The New Declaration of Independence

I thought it would be fun to slightly alter the Declaration of Independence of 1776 - I basically went through it and deleted what did not apply to the situation we find ourselves in today. I did not add anything that did not already exist in principle in some form in the original document (for example, I did not add the tyranny of the Federal Reserve in debasing our currency). All additions/changes are in bold. So read and enjoy and be amazed how much this applies to today!

When in the Course of human events it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another and to assume among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the Laws of Nature and of Nature's God entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation.

We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. — That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, — That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness. Prudence, indeed, will dictate that Governments long established should not be changed for light and transient causes; and accordingly all experience hath shown that mankind are more disposed to suffer, while evils are sufferable than to right themselves by abolishing the forms to which they are accustomed. But when a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same Object evinces a design to reduce them under absolute Despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such Government, and to provide new Guards for their future security. — Such has been the patient sufferance of these States; and such is now the necessity which constrains them to alter their former Systems of Government. The history of the present United States Federal Government is a history of repeated injuries and usurpations, all having in direct object the establishment of an absolute Tyranny over these States. To prove this, let Facts be submitted to a candid world:

1. The Federal District Courts have refused its Assent to Laws, the most wholesome and necessary for the public good.
2. The Federal District Courts have forbidden State Legislatures to pass Laws of immediate and pressing importance, unless suspended in their operation till its Assent should be obtained; and when so suspended, it has utterly neglected to attend to them.
3. The Federal Government has erected a multitude of New Offices, and sent hither swarms of Officers to harass our people and eat out their substance through increased taxation.
4. The Federal Government has combined with other nations to subject us to a jurisdiction foreign to our constitution, and unacknowledged by our laws; giving its Assent to their Acts of pretended Legislation.
5. The Federal Government has imposed Unconstitutional Taxes on us without our Consent.
6. The Federal Government has suspended our own State Legislatures, and has declared itself invested with power to legislate for us in all cases whatsoever.
7. The Federal Government has plundered our seas, ravaged our coasts, burnt our towns, and destroyed the lives of our people through Environmental Legislation.
8. The Federal Government has excited domestic insurrections amongst us, and has endeavoured to bring on illegal aliens from beyond our borders.

In every stage of these Oppressions We have Petitioned for Redress in the most humble terms: Our repeated Petitions have been answered only by repeated injury. A Federal Government, whose character is thus marked by every act which may define a Tyrant, is unfit to be the ruler of a free people.

Nor have We been wanting in attentions to our Elected Federal Representaives and Senators. We have warned them from time to time of attempts by their legislatures to extend an unwarrantable jurisdiction over us. We have reminded them of the circumstances of our founding. We have appealed to their native justice and magnanimity, and we have conjured them by the ties of our common kindred to disavow these usurpations, which would inevitably interrupt our connections and correspondence. They too have been deaf to the voice of justice and of consanguinity. We must, therefore, acquiesce in the necessity, which denounces our Separation, and hold them, as we hold the rest of mankind, Enemies in War, in Peace Friends.

We, therefore, the People of the Sovereign States of America, appealing to the Supreme Judge of the world for the rectitude of our intentions, do, in the Name, and by Authority of the good People of these States, solemnly publish and declare, That these Sovereign States are, and of Right ought to be Free and Independent States, that they are Absolved from all Allegiance to the Federal Government, and that all political connection between them and the United States of America, is and ought to be totally dissolved; and that as Free and Independent States, they have full Power to levy War, conclude Peace, contract Alliances, establish Commerce, and to do all other Acts and Things which Independent States may of right do. — And for the support of this Declaration, with a firm reliance on the protection of Divine Providence, we mutually pledge to each other our Lives, our Fortunes, and our sacred Honor.

My Economic Recovery Plan

I believe we a polishing a turd - a really huge, smelly elephant turd - when considering the Obama Economic Recovery Plan (OERP, which sounds a lot like vomiting). This country is fundamentally flawed in many ways, and before I get into my fixes for the economy and the country, we need to identify the reasons for this financial collapse:
1.) Personal irresonsibility - spending money we don't have, or making mistakes with the expectation that someone else will fix them
2.) Enabling "sloth" - government welfare programs that guarantee no pain to anyone, no matter how bad their personal decisions, with no expectations of getting off the government dole
3.) A "no one fails" mindset - all kids should get As, all kids should go to college, everyone should have a house, everyone should be able to buy what they want whenever they want it, etc. etc. - when no one fails, no one succeeds. When no one is a failure, no one can be considered excellent
4.) Dumbing-down the society - related to #3 - if we do not learn from history we are destined (or cursed) to repeat it
5.) Envy and class-warfare - the classes have been divided, and the producers in this society are demonized while the consumers are given the status sainthood
6.) Moral relativism - when there is no right and no wrong, anything goes - all bad behavior must be explained and understood, rather than discouraged or punished
7.) Feelings are valued higher than reason and rationality
8.) The Environmentalist Movement - protecting the environment in a reasonable way has been replaced with "people are evil and a blight" mindset, and the planet is somehow to be valued above everything else in its purest, untouched form - it has gone from good stewardship to worship
9.) Social Engineering and Manipulating Capitalism - Capitalism is a force of nature, it is natural law, and self-interest is a good thing (as opposed to selfishness, which is something else entirely) - government cannot tinker with this system in an effort to cleanse it of greed, selfishness, or to encourage what it considers "good behavior" and not expect that natural force to respond in ways unforeseen
10.) Lack of personal and economic freedom

