Enlightened Regressivism

By Christopher Barra

We must embrace the logic of Enlightened Regressivism. The alternative to returning to our roots is to surrender our children and grandchildren to the near omnipotent rulers we have today who promote more and more intrusive and Draconian socialistic methods which will enslave our heirs for generations to come.

This book explains:

How and why our congressmen have transformed from honorable public servants enduring a thankless and difficult part-time job to an out-of-touch elite ruling class - and what we can do about it.

Why the murder of a whistle-blowing journalist, who wrote of the treason planned by our Congress and Senate may not have gone down as reported. It was more likely a professional hit to silence him and to pave the way for absolute financial domination over the people. Where is the Cold Case investigation team when we need them?

"Earthers" of today worship the earth as ignorant pagans once did the sun many years ago, yet they accuse conservatives of lack of enlightenment. Had they influence when Columbus planned his voyage, they would have demanded he be grounded due to the disturbance of the natural air flow caused by the giant sails of the Pinta, Nina and Santa Maria.

Our economic policy is lifted directly from the Bizarro World. We reward failure and punish success.

Heroes villains and idiots are shamelessly created, worshiped, vilified or destroyed by our intellectually dishonest media propagandists.

Criminalizing the honorable is the only profitable enterprise in which government successfully engages. Under the guise of benevolent protector, they employ financial shake-downs of honest citizens based on absurd safety criteria as the Mafia and Irish Mobs once did, but worse.

All is not lost. We offer 5 primary solutions to avoid a civil war.

Welfare and all its forms has morphed from a safety net to an alternative lifestyle for many. We propose a method of eliminating it as we know it over time. Even the welfare recipients will support this - see why.

Voting must be restored to an earned privilege. We don't allow dependent irresponsible children to dictate financial decisions in a family, we can't allow it as a nation, or they will continually demand we provide more cookies and ice cream. When the least successful and productive are permitted to dominate the decision-making process, the host nation can't survive.

There is a far better way to tax Americans. We provide all the details about the Fair Tax proposal and the reasons why it is a better way. We propose the repeal of the IRS and the income tax and replacement with a national sales tax.

Taxpayers can not continue to support. the big salaries, benefits and pensions of public employees. We are already seeing local government failures. We can restore sanity over time and save the retirees without resorting to bankruptcy. The solutions are here.

Limiting Congressional terms is unquestionably the permanent solution to our woes. It is the best economic stimulus because it relies on honest human nature. This can be done without their help, and even the congressmen themselves will happily (well - greedily) support it.

We must embrace the logic of Enlightened Regressivism . The alternative is to surrender our children and grandchildren to the near omnipotent rulers we have today who promote more and more intrusive and Draconian socialistic methods which will enslave our heirs for generations to come.

Life was much easier when we had fewer laws, lower taxes, temporary congressmen and less government interference in our daily lives. To avoid a revolution, we have no choice but to resurrect the values of yesteryear and regress in thought to a better time we all knew.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Christopher Barra
• Release date: Jan 7, 2014
• ISBN: 9781624078514

Christopher Barra

Married to Susan, Chris has three wonderful children; Christopher the younger, Amanda and Stephanie. As of the writing of this book, he was Chairman of the Libertarian Party in Escambia County, Florida.Chris operates a tax practice in Pensacola with wife Susan and another office in Boston. A graduate of Providence College in Rhode Island, he has earned a Masters Degree in Wealth Management, and is Enrolled to Practice before the IRS. He also holds a Black Belt in Judo, registered in Tokyo, Japan. If you want more information:Contact Chris at:[e-mail]

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Enlightened Regressivism

Published by Christopher M. Barra at Smashwords

Copyright 2014 Christopher M. Barra

All of the opinions in this book are those of the author and not necessarily based on any verifiable facts. The author encourages the reader to do his own research to validate or repudiate any opinions which may appear to be unintended statements of fact.

This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This ebook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient - it is not expensive. If you are reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please return to Smashwords.com and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.

For my wife Susan,

and my children

Christopher, Amanda and Stephanie.

Without them there would have been no reason

to care enough to write this book.

A special thanks to those who helped me complete this book and kept at least some of the less intelligent, boorish comments out of it. Could be they also saved me from being sued, I hope so anyway.

Cover Design by: Laura Shin

Editors:

Susan Barra

David L. Carvell

William Dossey

Steve Sgourakes

Paul S. Samar

Robert M. Spallino

Table of Contents

Part 1: Introduction

Them!

