A Fundamental Flaw With American Democracy
When America was first founded, there were arguments among political leaders about who should have the right to vote. They agreed that the right to vote was very precious. They knew that power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely. This is why they were reluctant to allow every person the right to vote. The ruling class at the time was the property owners. They did not want people who were not property owners to have a say in matters that affected property owners. Their reasoning was that it would open the door to government abuse and punishment of the most prosperous class of citizens. That is exactly what is happening today.
The way our current system works is that everyone has the right to vote once they reach adulthood. It doesn’t matter whether you are a responsible person or totally irresponsible person. It doesn’t matter if you even know what you are voting for. You don’t even have to ponder the consequences of your vote. You still get to cast that vote. Some people think that is a great system. I don’t.
That system is flawed because it opens the door to unjust abuse of people just because of their personal success. All adult citizens have the right to vote for congressmen. Those congressmen decide how much tax burden will be placed on whom. In many instances then, a voter who pays zero income tax has an equal say in how much tax revenue is collected and how that tax revenue is to be spent. Naturally, these people tend to vote in their favor. They vote for the person who says they are going to take more taxes from the people currently paying it and transfer it to the non payers in the form of unearned tax credits or entitlements like welfare.
“The primary requisite for any new tax law is for it to exempt enough voters to win the next election”
In our current system, the percentage of voters who don’t pay taxes is increasing. That means that those who do pay taxes are slowly losing representation even though their share of the tax burden is increasing year after year. At some point, which I argue is right now, you reach a tipping point. You end up having a majority of congress, and even the president, elected by people who don’t pay taxes. These people get elected because they tell the non-tax payers that, if elected, they will make the rich people in America pay for the things that the non-tax payers want.
This is a classic example of mob rule. It is very difficult for people to turn down handouts. These power hungry democrats know that they can win elections by creating social class warfare between the rich and the not so rich Americans. They have successfully convinced much of the population that the wealthy in America are to blame for all of the problems experienced by the lower class. As any semi-intelligent person would see, this is utterly ridiculous. It is the mindset, work ethic, education, wisdom and ingenuity of the wealthy that is responsible for their success. It is the lack of one or more of those characteristics that keeps the other people poor.
By blaming the wealthy for all of their problems, less successful Americans can feel better about themselves and use that excuse as a crutch for not having achieved the level of success they really desire. The democrats actually do their electorate a disservice by reinforcing that mindset. The democrats know that in order for them to stay in power they must get the American population to depend on entitlements. They want to convince voters that the people are not responsible for their own livelihood. They want you to come to believe it is government’s job to provide you with a decent standard of living. Once you come to believe that, then they have got you right where they want you. They will keep you there for the rest of your life, just so they can remain in power.
“Every man is under the natural duty of contributing to the necessities of the society; and this is all the laws should enforce on him.” –Thomas Jefferson to Francis Gilmer, 1816
I would argue for a shift in the voting rights of Americans to rebalance the power structure. I believe that every adult should have the right to vote. I just don’t believe that non paying voters should have the right to determine how someone else’s money is spent. The best way to accomplish this is open for debate. One possibility would be to leave voting rights exactly as they are now for the president and the senate. Then have the House of Representatives elected by tax payers only. This would effectively allow tax payers the representation they rightfully deserve in congress without giving them total control.
All people regardless of financial status deserve to have a say in who becomes president. The president has the authority to send them off to war. Therefore, everyone must have the right to vote for that office. Allowing everyone to vote for their state Senator gives even the non tax payers some influence on spending while limiting the non payers’ ability to abuse those who fund all of the entitlements. It would allow entitlements to exist without becoming too much of a drain on the capitalist economy.
You can skip ahead to about 10:20 when Jack starts talking about the majority of the population not paying income taxes. They make it pretty clear. If people aren’t paying for government, they are going to want more from it. It’s that simple.