Okay, that might be enough to generalize what got us into this mess. Now, to my fixes:

1. Return to the US Constitution. Any Federal program or department not granted authority in the Constitution would be immediately eliminated and turned back to the states to do with as they please. This would amount to massive cuts in the Federal Government, and an increase in local control over government - in other words, many of these programs and jobs would not disappear, they would just return to the state or local level where they belong. As another example of what this would mean, the "police actions" since the Korean War would no longer be Constitutional - the Congress is the only Federal body that has the authority to declare war - so Congress would have to decide if the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan are worthy, and if not, troops would be pulled home. Because the Federal Government is so far beyond its authority, and is essentially unconsitutional as it stands today, the ramifications of this fix could be discussed for some time, but to sum it up - the Federal Government would be lean and focused and within its constitutional authority, and all other powers would be delegated to the individual states to do with as they please.
2. Some results of #1 would be: elimination of federal welfare programs, phasing-out of Social Security and Medicare, elimination of many federal departments including most notably education, paying down the national debt.
3. Repeal the amendment to the Constitution allowing the federal government to confiscate money via income taxes. The income tax was originally instituted to wage a curent war, and was supposed to be abolished after the war was won (it was either the Civil War or WWI). The Federal Government is authorized to raise money via tariffs and levies - basically either tariffs on imports, or something closer to a national sales tax. The Federal Government has no business in knowing how much money you make, stealing it from you before it is in your hands to give to someone else, and manipulating your behavior via the tax code.
4. Everyone would pay taxes, rich and poor - everyone should have a stake in the Federal Government, and not just a stake in how much they receive in handouts. Today, 50% of the country does not pay income taxes. There is no way those people are going to vote for an efficient government - they are going to vote for whoever gives them the most money.
5. Remove all roadblocks to private industry. Beyond legitimate environmental concerns (such as air and water pollution that can travel across state boundaries) the Federal Government should not be placing restrictions on business and industry. Because of Environment regulations, it is impossible to get anything done in this country anymore - we can't build roads, or bridges, or drill for oil or mine for coal and steel, without jumping through a bunch of hoops and paying off a bunch of do-gooding environmentalist groups and causes. There is no way that we could build the Interstate system today. A new oil refinery hasn't been built in over 20 years in the country. We are stretching the capacity of our energy production to its limit, and we see brown-outs. This and many more examples are because we cannot get anything done at all in this country because of extreme environmentalism. If you want a true boost to the economy, we need to start making things again, and all efforts would be made to lower or eliminate restrictions to industry. THAT would put people to work, and the cost of doing business would be dramatically lessened.
6. The power of Unions will be lessened, because their government backing will evaporate. Workers have a right to Unionize, but if the private business wants to fire them all and hire non-Union workers, that is their right as well. As it currently stands, Unions expectations are unrealistic and create a situation where American businesses cannot compete. If the Unions did not have Big Government backing them, and the negiotiation table was level, perhaps more reasonable agreements will be adhered to, and we wouldn't have major companies going bankrupt because of past agreements, namely pensions, that put off the day of reckoning into the future.
7. Student loans would be targeted, if they even exist. We have a situation today where everyone goes to college, and for things that aren't marketable, primarily because the government gives them free money to do so. When your own money is not at stake, you make bad decisions. And when schools are dependent of government dollars to operate, they begin to compromise success for funding and social advancement. If you choose to become a history major, you are not guaranteed a job in that limited field. If you choose to become something marketable, such as an engineer, your investment will likely pay off. You do not need to go to college to succeed in this country - we need more entrepreneurs and less workers. We need more people who can make things or fix things than those who push papers around.
8. Public education will return to the states, where it belongs. If those schools want to lower standards, or socially engineer their students, that will be their decision, but each state will have to live with the consequences of either focusing on true success or the competing social advancement. States that do not strive for excellence will suffer the consequences in the marketplace, and will not be able to compete with states that do.
9. The Federal Reserve would be abolished, and a gold-standard (or some equivalent, perhaps energy) would back the US currency. Our economy is only as sound and stable as our currency, and the Federal Reserve has been reckless in tinkering with the money supply and economy through printing its fiat currency. Nixon took us off the gold standard with the understanding that money would be expanded and contracted as the economic grew and shrunk (Keynesian Economics), and government spending would be responsible and live within its means (not go into debt). As we have seen, we cannot trust government to be fiscally responsible, so the Federal Reserve - the enabler of bad fiscal policy - has to go and a sound currency needs to return. You need to have a solid foundation to take risks with your money and invest, and the volatile value of the dollar, and its coming hyperinflation, is the single greatest threat to our prosperity.
10. The Federal Government's first responsibility is to protect its people from foreign enemies, and to protect its borders. Just as I wouldn't tinker with the free market system, I would not tinker in international affairs. Free trade creates allies, and an exchange of both goods and ideas. I would focus on military strength, but would not use it unless the country was threatened. Nothing but the best and brightest would be allowed into our country. I would avoid entangling ourselves in international affairs and conflicts. I would remove the US from the United Nations, which is a worthless and corrupt agency, and focus on individual relations between sovereign nations. I would trade with free and democratic nations first, and totalitarian regimes would not be supported but would be penalized with high tariffs.

