A commonsense understanding of America

This article was submitted by an anonymous author;

 

   

     In a crowded society such as ours, unwanted -- often loathsome -- insects or animals present themselves in such growing numbers they cause serious damage and/or disease. If left unchecked  for even a short period, they pose a serious problem. If they are allowed to exist unconstrained for long, they will become a chronic nuisance that will require severe – even lethal – measures to drive out or destroy. If this action is not undertaken, the result will surely be irreparable damage or incurable disease. Today, easily the most dangerous single group of pests in our history are “Washington Bureaucrats.”

     A large segment of our society is too young to have experienced an America where our elected leaders were not only referred to as "public servants," but actually served the public. NO LONGER!  There are no longer true Democrats, Republicans, Libertarians or Independents in Washington ... just millionaires. Granted, most don't initially arrive in Washington as greed-ridden tycoons; many actually arrive there with average wealth, stars in their eyes, and altruism in their hearts. Unfortunately, that doesn't last long...

     There is a Washington orientation class awaiting the newly elected at every dinner party, every luncheon, every "power breakfast."  While there is rank  in the nation's capitol, no one wears chevrons or a patch on his or her sleeve. Essential to the new arrivals, "caste" positions must be determined quickly, lest they step on the toes of the long-established political superiors.  There are powerful players in this, the most amoral "game" in our country. 

     The D.C. rule is  simple.  Their maxim is: "Money and Power." Their goal is to shape the system to fit their requirements. Their mantra is: "Screw the Little Guy!" But what a game! If they follow their self-imposed Washington rules, the  rewards are beyond human belief. And once a member of this select group, it's nearly impossible to fail. If one or two err -- through being caught in a lie or in the ever more popular sexual scandal, their fellows will quickly pick them up and set them straight, alibi for them, and immediately use the political subterfuge they have honed to perfection. If there is no credible defense, constant denial by our nation's leaders will make it fade away -- no matter the time it takes.  After all, a successful money-machine requires careful care and supervision.

     Make no mistake, the denizens of Washington are a "Superbowl class" team, regardless of ridiculous labels such as "party affiliation" or any feeling of responsibility toward their electorate.  Power and personal wealth are virtually their sole pursuits. What was once a group of highly respected government officials has become a pack of elite and self-supervised predators with the unwitting private citizen their prey.

     Today, Washington D.C. is overrun by a political infestation: a professional ruling-class led by governing "masterminds." They have become detached, even isolated, from the states and communities from whence they came, in conflict with those who elected them,  and only return to their genesis to make hollow, unkeepable promises to ensure  their naive followers will reelect them. But Washington quickly becomes their true home, the town where their allegiance lies. Why? Simple: more money flows through Washington D.C. in a twenty-four hour period than the entire rest of the nation sees in months. The evolution is nearly immediate. When first arriving in D.C. a conforming member of the team soon finds that, if he holds out his hands in a certain way, varying amounts of those mainly-unaccounted-for trillions of taxpayer dollars will stick to his or her own fingers.

     Infighting in D.C. is largely forbidden. Oh sure, there are disagreements often caused by the hubris that exists with the long-serving "Beltway Bullies" who, through having held public office for far too many years, truly come to believe they are omnipotent and godly. But care is taken to avoid serious confrontations that might ruffle the feathers of their Golden Goose.  The inevitable interparty squabbling is even beneficial for it masks many of the perverse activities they must employ in the pursuit of their goals. In wartime, such diversion is called a stratagem. In commerce it's called artifice. In government it's called "politics as usual" (for more detail, you might want to Google some of our recent presidential speeches).

     Like a professional sports-team where millions of dollars are available to players, competition for political player-positions is vicious. But the benefits in landing a job in Washington are indescribably worthwhile. Virtually no one going to Washington remains a non-millionaire for long. The actual work requirement is laughable. Perks are unparalleled. Every expense imaginable is paid by a spendthrift government.  Successfully investing in the stock market is made easy for the very people who are writing and voting on the forthcoming laws of the land. In Washington no one ever gets fired. In the case of caught in a possibly-impeachable offense, one need only pick up the phone and call the White House or the Attorney General's office. If they can't fix the problem immediately, they'll "look into it." Methuselah wouldn't live long enough to see the outcome of that overused political maneuver.

