How Much Did I Accomplish?
In many ways, according to conventional wisdom, my off-and-on career in
Congress, from 1976 to 2012, accomplished very little. No named
legislation, no
named federal buildings or highways—thank goodness. In spite of my
efforts, the government has grown exponentially, taxes remain excessive,
and the
prolific increase of incomprehensible regulations continues. Wars are
constant and pursued without Congressional declaration, deficits rise to
the sky,
poverty is rampant and dependency on the federal government is now worse
than any time in our history.
All this with minimal concerns for the deficits and unfunded liabilities
that common sense tells us cannot go on much longer. A grand, but never
mentioned,
bipartisan agreement allows for the well-kept secret that keeps the
spending going. One side doesn’t give up one penny on military spending,
the other side
doesn’t give up one penny on welfare spending, while both sides support
the bailouts and subsidies for the banking and corporate elite. And the
spending
continues as the economy weakens and the downward spiral continues. As
the government continues fiddling around, our liberties and our wealth
burn in the
flames of a foreign policy that makes us less safe.
The major stumbling block to real change in Washington is the total
resistance to admitting that the country is broke. This has made
compromising, just to
agree to increase spending, inevitable since neither side has any
intention of cutting spending.
The country and the Congress will remain divisive since there’s no “loot left to divvy up.”
Without this recognition the spenders in Washington will continue the
march toward a fiscal cliff much bigger than the one anticipated this
coming January.
I have thought a lot about why those of us who believe in liberty, as a
solution, have done so poorly in convincing others of its benefits. If
liberty is
what we claim it is—the principle that protects all personal, social,
and economic decisions necessary for maximum prosperity and the best
chance for
peace—it should be an easy sell. Yet, history has shown that the masses
have been quite receptive to the promises of authoritarians which are
rarely if
ever fulfilled.
Authoritarianism vs. Liberty
If authoritarianism leads to poverty and war and less freedom for all
individuals and is controlled by rich special interests, the people
should be begging
for liberty. There certainly was a strong enough sentiment for more
freedom at the time of our founding that motivated those who were
willing to fight in
the revolution against the powerful British government.
During my time in Congress the appetite for liberty has been quite weak;
the understanding of its significance negligible. Yet the good news is
that
compared to 1976 when I first came to Congress, the desire for more
freedom and less government in 2012 is much greater and growing,
especially in
grassroots America. Tens of thousands of teenagers and college-age
students are, with great enthusiasm, welcoming the message of liberty.
I have a few thoughts as to why the people of a country like ours, once
the freest and most prosperous, allowed the conditions to deteriorate to
the degree
that they have.
Freedom, private property, and enforceable voluntary contracts, generate
wealth. In our early history we were very much aware of this. But in
the early
part of the twentieth century our politicians promoted the notion that
the tax and monetary systems had to change if we were to involve
ourselves in
excessive domestic and military spending. That is why Congress gave us
the Federal Reserve and the income tax. The majority of Americans and
many
government officials agreed that sacrificing some liberty was necessary
to carry out what some claimed to be “progressive” ideas. Pure democracy
became
acceptable.
They failed to recognize that what they were doing was exactly opposite
of what the colonists were seeking when they broke away from the
British.
Some complain that my arguments makes no sense, since great wealth and
the standard of living improved for many Americans over the last 100
years, even
with these new policies.
But the damage to the market economy, and the currency, has been
insidious and steady. It took a long time to consume our wealth, destroy
the currency and
undermine productivity, and get our financial obligations to a point of
no return. Confidence sometimes lasts longer than deserved. Most of our
wealth
today depends on debt.
The wealth that we enjoyed and seemed to be endless, allowed concern for
the principle of a free society to be neglected. As long as most people
believed
the material abundance would last forever, worrying about protecting a
competitive productive economy and individual liberty seemed
unnecessary.
The Age of Redistribution
This neglect ushered in an age of redistribution of wealth by government
kowtowing to any and all special interests, except for those who just
wanted to be
left alone. That is why today money in politics far surpasses money
currently going into research and development and productive
entrepreneurial efforts.
The material benefits became more important than the understanding and
promoting the principles of liberty and a free market. It is good that
material
abundance is a result of liberty but if materialism is all that we care
about, problems are guaranteed.