Always Two Reasons

Good Think

It's Great to be King

Part 2: The Birth of E.T.

The Robber Baron Influence

The Plan

Fiat Money

Passing the Income Tax Law

Part 3: A Fly in the Ointment

Murder of David Graham Phillips

A Good Professional Hit Never Looks Like It

Nothing Happens by Accident

Part 4: Declaration of Subservience

Americanizing Socialism

Marxist Presidents

Class Warfare

Oppression Acceptance

Show Me The Money

Czars: Unconstitutional Nobility

Criminalizing the Honorable

Laffer Curve Vs. The Friedman Box

Part 5: Progressive Thought and Morality

Right to be Stupid and Poor

The Golden Rule

Enlightened Self-Interest

Redefining Theft - Legalized Plunder

The Poor Must Pay Their fair Share

Welfare: Safety net or Alternative Lifestyle?

Fairy Tales of Yesteryear-

Heroes, Villains and Idiots

Earthers

It's NOT Really the Thought that Counts

Part 6: Thoughts From The Bizarro World

Bizarro Economic Policy

Money Management

Social Security Bailout Bill

Part 7: If I Were King

Role of Government

Geographic Divide

Initial Proclamations

Five More Decrees

Part 8:

Five Primary Principals

Principle 1 - Weaning off Welfare

Principle 2 - Abolish The Right to Vote

Principle 3 - Tax Simplification / The Fair Tax

Principle 4 - Government Employee Overhaul

Principle 5 - Term Limits

One Final Chapter

Special Thank You

The Author

* * * *

Part 1:

Introduction

This is not a book of poetry. Inspired by the intellectually dishonest progressives, the following poem came to me on my kayak in the middle of Pensacola Bay. I never intended to put it in any book; in fact, I never really intended to write a book like this at all. Since I did, it seemed fitting to begin it with a sarcastic shot at the left in lyrical fashion.

THEM!-

We want free health care, food jobs and much more.

Bestow this to all of our poor and near poor

The compassionate know it's for all of our good.

They'd feel this way too if They understood.

They argue of waste with irrelevant facts,

And never agree to increase Their tax.

It's not about me and all of my friends,

Their means should be used to accomplish our ends.

All They want is an impervious militia.

But what would happen to my sister, Patricia?

And cousins, Phil, Tom and Sam and Aunt Millie

Who all work for Congressman Uncle Billy.

They're sadly lacking in social thinking.

They say it's our fault our country is sinking,

Cause' there's too much waste in spending these days.

They don't realize how well our government pays.

We must decide to whom to distribute

The money from Them who only contribute.

It should be sent to where there is need

From They who are filled with scandalous greed.

More for our schools, our kids will be smarter.

They’ll just have to work a little bit harder.

More for Senators, their friends and their staffs,

And to study the thought process of Congan giraffes.

They don't seem to know that if They don't provide

Our needy may not amply flourish and thrive.

Or worse, we'd be forced to work for low pay,

And earn far less than we're getting today.

-

From each with ability to those in some need

Is not a destructive, sacrilegious creed,

But a sound system based on truth and reason,

And if They won’t fund it, jail Them for treason!

They say They just want to be left alone,

So now and then we should throw them a bone.

So wink, then nod and smile when you see Them,

But don't let Them ever know that we need Them.

There's more of us, so to stay elected

Ensure that we are the one's protected.

If you want to maintain our vote and our trust

Keep taking from Them and giving to us!

Life wasn’t always this way in the United States; help us return us to the great nation we once were. Now that we have elected a Marxist for a second term, it is time to stand up, and proudly admit you are an Enlightened Regressivist.

* * * *

Always Two Reasons

A man always has two reasons for doing anything; the reason he says he has, and the real one.

Money (and ego) are the reasons I wrote this book.

Surprised I would admit that? Most of us have become unaccustomed to hearing direct, honest, apparently selfish statements. We say and we write what we want other people to pretend to believe. In fact if you think about it, despite the rhetoric from the collectivists, money is the reason for much of the activity in the world.

To my knowledge, I have not been divinely inspired; nor do I have some kind of a calling of which I am aware. In addition to earning some money, I admit that I also wanted to satisfy my ego by writing some of my thoughts in book form as so many before me have done. Many will agree with me, but the ideas here are not all that original; in fact, most of them are older than anyone who will honor me by reading this. It seems that for some reason writing it for public view somehow validates ideas far more than would an angry rant in a state department of motor vehicle registration line.

