Drastic measures

The thieves have made out all right -- they knew what they were doing from the start -- get the money and run. There are bad people in the world -- they live to con and steal. The problem in the financial wreck is that we have conflated bad people with political parties, ideologies and the market -- Republicans are bad people, Democrats are bad people, Wall Street investors are bad people, capitalists are bad people -- the truth is bad people exist as individuals. In this case, bad people are bad through corruption of money and power -- throw in sex and you have a TV series.

In the market when people go bad, they usually destroy themselves through their uncontrollable hunger for more and more money -- the tragedy plays out, then we shake our heads at how such a promising, bright person allowed the love of money to trump all other values -- we may even witness the perp-walk as they are led off to jail for fraud or such.

In government it's quite a different story when a number of people turn bad because of power. Even then we may witness isolated incidences when politicians go over the line in a such a way they are hung out to dry and have to face punishment for bribery or such. But when many politicians go bad because of power-lust, their badness is of a different sort and the consequences of their actions more protected.

Our government was created to secure the rights of life, liberty and pursuit of happiness. There was a need to protect the country from foreign invasion, a needed means to prevent coercion of all forms of some against others and a need for court system to settle disputes. We created rule of law where we are all equal before the law. Adjustments had to eventually be made to include the rights and freedoms of all people. Some people argue that today we don't get to consent to be governed, so our government is invalid, but at the time it was created it was created with the consent of the poeple -- and it was understood that if government took on too much power we should remove our consent. This was a revolutionary form of government and the freedom it allowed has created the most amazing results known to man. 

Unlimited power was known to be the evil that makes good people bad and what leads to tyranny, so government was purposefully limited.

Most readers will know what has happened since, and when we stop to think about the beginning and where we are now, it's astonishing how far we have gone past the limitations. We see many bad people in government on both sides of the aisle and opinion of government is at its lowest point ever.

If we give consent to our government at this point to take over the financial functioning of the free market we are assuring the corruption of almost all people in government and the loss of our freedom. It's true that something needs to be done, but what's proposed doesn't address the fundamental problem which is corruption of government by practically unlimited power.

If we consent to government stopping the bleeding, we must also demand that limitations be placed on government going forward. There are free market solutions to our present problems - problems which were caused by lack of free market flexibility and responsiveness. We should all demand a collective deep breath, a short period of soul searching then actions which unshackle business people to implement business decisions and solutions.

I have heard over and over that this crisis requires drastic measures. So be it - suspend taxes, including capital gains, on all businesses for five years until we can recreate a limited government and decide the best way to pay for it. Suspend all regulations except the ones that prevent fraud. Use the bully pulpit to call on businesses to create a dynamic and prosperous economy. End all corporate welfare, immediately. Cut income taxes significantly with a 10 year plan to phase out income tax altogether. End all money going to foreign nations for three years. Start dismantling military bases in countries where they are no longer needed. Call on states to quit demanding wasteful spending on projects using federal money. Abolish the tax on gasoline. Re-write the anti-trust laws to include only a monopoly that can charge monopoly prices. Remove all restrictions on oil exploration and drilling, with an encouraging message to cheer on research for alternative sources of energy. Have the President announce this, then say -- Go get 'em!

These are starters -- I'm sure I'll think of more drastic measures.