Saving America by Accepting the Most Acceptable Imperfection

“The American Republic will endure until the day Congress discovers that it can bribe the public with the public’s money.”– Alexis DeTocqueville

By Rich Kozlovich 

On March 18th Paul Engel published what I think is an excellent article explaining what's needed to be done to fix the mess the federal government has turned America into, Uncle Sam has become all too powerful thanks to the 16th Amendment.  He starts with a well done history of taxes in America saying:

The income tax didn’t start with the 16th amendment; it started in 1862 to fund the Civil War. Since it was a consistent revenue stream, the income tax was sold to the people with a warning that it was necessary, the promise that it would be limited by a person’s income, and was scheduled to expire in 1870. However, that did not make it constitutional. Most likely due to the urgencies of the war, though, this tax was never challenged in court...

He goes on to explain the founding fathers view of federal tax collection saying:

Yes, Congress can collect taxes. Duties, imposts, and excises are simply different types of taxes that Congress can collect. Notice, however, that there are only three things Congress can collect taxes for:

1. To pay the debts of the United States.
2. For the common defense of the United States.
3. And for the general Welfare of the United States.

Three things, that's it!  All else was supposed to fall under the domain of the states, aka, the 10th Amendment.  He has a lot more to say that's worth reading, so I suggest reading the entire article.

I've said so often, as long as you feed the beast it will continue to grow, that's the 16th Amendment, and the 17th Amendment made the 10th Amendment meaningless.  That made the Commerce Clause the bludgeon used to impose government mandates and directives on everything that goes on in America.  That and all the environmental laws passed by Ricard Nixon.

1913 was a seminal year in American history passing the 16rh, and 17th Amendments and creating the FED. Teddy Roosevelt, who like Wilson, believed the Constitution was an impediment to human progress, along with his progressive pals, (Romney and his ilk are their philosophical progeny) had a lot to do with bringing all that into being, with the clear intent of undermining the Constitution. 

I list who I think are the worst six Presidents of the 20th and 21st centuries in this order, and why:

1. ) Teddy Roosevelt, as he gave credibility to the progressive movement, which gave,
2. ) Woodrow Wilson the foundation to create a fascist government, and WWI gave him the excuse.
3. ) Franklyn Roosevelt as he turned Wilson’s fascist regime into the New Deal and created the massive Deep State we deal with now. 
4. ) Richard Nixon as he took all that and made federal agencies all powerful by creating a ton of environmental laws, including that nightmare Endangered Species Act, and created the EPA and OSHA.  
5. ) Jimmy Carter because of his stupid geopolitical meddling we now have a worldwide Muslim jihadist movement that's the greatest threat to western civilization since the fall of the Roman empire to Islam.  And his even dumber meddling in economics that caused the mass economic downturn in 2008 due to his 1977 Community Investment Act.   
   
6. ) Followed by the almost 12 year Obama/Biden administration, as I view all that Biden is doing is at the direction of Obama and his myrmidons.  As bad as the others have been, they didn't want to destroy America, Obama/Biden does.
   

You will notice I didn't list Clinton, and the reason why is compared to them, he wasn't that bad.  Compared to Reagan, not so good, but he wasn't much worse than all the other presidents, and a legitimate argument can be made he was better than either Bush.

There were only three conservative Presidents in the 20th century, Warren G. Harding, Calvin Coolidge, and Ronald Reagan, and Coolidge was the best of them all.   Philosophically I find Calvin Coolidge and Donald Trump have much in common, albeit their character and personalities are night and day.  But they knew what had to be done and were unafraid to do it.  However, I don't see anyone with the guts, or the ability, to create a movement for a Constitutional change to repeal the 16th and 17th Amendments. 

So, where does that leave us?  Accepting the most acceptable imperfection!

My grandfather was one of the world's great economists.  He said if you spend more than you make, you'll go broke.  What did he do for a living? He was a coal miner and a farmer.  Economics isn't all that difficult, unless you're an economist, a politician, or a government bureaucrat.

Having said that, meaningful changes can be made, and those changes start with this one foundational concept.  Stop borrowing, and stop spending, and do it now! Not spread out over time, as that can, and will, be curtailed by some future Congress, and do it massively!!!!! 

 Where to start? 

 

Start with eliminating the number of federal employees, massively, all of whom are making more than those in the private sector, and doing far less.  Eliminate 80% of the 438 agencies and sub-agencies of the federal government, and do that by "massively" cutting their funding in the budget, including the Departments of Labor, Energy, Education, Commerce, Health and Human Services, Housing and Urban Development and Transportation.  Combine Home Land Security and Veterans Departments with the Department of Defense.  Combine Agriculture and Interior.   

 

Remember, the Post Office once was a Department, and now it's not, and it should be joined by those I've listed here, and that includes the frighteningly large number of agencies that work for those departments.  I can assure you, based on my experience in life, we won't miss the massive levels of corruption, incompetence, and dereliction of duty that's become an absolute stench in the offices of the federal government, and it's an expensive stench.

Can the Republic be fixed?  Mike Vanderboegh once stated:

“This is no small thing, to restore a republic after it has fallen into corruption. I have studied history for years and I cannot recall it ever happening. It may be that our task is impossible. Yet, if we do not try then how will we know it can’t be done? And if we do not try, it most certainly won’t be done. The Founders’ Republic, and the larger war for western civilization, will be lost.”

“But I tell you this: We will not go gently into that bloody collectivist good night. Indeed, we will make with our defiance such a sound as ALL history from that day forward will be forced to note, even if they despise us in the writing of it.”

One of my favorite sayings is: 

 

"We all want perfection, but the best we can hope for is the most acceptable imperfection."  

 

The most acceptable imperfection is the democratic, small government, conservative, capitalist, Judaic/Christian, God given rights, Constitutional Republic of the United States.  You know, like the one the Founding Fathers created. 

“I wish it need not have happened in my time," said Frodo. "So do I," said Gandalf, "and so do all who live to see such times. But that is not for them to decide. All we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given us.”