The Constitution and the Founders…

The vision of our founders that was captured in the document we call the constitution is nothing short of a miracle. As we look at the political environment today, it is clear how truly brilliant our founders actually were. The Constitution was created to limit the government from controlling the lives of the governed. For the first time in history the people were put in charge of the government instead of government bureaucrats controlling the people.

You would never know we had a Constitution if you were dropped in this country from another planet. If you were a Founder who had risen from the grave this country’s operations would be an obvious indication the country had somehow been take over by a coup d etat. The obvious questions our Founders would have:

Who allowed the Federal Government to break the law of the constitution? This would have to be answered with We the People. We the people have ignored our duty to hold our politicians accountable to the law of the land. We are also responsible for electing politicians that have failed to abide by the Constitution.

What would compel the people to give up local control for a central bureaucracy? The Founders always suspected the local and state governments would be reluctant to give power to a central government. It was such a contention at our founding that the Bill of Rights had to be added and one of the most contentious amendments was the Tenth. Without the Tenth Amendment the Constitution would not have been passed. As they argued, there were only a few responsibilities the Federal Government would be better at which were very few. The most agreed upon functions were the defense of the country and foreign diplomacy. Now the Federal Government is involved in how much water we flush down the toilets and the light bulbs we can buy.  Think about that.

How did the Supreme Court become a legislative body? The Founders argued that the Supreme Court was simply a judge not a creator of legislation. They believed if the Supreme Court ruled a law to be unconstitutional the Congress would go back and re-write the legislation to comply with the constitutional guidelines. The idea that 9 individuals can dictate laws is exactly that, a dictatorship.

The Founders argued that human nature was known well enough to put safeguards in place to harness the evil instincts and incentivize the good instincts. They also understood natural law that is the foundation of freedom from the enslavement from groups, especially government groups.

We have no one candidate in the race that is even close to understanding the virtue of statesmanship. Statesmanship is the ability to rise above personal objectives and provide leadership based on the common principles that guide our country as outlined in the Constitution. The Constitution is simply a piece of paper without politicians willing to fight and die for it. Our Founders were willing to die for it. The politicians today don’t even read it.

And that is the fault of We the People…

Temporary: Maybe it’s Our Turn…

The Congress and the president have come up with yet another temporary “fix” to the latest funding extension to a budget that hasn’t been passed in over two years plus. It seems we are always scrambling to avoid another federal government shutdown. Well I say let the place shut down. Then at least we will know we are saving some money. The problem with the shutdown for government types is as long as Social Security checks go out, no one will notice the shutdown!

Here is my proposal for these incompetent lawmakers: if all you can pass is temporary measures then we will pay you temporary wages. How about you come to congress for two months a year, do the business of the people and go home. This way we can eliminate the high pay, fabulous benefits and permanent pensions. I think it’s a win for the American people.

The less time these representatives spend in DC and the more time they spend at home will give them a better understanding of the impact of their lawmaking. There is no set provision in the constitution for the time lawmakers must spend working on government. All of the rules of congress are made by the congress. What are the chances these current representatives will vote to reduce their influence in our lives? Slim to none on both sides of the aisle.

The Federal Government is too big, too intrusive, and has taken on many unconstitutional activities which is why we are on the decline. For every government employee we hire, private sector opportunities are reduced. The money we spend on useless activities in every department of government, we reduce the number of potential small businesses in this country. It is a fact that the federal government payroll could be reduced 50% and the average American wouldn’t even notice beyond the peaceful solitude of knowing some useless bureaucrat isn’t waiting in the bushes to shut down their lemonade stand.

So let’s support representatives that want to reduce the influence of the Federal Government in this next election. The more temporary every federal worker is (minus our soldiers) the better America will be…

Newt Just Blew It!

If you are a pro capitalist constitutionalist that is proud to be American and believes we need to defeat Obama, Mitt must be the choice. I know Mitt isn’t perfect but none of us are. We need competence and an instinct for free market principles in our next President.

The latest exchange between Mitt and Newt has turned me 100% against Newt. I can’t forgive him for something I know came from his inner core and showed his true colors. Newt’s “business” with Freddie and Fannie cannot be compared to Mitt’s experience with Bain Capital. Newt was peddling his influence as a former speaker and access to politicians because he can lobby on the House floor as a former politician (post for another day). I don’t begrudge him for making a living but he was sucking more taxpayer supported dollars out of an organization that needs to be eliminated. It is ripe with corruption and incompetence. Newt should have been working to close the place down.

Romney was a “turn-around” specialist in the private sector. His company took ailing and failing businesses and revived them to health. Most times they did sometimes they didn’t. But in the private sector there is no cushion of taxpayer funds to be “compassionate” with other people’s money.  Romney had to make the most difficult decisions people in the private sector have to make when saving or building businesses.

