Lessons in Wealth Destruction

1. The United States congress lacks the leadership in either political party to rein in, through the combination of direct and immediate cuts and outright elimination, the dominant and controlling bureaucracies which it has created and now which control the country. The best analogy for this situation is Mary Shelley’s fantasy novel, Frankenstein. Once you create the monster; the monster controls the creator.

2. A similar situation exists in many of America’s lesser political subdivisions: counties, cities, school districts and states.

3. Our system of governance, which is a representative democratic republic, meaning that the people rule through elected representatives, has failed in todays drastically changed environment. This system is based on elected representatives in congress governing with a president who can either approve or veto legislation. The theory is, if you don’t like the current government, vote for change which is exactly what Americans did. They changed control of one branch in congress. Result: nothing; no measurable change in legislation.

4. A bad governance system and bad leaders can sustain when the economics are favorable as they have been for many years. But the economics of today with the growth of strong competitors has forever changed America’s ability to be self indulgent and entitlement based. We either change to be economically competitive in every possible way or we decline. China’s economic growth did not rise under its system of five year plans directed by a central planning agency. It rose when it loosened its government control and released its entrepreneurial capabilities. These obvious lessons in wealth creation fail us.

5. The dominant political party has used its majorities in government to take complete control of America’s borrowing capability and has spent public borrowed funds at such an aggressive pace without any traditional fiscal discipline that wealth destruction is now commonplace. Their behavior is third world like. Their leaders do not grasp the obvious. World financial markets and the economy of the United States will not begin to correct until the spenders/borrowers/special interest/entitlement folk are gone!

6. The dominant political party has succeeded in attaining voluntary control of all major media outlets to the end that even the weak suggestions coming from the minority political party for any form of fiscal discipline are editorialized as either economically unwise or physically and emotionally detrimental to the needs of the people. No major media voice today presents, through factual documentation and research, a commitment to old fashioned values and discipline which TheFundamentals calls “sacrifice and frugality.” The all important concept of the media as the “fourth estate” has been replaced with sycophantic, unquestioning political ideology.

7. There is no better example of the distortion and drastic consequences of this suicidal alignment than the current political and economic underlying philosophy that it is possible to borrow and spend out of an economic problem brought about by too much borrowing and spending.

8. And, on the sidelines, cheering every step of this misguided process, are the imbedded millions of bureaucrats hired by the misguided politicians who now are afraid to impose any discipline on them because of their ongoing dependence on their votes for their political survival. These bureaucrats are aided and abetted by millions of benefitting special interests who lobby (K Street) successfully to only one end - a continuation of unearned benefits and economic favors. This simple combination of greed and selfishness now motivates a majority of America’s elected representatives to self perpetuate themselves with complete disregard for the certainty of long term destruction.

9. In the meantime, any American who has saved money, purchased a home and lived within their means is treated as a fool by politicians and bureaucrats with the reward of declining home values; drastic reductions in the purchasing power of their savings and no return at all for monetary assets. On the other hand, the bureaucrats provide themselves with unneeded employment and rising publically funded pensions. The politicians accommodate this process by giving handouts to the undisciplined voters who gladly keep the irresponsible politicians in power as part of this mutually beneficial deal.

10. The result is akin to a situation best described as “the inmates are running the asylum.” It would be similar to raising children by letting them decide what they can and cannot do; what they can and cannot eat; what chores they must do or not do; what behavior is acceptable or unacceptable and what homework they should or should not do. Come to think of it, there are many families that seem to follow a system of governance similar to that just described.

11. Many Americans observe with dumbfounded incredulousness the suicide missions undertaken by “fanatical Muslim terrorists” who regard Americans as imposing, undisciplined fools on a suicidal mission of self indulgence, sloth, greed, obesity and arrogance. Who is the fool in this dance of death? Which side would you bet on for long term survival? The disciplined, self denying party or the obese, self indulgent party?

12. America’s war machine is completely out of control. In no way more significant that the illusion that a hired, disciplined voluntary army can protect a nation from an underemployed and undisciplined citizenry with poor political leadership. One of our last great warriors described the exact process by which this situation could occur. TheFundamentals has referred to it many times over the last several years. You can read it by following this link: http://www.h-net.org/~hst306/documents/indust.html  or at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CWiIYW_fBfY&feature=related  (full version) or at TheFundamentals, September 15, 2010.  BTW, the speech has about 12,000 cumulative views; almost anything hip hop or any idiotic Hollywood histrionics will receive millions of views.