C.J. Maloney, Making Democracy Safe for the World

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C.J. Maloney, Making Democracy Safe for the World, URL:http://www.lewrockwell.com/maloney/maloney13.1.html, August 4, 2009

Thou shalt not steal, except by majority vote

. (Gary North, 2006)Democracy, especially the virulent, vampire-like variety practiced in modern America,may very well be condemned to collapse, but that’s no reason to give up on it. Despite historytelling us that all democracies inevitably devour themselves, history also tells us that everysystem of governance mankind can dream up have all come to an end, as for example themuch lamented American Republic, snuffed out after barely a century or so.Yet, even when things look hopeless and all recorded history tells us our democracy isdoomed, that’s no excuse to give up the ghost. Even in the darkest of times people still give ittheir best because hope springs eternal, and as a great American once asked in another time of trouble, "was it over when the Germans bombed Pearl Harbor"? Hell no it wasn’t, and there isstill time to save our democracy, but to do so we must remove the millstones that hang aboutour system‘s neck – we must restrict the franchise. Caroline Baum recently noted, "when half the population is on the receiving end of government programs and has no skin in the cost,they will encourage their elected representatives to vote ‘yes’ on every new benefit that comesdown the pike." That, right there, is the root of America’s overriding problem: our future-crushing, insurmountable fiscal deficits. Now off the cuff, the thought of removing the right to vote from millions of Americanswill strike many – especially those to be removed from the voting rolls – as anathema to our idea of liberty. The overwhelming majority of Americans believe that to pull a lever is theMother Wellspring of all that is good and plenty; the voting booth an ever munificent red,white, and blue Fountain of Freedom.The superstitious belief that to vote means to be free is so firmly imbedded in our DNAthat on this point the brain of the modern American is impervious to any and all assault, youmay as well debate a rock. So admittedly my idea to restrict the franchise is as likely to happenas Alan Greenspan coming out to publicly lobby for Ron Paul’s Audit the Fed bill, but what thehell, why not give it a try? After all, was it over when the Germans bombed Pearl Harbor?

THE

GREAT

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Ambition, love of power, civil emolument, and greed of gain have been the great moving forces in politics under all forms of government

. (William Graham Sumner,1877)Democracy as practiced in America today is nothing more than a mob heist where thevictims are voted on using a elaborate ceremony characteristic of all superstitious, barbaric1

undertakings, every ballot lovingly counted to decide who will be this year‘s sacrificial victim – which sap will take a shovel to the back of his head. If your neighbor has a wide-screen HDTV that is the envy of everyone, including you, next election you can herd all the envious tothe nearest community center, denounce him, then vote his TV right into your living room.The only solution to keeping the political class from voting the working class into poverty under a democratic system of governance is to restrict the franchise. In order to protect ourselves we must remove from the voter rolls every politician and every person of voting age who receive any part of their income, at all, from the public treasury directly or – if they are employed by or are the owners of any firm that has any government entity as acustomer – indirectly.Restricting the franchise is in actual fact a long-standing, accepted American tradition.Convicted felons, the mentally incompetent, and children do not have any right to vote and we,and they, are better off for it. Just because someone is not allowed to vote does not deprive himor her of the protection of law. They are still citizens, just of the non-voting variety.In addition, the condition of the disenfranchised is purely voluntary – they may, byresigning their office, quitting their taxpayer funded job, or refusing their taxpayer fundedlifestyle automatically be allowed to vote again, but for safety’s sake officeholders, uponresigning, will be allowed to vote again starting only on the fifth anniversary of their re- joining the private work force, five years being, in the opinion of our best rehab counselors,sufficient time to wean a human off power.Allowing those who live off taxpayer funds to vote is inherently dangerous; they havewhat we in the financial world call "an inherit conflict of interest." Everyone wants a raise;the bureaucrat and those who otherwise receive taxpayer money endlessly yearn for moreloot, and the politician for a far more addictive, lofty coin: power.This makes politicians particularly dangerous creatures; they are all imbued with aninsatiable greed, a boundless urge to grab more of what they crave above all. And there, at thelevel of each individual politician, lies the nub of any society’s problems, and restricting themfrom the franchise will help do something even more important than protect our paychecks – it will protect our liberty.Remember Dad telling you that you’ll do it his way because "I pay the bills aroundhere"? The same clear, just method of logic must be applied to elections. Purging thefranchise of those who live off of taxation will restore adult supervision over our nation’shousehold. As children on an allowance do not get to tell the parents how to run things, so2

will Washington DC – and each state capital – see the house party come to a quick end, as if Mom and Dad came back from vacation a bit early.You don’t let children run the show, as any reading of Lord of the Flieswill attest, and,if I may steal a phrase from a great man, there’s been a lack of adult supervision over alllevels of American government for decades. Come next election, America would do well tosend all these children out into the backyard to play while the adults gather round the kitchentable and decide on things.And mind they play quietly, as children should be seen and not heard, so we’ll need totake a page from the McCain-Feingold Act and decree that all public or privatecommunications by anyone who receives any taxpayer money (excepting any candidate) will be strictly forbidden for three months both before and after any election. Such a policy is beneficial on a number of levels, as for example it’ll leave more airtime for American Idol re-runs, so clearly this is a win-win situation for all Americans.Plus, restricting the franchise will truly make bureaucrats and politicians public servants, because just like a servant you do not get to tell the Lord of the Manor how toarrange the garden, or not to smoke, or not to drink on Sundays, or that they are too fat – towit, dust the china cabinet, clean out the stables, and otherwise keep your mouth shut andyour thoughts to yourself.We could even make every public building have two entrances, one for the workers, thetaxpayers, up in front and one for the politicians, in the rear alley next to the dumpster, just toremind them where they stand in their fellow Americans’ esteem.

ADULTS

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There was an old woman who lived in a shoe,/ She had so many children she didn't knowwhat to do;/ She gave them some broth without any bread,/ She whipped them all well and put them to bed

. (Nursery Rhyme)Taking a page from Alexander Hamilton’s reason behind making all the states’ debtsinto one federal debt (which bound together the men of capital to the politicians inWashington) we too need something to bind all the workers, each and every one, by acommon denominator and it can be this: all will pay the same percentage amount of their paychecks in taxes, no exceptions, no deductions.Conversely, each and every politician, bureaucrat, and recipient of taxpayer funds will pay no taxes at all on their paychecks. This may seem like it is favorable to the political class, but to the contrary it is a detriment to them – it is something that will set them apart in theeyes of the voters – and those that need to be watched must be highly visible at all times.3

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