The concepts herein have already been proven, they have been indisputably validated. The objective is to awaken the producers in this country and to undo the lunacy and the irrationality of the progressive beliefs which have brought our nation to its knees.

Books do carry more weight than mere spoken words. That is a basic regressive tenet – admit truth, and use it to your advantage. I hope to awaken your conservative side enough so you will consciously think about what you really believe, be proud to admit it without hesitation, and teach it to your children.

The quote that begins this page originated from wealthy banker J. P. Morgan who rarely admitted doing anything for money – so he knew of which he spoke. Somehow he became one of the wealthiest men in the world, without publicly admitting to be interested in personal profit. At least he was honest about lying.

If you’ve never heard of this quote, you still know it is true. You’ve probably used it yourself. Ever tell someone you were too busy to go somewhere you didn't want to go? Come on now, how about `your in-laws house? Urgent report due and sorry, I just can’t make it. Maybe you really did have that business report due, but honestly now, the real reason was you just can’t stand to be in their company for more than a few seconds a month. Don’t feel too badly; we all do it.

A few years ago, my wife said: Let’s drive 1,000 miles and go to Oklahoma to see my daughter and her family for Thanksgiving. I made the mistake of saying: I don’t want to go because it is a thousand miles each way and only a four day trip; plus it is much colder there. I don’t like cold; I could be kayaking here at home in Florida, hang out on the little islands and read a book. Bad idea. I thought honesty would be the best approach – it wasn’t. Next time I will be sure to make a tax appointment I can’t break.

Although we don’t trust people we know are lying, we pretend to believe it if we think others believe we should. (Ok to pause now and rewind that last sentence). For example: Why do teachers need more pay and benefits? For the children of course. Not because they want more money, an easy retirement, or a great health care policy they complain isn’t enough. No, they want to be able to afford the best teachers for the sake of the children. Wouldn’t we have more respect for them if they just admitted to wanting the money, benefits and summers off – as well as teaching the children?

Why do professional athletes ingest illegal drugs? Of course it had nothing to do with that potential $100 million contract, it was to help them recover from injury faster so they can get back on the field and help their team win. I always respected a former Red Sox pitcher who when asked why he stayed with Boston, said: Because they gave me more money.

Keeping in the pro sports line, when asked why a long term veteran ballplayer retires, the answer is always a close derivative to: My wife and I discussed it and we felt that it was time that I started to spend more time with my family.

Right. Nothing to do with the fact that no one offered a job, that there were no more multimillion-dollar contracts on the table. Funny when you think about it. We all know they are lying, they know we know - but they say it anyway. If we’re good fans, we pretend to believe it.

Why do towns place cameras at busy intersections? Safety? Come on now. On and on it goes, and we outwardly pretend to believe the reasons given when we know they aren’t true.

Sure there are other reasons I wrote this book, but mainly I want to earn money, and am not ashamed to admit it. I also am tired of everyone with their hand in my pocket. Is that OK to admit? Am I selfish because it is true? We all need to be more honest about what we really think, and care less what others think about it. Thoughtful logic and reason will always win an argument against emotion, unless or course the squabble is with your wife.

I don’t want to be a burden upon anyone else; I don’t want to ask for, much less demand anything from another that I did not earn. So naturally, I want to earn as much as I can so that never happens. You should be pleased I intend never to burden you or your family with my wants or needs.

I want my children to feel the same way. I want them to be able to work and to make their own money without oppressive government interference at every turn. I want my grandchildren to live in a world we used to know, or at least some of us do because we’ve read about it. I want the thought process of Americans to revert back to my liking because I believe I am right and liberals are wrong. I am not the only one who feels this way, and we are becoming more vocal. Probably you agree too or you wouldn’t be reading this now.

All of the above statements begin with I because they are all selfish motives. The important factor is that the I statements are based on enlightened self-interest rather than simple hedonistic selfishness. The difference is in the long-term effect on oneself and upon others.

My self-interest is good for you. You won’t have to contribute anything for my benefit that would have otherwise been available to directly enhance your own enlightened self-interested lifestyle or that of your children. I of course do not want to be forced by government to sacrifice my needs or even my minor selfish wants to contribute to your family’s needs.

Although I would never intentionally hurt you or your family, I can’t really care about them like I do my own. If you’re honest you will admit the same. Human nature can’t be faked.

We are not evil for thinking this way or even for admitting that we do. In fact we should scream it from the rooftops. If we feel this way and conceal it, we are negligent in our familial and social responsibilities. If we believe in enlightened self-interest and refuse to admit or teach these valuable principles to our children, we are poor role models and parents and part of the national problem now facing all of us. The result will hurt society as through our silence we passively encourage bigger government and more dependency.