     Unlike professional sports-players, bureaucrats need only win the first public election. There is no test of qualification. There is no mental or physical requirement -- as evidenced by the comedians, stage actors, sports figures, and rock-stars who waltz through elections thanks to the groupie segment of the electorate. The main prerequisite is a deep pocket or a wealthy backer.

     Unfortunately, today the need for truck-loads of money restricts the political field to the ultra-wealthy and/or opens the field to anyone who can find a deep-pocketed backer. It is near-criminal that such a process obligates -- actually coerces -- a political victor to play puppet to an unscrupulous benefactor.   Huge sums of money have replaced the need for any intelligence whatsoever when selecting today's Washington elite. That's a harsh indictment but can be easily proven by current events. Luckily for today's ruling elite, the average American voter is too busy to probe too deeply into the morality, lives or backgrounds of their nation's potential leaders. In truth, the American voter just doesn't seem to give a damn about the future of his homeland or his progeny.

     Finally, a lack of Congressional term-limits invites a long-lived ruling class populated by professional politicians. As a professional football team seeks new, strong young players, our voters should shun the perpetuation of "Old Turks" and instead seek bright, hardworking  replacements on a regular basis. The Founders spent more time discussing this looming problem than on any other single issue, yet they were unable to foresee just how dangerous to the twenty-first century Republic the problem really would be. We now have a nation burdened with career lawmakers who have served far too many years. One quick example: we currently have a retiring Representative who has held his seat for 58 years, 74 days. Where in the private sector could an 87 year old man fully contribute to any organization for such a length of time? The list of Congressmen with their ages and time in office would look more at home on the wall of an old-folks-home.

     Career politicians in our Congress didn't become a serious problem until the second half of the 20th Century. By then the members had passed laws enabling them to give themselves unlimited salary increases. Underhanded methods of doing so -- for example, making annual raises automatic unless they voted not to accept them -- shielded their actions from the voting public. Prior to their lawful misdeeds, members of Congress didn't make outlandish wages (note I didn't say "earn") and being a member of the Washington Gang wasn't all that great. During the last fifty years of the 1800s,  turnover in Congress averaged 50.2 . Just over half voluntarily returned to their non-government jobs each year. Beginning in the second half of the 1900s, that all changed. Members methodically usurped the authority of the public, sweetening their remuneration and perks until today you couldn't get a member of Congress out of his cushy job with a shoehorn! Imagine waking up every morning as a perpetual lottery winner.

    Our Framers strongly considered a restriction on time served in Congress in the Articles of Confederation. In Article V they stated, "...no person shall be capable of being a delegate for more than three years in any term of six years..." Several of the delegates were also opposed to paying salaries to legislators and executive officers of the federal government. Alas, term limits and the no-pay question didn't make it into the Constitution. The Framers were obviously aware of the pitfalls of not rotating positions and offering jobs for life, but couldn't have foreseen the depth of the thievery, cronyism, graft and downright corruption that has turned Washington D.C. into an unassailable statist cesspool.

     We have a group of bureaucrats in Washington who dis-enjoy one of the lowest approval ratings in our history. Tell me why we consider them totally worthless yet WE keep putting them back in office?  Kinda' prompts one to wonder who the chumps really are that should be getting the low ratings ...

     Every election a lot of well-meaning freshmen go to Washington as Jack Armstrongs and in just a few months turn into Ebenezer Scrooges.  Can it be Washington itself? There must be something so dreadful lurking there that it can change tyro bureaucrats into greedy thieves almost overnight.   I can't find anything in the Constitution about having to keep our bureaucrats stationed in Washington D.C.  Not even in the United States.  

     Sometime shortly after November of this year there will be a bus leaving Washington for parts unknown.  Let's be sure a lot of 'em are on it.