The crisis arrived because the illusion that wealth and prosperity would
last forever has ended. Since it was based on debt and a pretense that
debt can be
papered over by an out-of-control fiat monetary system, it was doomed to
fail. We have ended up with a system that doesn’t produce enough even
to finance
the debt and no fundamental understanding of why a free society is
crucial to reversing these trends.
If this is not recognized, the recovery will linger for a long time.
Bigger government, more spending, more debt, more poverty for the middle
class, and a
more intense scramble by the elite special interests will continue.
We Need an Intellectual Awakening
Without an intellectual awakening, the turning point will be driven by
economic law. A dollar crisis will bring the current out-of-control
system to its
knees.
If it’s not accepted that big government, fiat money, ignoring liberty,
central economic planning, welfarism, and warfarism caused our crisis we
can expect
a continuous and dangerous march toward corporatism and even fascism
with even more loss of our liberties. Prosperity for a large middle
class though will
become an abstract dream.
This continuous move is no different than what we have seen in how our
financial crisis of 2008 was handled. Congress first directed, with
bipartisan
support, bailouts for the wealthy. Then it was the Federal Reserve with
its endless quantitative easing. If at first it doesn’t succeed try
again; QE1,
QE2, and QE3 and with no results we try QE indefinitely—that is until it
too fails. There’s a cost to all of this and let me assure you delaying
the
payment is no longer an option. The rules of the market will extract its
pound of flesh and it won’t be pretty.
The current crisis elicits a lot of pessimism. And the pessimism adds to
less confidence in the future. The two feed on themselves, making our
situation
worse.
If the underlying cause of the crisis is not understood we cannot solve
our problems. The issues of warfare, welfare, deficits, inflationism,
corporatism,
bailouts and authoritarianism cannot be ignored. By only expanding these
policies we cannot expect good results.
Everyone claims support for freedom. But too often it’s for one’s own
freedom and not for others. Too many believe that there must be limits
on freedom.
They argue that freedom must be directed and managed to achieve fairness
and equality thus making it acceptable to curtail, through force,
certain
liberties.
Some decide what and whose freedoms are to be limited. These are the
politicians whose goal in life is power. Their success depends on
gaining support from
special interests.
No More ‘isms’
The great news is the answer is not to be found in more “isms.” The
answers are to be found in more liberty which cost so much less. Under
these
circumstances spending goes down, wealth production goes up, and the
quality of life improves.
Just this recognition—especially if we move in this direction—increases
optimism which in itself is beneficial. The follow through with sound
policies are
required which must be understood and supported by the people.
But there is good evidence that the generation coming of age at the
present time is supportive of moving in the direction of more liberty
and
self-reliance. The more this change in direction and the solutions
become known, the quicker will be the return of optimism.
Our job, for those of us who believe that a different system than the
one that we have had for the last 100 years, has driven us to this
unsustainable
crisis, is to be more convincing that there is a wonderful,
uncomplicated, and moral system that provides the answers. We had a
taste of it in our early
history. We need not give up on the notion of advancing this cause.
It worked, but we allowed our leaders to concentrate on the material
abundance that freedom generates, while ignoring freedom itself. Now we
have neither,
but the door is open, out of necessity, for an answer. The answer
available is based on the Constitution, individual liberty, and
prohibiting the use of
government force to provide privileges and benefits to all special
interests.
After over 100 years we face a society quite different from the one that
was intended by the Founders. In many ways their efforts to protect
future
generations with the Constitution from this danger has failed. Skeptics,
at the time the Constitution was written in 1787, warned us of today’s
possible
outcome. The insidious nature of the erosion of our liberties and the
reassurance our great abundance gave us, allowed the process to evolve
into the
dangerous period in which we now live.
Dependency on Government Largesse
Today we face a dependency on government largesse for almost every need.
Our liberties are restricted and government operates outside the rule
of law,
protecting and rewarding those who buy or coerce government into
satisfying their demands. Here are a few examples:
•Undeclared wars are commonplace.
•Debt is growing exponentially.
•Welfare for the rich and poor is considered an entitlement.
•Bailouts and guarantees for all kinds of misbehavior are routine.
•Supporters of sanctions, currency manipulation, and WTO trade retaliation, call the true free traders “isolationists.”
•Sanctions are used to punish countries that don’t follow our orders.
•Tragically our government engages in preemptive war, otherwise known as
aggression, with no complaints from the American people.
