In the world we still have countries led by kings and royalty. We have military strongmen in charge. Some people have overthrown a democratic government for a considerably less democratic one. Then, there are the democracies. Whom do they serve? To whom do they answer?

The Founding Fathers made the United States a democracy, in basic terms. People had a right to vote for their government representation. Those people were male landowners at the time. This was not such a disgrace considering that the Federal government only took taxes from landowners and gave no financial benefits in return. An 18th century United States government made laws governing the ways states interacted and how the nation dealt with other countries. One man presided over the government for the times when a single decision had to be made.

As I’ve posted before, the federal government eventually took on the role of central government. Tax money went to people outside the government. Income was taxed for more revenue. The budget became a tool of control. More money passes through the US government than is spent on government.

In a monarchy or an oligarchy, you know what to expect.  They are looking out for themselves. In the more direct democracies of Europe, unsurprisingly, the same thing happens. The easiest way to win people over is to bribe them. Democracies are all too often represented by a self-anointed ruling class whose primary conviction is permanence. It turns out the easiest way to stay in power is to give money to people without any, regardless of how they got that way. Tax cuts are costly and bribe a smaller segment of the population. Government revenues increase, but reelection chances decrease. A large vote advantage can be gained by buying the poor and charging the rich for it. When you run out of money, you just borrow it.

The Founders tried to avoid this by creating a weaker Federal government, giving rights to the states and arguing for a citizen government. Executive orders, federal mandates, political campaigning and a massive budget took care of that. States have very few rights. Their residents pay more to the country than to their states. Transfer payments are administered to states but provided by the federal government. Term limits are absent from the people with the most control over money.

Despite what some tell you, Saul Alinsky and ACORN did not create some ingenious master plan. This is the logical extension of a direct democracy legislated by criminals. A king does what he wants. A democracy votes for what it wants. The real winners are the ones with the best sales job. The loser is liberty.