars for elusive peace. “You say you have a solution...we’d
all love to see the plan.”
“They say they want a contribution.” Back in the good old “change we could
believe in” days, the dialogue of
class warfare repeated that no one making under
250,000, or was it 150,000, or was it …anyway only the evil rich would have
to pay a dime of new taxes. Watch out! You
might find out you’re rich come next April 15th.
Everyone has
known since at least that tax-cutting wild man
JFK that cutting taxes increases revenue to the government and raising them
lowers revenue. Since the government knows raising taxes lowers revenue and
since they’re raising taxes to increase revenue what are they trying to do?
Complicated tax codes are used as a way to
incentivize and de-incentivize behavior. If you want more widgets give tax
breaks for buying widgets. If you want less widgets tax widgets. Using that as a
guide, notice what’s being pushed and what’s being pulled – taxes on producers
and tax breaks for non-producers. Imagine tax cuts for people who don’t pay
taxes and tax increases for those who do. Taking the money of producers to
bailout the greedy, reward the cronies and support the lazy. It’s time to tell
the statists at the ballot box if they want money for things we hate they’re
going to have to wait.
Executive orders and
signing statements have been used in Republican and Democrat administrations
for years to change the Constitution without changing the Constitution. Now
sweeping new powers by regulators threatens to make Congress irrelevant as an
all powerful Executive Branch grows like a malignant tumor. Don’t lose heart,
don’t despair, don’t you know it’s going to be all right? Keep the faith, keep
the peace, organize and win the day. |