Bankruptcy is exactly what GM and Chrysler should have been forced to do. They would be better companies today and we as taxpayers would be a little less in debt. But our President illegally invested our money into private companies to save the unions that support his election. Yes illegal because nowhere in the constitution does it authorize the federal government to use taxpayer dollars to prop up private companies. The financial industry would have survived under the bankruptcy process as well if they were allowed to fail. The doom and gloom scenarios are all speculative BS. The private sector always recovers when the rules are clear and everyone plays by the same rules.

Newt through his comment “is Romney going to apologize to the companies he bankrupted and the laid off workers…” (close enough but a common liberal mantra against capitalism) has shown that his instinct is to prop up the private sector with tax dollars. A mortal sin for a free market economy. Mitt has proven he knows how to save, build, and allow for failure in the private sector which I have to assume he will do as President no matter how much pressure the public puts on him.

This election is about our future. Our future is bleak with the current President. He is destroying our fundamental fabric that creates the wealth and prosperity we enjoy. I know there are many conservatives looking for Reagan but we are going to have to trust Romney on this one. Newt will be demonized and portrayed as a mean spirited old white guy. He is not going to win over the uninformed middle. We will need the uninformed middle to get rid of Obama. They will need to feel good about voting against Obama because they vote based on feelings. Newt will not make them feel good about voting against Obama. That is a fact and I know it doesn’t make sense for us as conservatives but we must be strategic here.

Newt is done. Stick a fork in him and let’s move on to Romney. Newt has done some good things in the past but his instincts are tied to government solutions. The government is not the solution it is the problem as our hero Reagan knew all too well…

Check out this great post by my Brother on why we need Mitt. He is a staunch conservative…

The Politics of Envy…

The President has reverted to using past president’s strategies because he has obviously run into a roadblock from the people on his “strategy.” His strategy seems to be: create envy against a group of people that have worked hard and become successful on their own merits.

He talks about the wealthy, rich, billionaires and millionaires, the fortunate, and a host of other labels that are designed to insight envy in the hearts of his audience. Instead of thanking the successful people of our nation for all they have contributed, he chooses to lie about how they are not paying enough to the federal government. It is a lie because no matter what income tax these successful people pay, the total value to society far exceeds the people not paying any federal income tax at all.

These successful people are already paying the majority of federal taxes but the piece our president always fails to address is the product, service, or innovation impacts to our society. The most obvious one is the creation of jobs that fuels wealth and additional tax revenue to the state and local governments. This president has contempt in his voice when discussing successful people. The main reason is to position himself with his core constituency as the person who will make the playing field “fairer” for them. The truth is the field is already fair and actually tips toward people in the lower income and special interest groups.

All Americans have the same opportunity in this country. We all come from different backgrounds but if we apply ourselves the sky is the limit. This president often suggests that these successful people could not have been successful without the government. That is a lie for most business success. Government is often an impediment to their success and most businesses have had to endure many hurdles set up by government. To suggest that the government paves roads and therefor is the reason UPS is successful is disingenuous at best. To suggest that the local restaurant is successful because the city worker sweeps the sidewalk again is a stretch. The reason business is successful is an individual’s willingness to take a risk, apply his/her idea and work hard.

Any American can do that if they are so inclined. But Obama knows there is a class of people out there that count on the government for their subsistence. Black Americans have been lied to and continue to believe that the government is their savior. Until they stop the envy and start believing in themselves they will continue to suffer the consequences. Obama is trying to convince poor people that the government is the answer. The government is the problem.

I fear it is a hopeless argument for inner city communities that have been “educated” in government run schools who are an abysmal failure. Like Obama’s policies, the people counting on government are never going to be in the successful group. Their only “hope” is a man that promises to take the wealth of others to make up for their incompetence and lack of drive.

Envy of your neighbor is a path that leads to hatred and dependence. That is the re-election campaign strategy of this president. It is time for divisive politics and for this president to go…

The Farce of a Payroll Tax “Holiday”…

President Obama is pushing for the extension of what he claims to be a tax holiday for all Americans. He reduced the payroll tax from 6.2% to 4.2% and now wants to extend it. It is a farce and it is digging our debt hole even deeper.

The payroll tax (FICA) is the sole funding source for Social Security. The money pulled out for FICA is one of the few earmarked taxes that are legislated to a particular use. The problem is by reducing the payment we make into SS we should also be reducing the benefits since we are putting less into the account. Does anyone think this will happen?

Every paycheck we receive at the reduced rate is going to need to be made up in order to cover the current reduction. The system is already going bankrupt; this will only increase the speed in which we get there. So why is the president pushing this so hard?

The answer is simply to buy votes and perpetuate his class warfare re-election campaign. He is buying votes because unlike the income taxes which are only paid by 52% of the earning American, the payroll tax is taken out of every working person’s paycheck. By reducing the payroll tax and then declaring the “rich” need to pay their fair share to make up the short fall, the president gets the best of both of his worlds.

Like everything this president does, it divides Americans and increases our debt as a nation. It is disappointing and despicable. But that describes this president in a nutshell…