You may disagree with some of the admittedly opinionated statements that follow but you will find that this is a very honest work. My opinions are based on years of research with a little intuition and a lot of arrogance mixed in. I like to tell my friends that I will be honest at all times unless it will directly and permanently benefit me more not to be. Yes – I am kidding, but emphasizing that my enlightened self-interested outlook is not completely humorless.

The ideas suggested here are being considered seriously more and more as many conservative voices are again finally being heard. It is a little egotistical for anyone to believe that he is the only one who has thought of a solution. I admit to having a boatload of attitude, but my reason overwhelms it and so I do realize others have some of these same ideas and regardless of the source, a good idea is a good idea. A lot of people have proposed corrections to our plight, but they’ve gone nowhere. The hope here is that the retro-concepts and historical outlook in these pages will make readers angry about what happened and realize that we either have to regress in thought processing as a nation or completely collapse under a mountain of progressive regulations based on deceptive reasoning.

A few chapters explain how we got into this mess. Some would look at the evidence and scream conspiracy. I prefer to see it as the successful implementation of a sound business plan by brilliant self-interested men. My opinion of their intelligence is not related to my evaluation of their intentions. The fact is that decades of progressivism they clandestinely and intentionally began is destroying us.

Progressive seems positive – progress, future, better times ahead, the next important step and all that nonsense. Politicians neglect to admit that progressive politics is socialism; socialism is Marxism; Karl Marx was a progressive, a socialist, a communist. Barack Obama is too, but he wasn’t the first Marxist in the White House. Woodrow Wilson, FDR and LBJ, among others were also progressive Marxists.

Regressive on the other hand holds a more negative connotation. It means reverse course, don’t go forward. It is old, it has been done before and the reason whatever-it-is is no longer in use is because we have progressed to a better place. If it were any good, we wouldn’t have abandoned it. We learned; we progressed.

We have been duped – life was much better when we had fewer laws, lower taxes and less government. We really have no choice but to try to retrieve the values of yesteryear. It is either that or surrender our lives and those of our children to government rulers.

The hope is that you will want to read the entire book. Naturally, it will be good for me, but a few dollars in purchase price won’t satisfy me completely, I want more. There is far more value in the future for myself, my children and grandchildren if national attitudes really change, and a lot more value for you too. You will realize that a lot of people think as you do. We are not alone. We still have a chance to survive in the United States; a secondary benefit, an intended and expected consequence of enlightened self-interest – societal improvement.

Regardless of merit, progressives tend to discard older concepts. It doesn’t matter whether it was sound or not. To them, old is reason enough to summarily discard an idea; the U.S. Constitution is useless and outdated. Why? Not because it didn’t make any sense; or because some parts may need to be tweaked a bit. No, it is old and so therefore it must be irrelevant in today’s world.

The founding fathers left us remedies to change the Constitution if we felt the need; they call it the amendment process. That is hard to do – as it was intended to be. A lot of people in high places have to agree to permanently alter our national laws and many won’t agree. Progressives find it easier to ignore the laws, particularly those pertaining to individual life, liberty and property rights and instead prefer to rely on the power of liberal judges and uninformed temporary majorities at voting booths.

We have to resurrect the thought processes that made us so successful. We have to return to the ideals that established the greatest country in the world. We all know what they are. Freedom, independence, self-reliance, and enlightened self-interest must begin to replace the failure of our increasingly socialistic world. History has taught that without exception, and no matter who is in charge, big government always leads to individual oppression, dependency, and increased poverty. Despite the arguments of well-intended idiots, it has never and will never create a utopian society.

If we are to survive as a nation we will have to be intellectually advanced enough to admit that no matter how much we may prefer the term, progressivism it can not work. Collectivism, Marxism, socialism, progressivism, communism, fascism, whatever its specific form is called has not ever, and can not ever work. We must return to our not too distant past and embrace the logic of Enlightened Regressivism.

Good Think

Every now and then I try to think like I know I am supposed to, but it rarely works for me. I know I am supposed to be happy to contribute to the raising of my neighbor’s son’s girlfriend’s baby daughter simply because she can't (or won't) and I can. It is just that sometimes I think that maybe people should be responsible for themselves.

More than half of us now seem to believe that government should take money from one to give to another who has less. What is wrong with that? Shouldn’t everyone be able to have the same things?