This "fix" on its face seems quite radical and extreme, but in reality it is just returning to the founding document of this country, the US Constitution, which delegates most powers and responsibilities to the individual states. It is the Unites STATES of America! The autonomous states were intended to be "laboratories of democracy" and could compete in the free market just as companies do, and the best system would arise from the competition. The only role of the Federal Government in the relations between the states would be to protect the free movement of people and goods across state borders.

You cannot have a free and prosperous society and country if the rules in the rulebook are continually changed and reinterpreted. Returning to the Constitution is the only thing that will save this great country from economic and political collapse.

The Next Great Depression - The Silver Lining

I am generally a pessimist, if you haven't noticed. I have been beating the doom and gloom drum for some time now, and I have been proven right with this developing economic crisis. Let me be clear: we are in no way clear of this mess, and in fact it is just the beginning. This recession will deepen, and will become a Depression - primarily because we are doing all the same things that have brought about this crisis. Obama and the Democrats are spending money we don't have, and like those individual irresponsible American idiots deep in debt they are likewise frittering it away on luxuries that will not stimulate the economy. It is eternally frustrating.

But there is a "silver lining" to this crisis that I am pretty excited about - I have used the word "reckoning" for some time which literally means making things right - it won't be all bad. Here are my optimistic and postive thoughts on the crisis (some serious, some not-so-much, you decide):

1. The Left-leaning areas of the country will fail first - the big cities, California, the Northeast - it will be great fun to see the cities descend into chaos and anarchy as people can't get the things they need and expect and feel they are entitled to - dig a moat around the major cities and we'll all be fine! In the information age we really don't need big cities anymore, so screw 'em! We'll see how long they hold fast to their liberal idealism when the shit hits the fan and it's do or die time.
2. Along the same lines, the current welfare system is just not sustainable under an economic crisis. The worthless bastards that have been leeching off you and me for a few decades now will finally be allowed to fend for themselves, and they'll kill each other doing it. Fantastic!
3. Illegal Immigration will cease - Americans will not allow these people to steal American jobs anymore. This is kind of sad, because most of the illegals are probably great people, but a lot of crime comes with them with the bad apples, so good riddance.
4. Our culture will refocus on what is important. All the trivialities will fade away. First things first will return, because it will be necessary to survive. Not to say we won't have distractions, but that's what they'll be - distractions, not the focus. Maybe American Idol will survive, but not much else will.
5. Sports "stars" will no longer be paid huge salaries to play a game. That will be one of the first things to go. If people can't afford to go to the games, and companies cannot afford to sponsor them, it all trickles down to the talent. Related to #4, maybe the inner cities will refocus on education and values when they see they cannot make millions if they practice really hard at the basketball court.
6. Likewise, Hollywood actors and actresses will not command huge salaries. These huge salaries are just not sustainable, when it is all dependent on a prosperous and paying public.
7. Kids getting away with all the bad behavior that they do in public today will not be tolerated. Remember the days when you could yell at someone else's kid for acting like a jackass? Well, those days are going to return, because guess what: it won't matter if you get sued, because no one is going to have any money!
8. Big payout lawsuits will dry up - no one has any money to sue for!
9. HGTV will go off the air, thank God!!! No home equity loans to do lavish improvements.
10. People will say it like it is - Political Correctness will be laid to rest - if you're an idiot, you will be called one. If you're lazy, you will hear about it. If you're a no-good SOB criminal, you will meet your maker. People will not tolerate flaws of character when things aren't so comfortable and cushy anymore.
11. Global Warming nonsense will no longer be of such importance - when you are struggling just to put food on the table and keep warm, I don't think you're going to give a shit if your lawnmower burns gasoline.
12. The dollar is going to collapse, so everything will reset - no national debt, no personal debt, no personal savings. What you have right now in physical assets is all that you will have, so stock up if you can. People are going to want to get drunk, so invest in liquor. And guns. Lots of guns.
13. The bleeding-heart people who got us into this mess will be unarmed, because they hate guns, so they will not be a problem whatsoever.
14. If the government somehow survives as it is currently constituted and continues down the path to socialism and the USSA, individual states (Texas first) will secede from the USSA to escape the rising taxes and liabilities of Social Security and Medicare. So, we'll have somewhere to escape to with like-minded people! And this new country will be filled with young, hard-working, armed men and women so no one will screw with us!
15. Real work will be valued - not sitting behind a desk punching away at a keyboard, but getting out there and using the hands God gave us to build things, and fix things, and maybe beat the shit out of dangerous people!
16. Family will come first, because that's all we'll have, and it will be enough.

How's that for looking on the bright side of life! This list will probably grow as I think of more things that excite me about the Next Great Depression.