•Central economic planning through monetary policy, regulations, and legislative mandates has been an acceptable policy.
•The economy is overregulated, overtaxed, and grossly distorted by a deeply flawed monetary system.
•It’s now the law of the land that the military can arrest American
citizens, hold them indefinitely, without charges or a trial.
•Rampant hostility toward free trade is supported by a large number in Washington.
•The drone warfare we are pursuing worldwide is destined to end badly
for the U.S. as the hatred builds for innocent lives lost and the
international laws
flaunted. Once we are financially weakened and militarily challenged,
there will be a lot of resentment thrown our way.
•The Patriot Act and FISA legislation passed without much debate have resulted in a steady erosion of our 4th Amendment rights.
Questions
Excessive government has created such a mess it prompts many questions:
•Why are sick people who use medical marijuana put in prison?
•Why does the federal government restrict the drinking of raw milk?
•Why can’t Americans manufacturer rope and other products from hemp?
•Why are Americans not allowed to use gold and silver as legal tender as mandated by the Constitution?
•Why do our political leaders believe it’s unnecessary to thoroughly audit our own gold?
•Why can’t Americans decide which type of light bulbs they can buy?
•Why is the TSA permitted to abuse the rights of any American traveling by air?
•Why should there be mandatory sentences—even up to life for crimes without victims—as our drug laws require?
•Why is Germany concerned enough to consider repatriating their gold
held by the FED for her in New York? Is it that the trust in the U.S.
and dollar
supremacy is beginning to wane?
•Why have we allowed the federal government to regulate commodes in our homes?
•Why is it political suicide for anyone to criticize AIPAC?
•Why haven’t we given up on the drug war since it’s an obvious failure
and violates the people’s rights? Has nobody noticed that the
authorities can’t even
keep drugs out of the prisons? How can making our entire society a
prison solve the problem?
•Why do we sacrifice so much getting needlessly involved in border
disputes and civil strife around the world and ignore the root cause of
the most deadly
border in the world—the one between Mexico and the U.S.?
•Why does changing the party in power never change policy? Could it be that the views of both parties are essentially the same?
•Why did the big banks, the large corporations, and foreign banks and
foreign central banks get bailed out in 2008 and the middle class lost
their jobs and
their homes?
•Why do so many accept the deeply flawed principle that government
bureaucrats and politicians can protect us from ourselves without
totally destroying the
principle of liberty?
•Why do so many in the government and the federal officials believe that creating money out of thin air creates wealth?
•Why does Congress willingly give up its prerogatives to the Executive Branch?
•Why can’t people understand that war always destroys wealth and liberty?
•Why did we ever give the government a safe haven for initiating violence against the people?
•Why is patriotism thought to be blind loyalty to the government and the
politicians who run it, rather than loyalty to the principles of
liberty and
support for the people? Real patriotism is a willingness to challenge
the government when it’s wrong.
•Why do some members defend free markets, but not civil liberties?
•Why do some members defend civil liberties but not free markets? Aren’t they the same?
•Why is there so little concern for the Executive Order that gives the
President authority to establish a “kill including American citizens, of
those
targeted for assassination?
•Why don’t more defend both economic liberty and personal liberty?
•Why is it claimed that if people won’t or can’t take care of their own needs, that people in government can do it for them?
•Why are there not more individuals who seek to intellectually influence
others to bring about positive changes than those who seek power to
force others
to obey their commands?
•Why do we allow the government and the Federal Reserve to disseminate
false information dealing with both economic and foreign policy?
•Why is democracy held in such high esteem when it’s the enemy of the
minority and makes all rights relative to the dictates of the majority?
•Why should anyone be surprised that Congress has no credibility, since
there’s such a disconnect between what politicians say and what they do?
•Why does the use of religion to support a social gospel and preemptive
wars, both of which requires authoritarians to use violence, or the
threat of
violence, go unchallenged? Aggression and forced redistribution of
wealth has nothing to do with the teachings of the world great
religions.
•Is there any explanation for all the deception, the unhappiness, the
fear of the future, the loss of confidence in our leaders, the distrust,
the anger
and frustration? Yes there is, and there’s a way to reverse these
attitudes. The negative perceptions are logical and a consequence of bad
policies
bringing about our problems. Identification of the problems and
recognizing the cause allow the proper changes to come easy.
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