Liberalism (progressivism) is a more romantic ideal. Share and share alike and we all can sing Peter Paul and Mary songs, sit under trees in the sunshine, eat fruits and nuts off of the land and live happily ever after. The reality is we don’t live in fantasy land, we live on Earth. Here, someone has to trim that tree, mow the grass and plant and harvest the fruits and nuts. On Earth, people are eager to take the easy road, if that road is to have government take from someone else to give to them, they will do it. It is in our nature to take the course of least resistance.

We have morphed from a nation built on individuality and strength to one on our knees with our hands out to others. It is easier to be fed than to hunt for our own food. Why forage the forest if there is a lenient master willing to feed us?

Money now seems to belong to everyone collectively. There really is no Private Money. After all, you can’t print your own can you? All money is public to be spent as government sees fit. Sure you are credited with earning it, and even have your own bank account, but it really isn’t yours. Obamacare is just one example of them requiring us to spend our money their way, so obviously it is no longer really our money.

It is now considered selfishly narcissistic to want to keep all of the money we earn, or that is what many who speak from the platforms claim to believe. If more than half believe in redistributing other people’s money, is it therefore morally acceptable? That is the prevailing reasoning method. The fact that it doesn’t work, that wealth is never multiplied by dividing it, or the fact that it has never worked is irrelevant.

Somehow we have come to believe that if more than half believe in something, it is true, correct and the debate is over. Our memories are short. Only about 1/3 of the colonists wanted to leave England and create our own country. Years ago, just about everyone believed the earth was the center of the universe and the sun revolved around us. Most believing it didn’t make it true.

Truth hasn’t changed. Reality is what it is. Most people – even most good people – will take the easiest road possible. If that is a cushy government job, so be it. If it is a government entitlement program, than great. We won’t often take the more difficult path; it just isn’t in our nature. Why should we suffer even minor inconvenience if an easier route is readily available?

Long ago we actually could keep and trade money. We could barter services or objects, or pay in silver or gold. Clearly today we can’t do that. This is the 21st century. What would we think of a person who was completely convinced that the earth was flat? Or that the sun revolved around it? That dinosaurs currently inhabit a remote island, or that Elvis is still alive? Crazy? Maybe not, but we probably wouldn’t let them use our only car for the weekend.

To my surprise, I found out that many people in the United States agree with the phrase: From each with ability to those in need or something similar to it. They believe it is the American way; that it is a part of our Bill of Rights now. Maybe they don’t remember who first said it, George Washington, Thomas Jefferson? No, it was someone else. Anyway, they believe he was a very wise and compassionate thinker on whose principles our country has become great. He was misunderstood in his day, but now that we are more enlightened, we all understand it better. Today we realize that we have to redistribute income and wealth to people who really need it more than those who earned it. It is our national policy. No mater how hard it seems, it is the right thing to do.

Truth is not determined by majority opinion. Small government is more efficient government; the smaller the better. Individuals know best what to do with their own money, and should keep almost all of it for themselves. A policy of wealth redistribution no mater how much anyone else needs it is wrong and is harmful to all; the individual receiving it, the ones sacrificing to pay for it and society as a whole dealing with the consequences of it.

Despite the obvious waste, a certain minor level of taxes are necessary for the common good. We all know that, but the common good must be defined. Everyone should have to pay at least some tax. Even the poor should pay something. No one likes it; yes, it is hard. When only some are required to pay taxes, we divide the country into slaves and masters. The slaves do the working and paying, the masters the taking and spending.

Knowing that many people feel as we do is somewhat comforting, but we have to admit it. We must stop this nonsense of silent compliance and return the America we once knew. We must regress.

The frustration the taxpaying class feels about the economic problems we are forced to face every day is growing. We will show that the difficulties have been foisted upon us not by chance, but by intentional political design.

Unfortunately we have to time travel a bit here and go back about 100 years to uncover the original onset of our decline. This alteration in thought process from independent self-reliant hard working citizen to unproductive government dependent free-loaders did not evolve by accident. It was planned over a century ago. Like biological terrorists in a lab, the virus that caused this national metamorphosis was intentionally engineered.

Something went wrong. Despite technological advances and the promise of leisurely lifestyles, the previous generation didn't work as long or as hard for as little as we do today. They managed to pay for a home and raise a family mostly on a single income. At death they were able to leave that house debt free to their children. Success comes more easily to the free. It used to come more easily to Americans.

Men of generations past with far less education could hold ordinary but respectful laborer and management type jobs and earn enough money for an entire family. Sometimes the mother did venture out into the workplace, but usually it was only if she wanted to supplement the family income temporarily and part-time, not due to constant financial necessity. Typically women would work only after the kids had grown, then Mom would enter the rat race of the workforce not to financially survive, but to enhance an already pleasant lifestyle and retirement.

Unless she is on welfare it is rare for a mother today to stay home and raise a family. Her income is necessary to help run the household. The argument of course is that without the additional income, there would be none of life’s frills, nothing extra beyond basic food, clothing and shelter; no benefits, and no fun. Are we having fun now?

No More Merit Raises

What happened to merit raises? Mostly they have disappeared in favor of fairness. Businesses now often offer only inflation related increases so we can barely maintain our established lifestyle, not increase it. So, if we become better at our job over time, more efficient, we make fewer mistakes, produce at a higher level - which most of us do, we really are no longer compensated for that improvement. We can’t buy more stuff as a reward for increased productivity; if we’re lucky, we can only buy the same things because cost of living raises have replaced the merit raise. Why try to improve ourselves if it doesn’t matter?

The transformation of our economy was not the result of passive economic evolution, it was planned. We will attempt to analyze the progression of a society that has forced an increased productivity level on its producing citizens, while limiting the rewards and to show that it was created intentionally many years ago.

It’s Great to be King

From the birth of our great country and through the first hundred years, the majority of our national legislators were in office for a few years or so and then went back home. They were not career politicians; they were public spirited hard-working citizens who did their jobs at home dutifully and also served their country part time. They preferred to have a relatively brief period in office, do what they could to help out, then leave. After a short stint for their country, they would then return to their businesses and families and get on with their lives.

Times have changed.

The Congressional Research Service (CRS) Report for Congress shows that of the 230 congressmen and senators that have served (Served being a term used loosely) our country for more than 30 years, only four did so before the turn of the 20th century. The list shows all of the congressmen and senators who were in office for three decades or more. The other 226 served - or should we say, ruled after 1900. Though they are not kings, most would admit that today they are far more royalty in class description than is a citizen. It is a pretty good life today; one might even describe it as a regal position.

The year 1900 is roughly the mid-point of our nation. From a statistical standpoint, one may have guessed that given the same relative circumstances there should have been as many 30-year veteran legislators before 1900 as afterwards. But no, not even close. Why the huge disproportion?

Why this clear delineation of statistics? Was the first decade of the 1900's time in which patriotism blossomed and congressmen and senators were just overwhelmed by patriotic duty that they felt an obligation to be in Washington virtually forever? Why would they be willing to give up their businesses and home life in favor of committing their entire working lives to congressional activity? What happened?

To be fair, this list does include a few who were serving at the turn of the century, and finished up in the first few decades. It is obvious though, that since 1900, we have far more congressman and senators willing to serve for lengthy periods after the year 1900 than we had before it, and it is increasing. More and more are approaching the 30 year mark as you read this.

What circumstances occurred then that made more of them seek re-election time and again, and again and then again? What was it that altered their thought process from temporary public servants into super-patriots willing to forgo their businesses and families for their fellow countrymen?

Was it Teddy Roosevelt? World War 1? Was it the banking crisis of 1907? The stifling of the honest media with the murder of a muckraker in 1911? (Who? – find out later) How did we get here? Maybe it was Woodrow Wilson.

National Budget

The national budget is controlled by congress. The actual size of the Federal government budget is not all that important. The size of the federal, state and local budgets relative to the size of the private capital markets is extremely significant. This is the size of government in comparison to the size of the public (or free) sector. The larger the government's share, the more oppressive it becomes, the less freedom its citizens enjoy, and the more power the rulers wield.

According to the government accounting office, federal spending in 1902 was 1.7 billion dollars. With the exception of Warren Buffett, Bill Gates and a few others, this is a staggering amount of money for most of us to comprehend, but for a government the size of the United States it was only 7% of the total Gross Domestic Product.

The Gross Domestic Product is the total value of all final goods and services produced in a particular economy; the dollar value of all goods and services produced within a country's borders in a given year. This means that in 1902, the government consumed 7% of that total. Simple math means that the citizens then controlled the other 93% of the economy. We citizens controlled 93% of the money, government 7%.

We had 24 billion dollars produced and consumed in some manner. The federal government accounted for 7% of it, and it seemed few clamored for more government programs at the time. States had little tax as well. If a citizen wanted something, he worked for it. If he got it, he also