User:Daniel Zurla

BROKEN GOVERNMENT Government is broken! If repairs are not made soon, the United States will disintegrate. The US is failing for the same reason that all great Empires have failed over the last few thousand years—Selfishness. Government officials are putting their own self interest ahead of the interest of their country and its people. The United States had a good start. Our founding fathers knew all of the mistakes that previous leaders made. So they tried to avoid these mistakes in the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution. Their Philosophy came from two 17th Century British philosophers; Thomas Hobbes and John Locke. Thomas Hobbes believed that by nature: all people pursue what they perceive to be in their best interest; including the desire for power and status. John Locke believed that by nature: people are selfish; that all people are Equal and independent; and everyone has a right to defend his “Life, Health, Liberty, or Possessions". This became the basis for the phrase in the DI: "Life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness." Both Hobbes and Locke believed nature was not enough. That government was necessary to resolve conflicts in a civil way.  Locke also advocated governmental separation of powers and believed that revolution is not only a right but an obligation in some circumstances. Our founding fathers used these philosophies as guidance in the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution.	 In 1775 America was involved in the Revolutionary War with Great Britain.   On July 4, 1776, the Continental Congress adopted the Declaration of Independence.  Using Locke’s philosophy as guidance, Thomas Jefferson did a great job writing the DI:  “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 power 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 abolish it, and to institute new government…”   Using John Locke’s teachings as a guide, everything Jefferson wrote in the DI was philosophy correct. In 1783, America won the Revolutionary War and became an independent nation. Because the DI was written by one man (Jefferson) and the delegates did not change it, it is superb. Unfortunately, the Constitution was compromised by many people. So even though it is superb, it has a few compromises. In 1786, it became apparent that America needed a stronger union. A Constitution was needed. So in 1787, our Founding Fathers held the Constitutional Convention. Unfortunately, the desire to unite the states got in the way of writing an ideal Constitution. Wanting the states united, our founding fathers compromised the Constitution. Let’s look at two of those Compromises: Compromise 1. The DI says that everyone has Equal Rights and Liberty. But some southern states succeed from the union because they wanted slavery to be legal. To unite all of the states, slaves and Indians were not given equal rights in the Constitution. Thus, all of the states signed the Constitution. Unfortunately, this compromise is contrary to the DI. And it remained in the Constitution for about 80 years. Then in 1860, running on the platform, “A country cannot remain part slave and part free”, Abraham Lincoln was elected president. He believed that everyone should have Equal Rights and Liberty. These beliefs produced the Civil War (1861-65.) As the Civil War raged, on January 1, 1863, President Lincoln enacted the Emancipation Proclamation, freeing slaves. Then on November 9 of that year, President Lincoln gave his Gettysburg Address. Quoting from the DI, he said, “(our) new nation (was) “conceived in Liberty and dedicated to the proposition that all (people) are created Equal.” President Lincoln knew full well that the Civil War was being fought because the Constitution had been compromised to excluded slaves and Indians from having Liberty and Equal Rights. The Civil War ended in April 9, 1865 and President Lincoln was assassinated a few days later. 620,000 Americans died in the Civil War. They were fighting about Freedom and Equal Rights! Before his death in April, President Lincoln signed Amendment 13 Abolishing Slavery on February 1, 1865. Then shortly after the Civil War, Amendments 14 (1868) and 15 (1870) were added to the Constitution. President Lincoln did not witness it; but he had succeeded. The Reconstructed Constitution guarantees Liberty and Equal Rights to everyone; just as the DI does. But in the process of getting this 1st Constitutional Compromise corrected, 620,000 Americans and President Lincoln died. Compromise 2. This Compromise was made to unite the states, just as the 1st Compromise was. At the Constitution Convention, some states were bitterly divided over their size differences. To unite the states (get them to sign the Constitution) our Founding Fathers accepted the Connecticut Compromise. It became known as “the Great Compromise of 1787.” It apportioned each state with two (2) Senators while the House of Representatives is based on population. Thus from the beginning, this 2nd Constitutional compromise made Congress too big. Then as our population grew, oversized Congress grew bigger. Now, oversize Congress is a costly, bungling bureaucracy that is slowly destroying America. And the Constitution gives Congress sole power to change the Constitution. Compromise means “shameful and disreputable concession.” And in 1787, everyone knew that our Supreme Law, the Constitution was being compromised. So they called it, “the Great Compromise of 1787.” When our founding fathers wrote the Constitution, they did not foresee how oversized Congress would cripple government. But in the late 1800’s, Congress saw this problem. So in 1911, Congress fixed the House at 435. Since then, Congress has 435 Reps and 100 Senators. But if Congress had done its duty (make government efficient—ideal size), it would have combined the House and the Senate into 11 Independent members. There isn’t anything 535 Congressmen can do, that 11 Independent Congressmen cannot do better, faster and cheaper! More than 11 Independent members form an expensive, unnecessary bureaucracy! Americans are supporting 535 Congressmen. But Congress functions as two: Democrat or Republican. And being split, ½ Democrats and ½ Republicans, they are constantly bickering. Each party blames the other party for government’s failures! So 535 Congressmen are being paid for bickering; and the citizens are not being represented. Some Congressmen say, “Congress is so big I am lost in it”; or, “the system is so big, it is designed to fail.” When the Constitution was being written (1787-89), it was necessary to unite the states. But the states have been united for 222 years. So it is crazy to continue with 535 Congressmen when 11 Independent Congressmen would be better, faster and cheaper. Unfortunately, Congressmen love their luxurious offices that are staffed with secretaries and assistants. So they protect that luxury; instead of doing their job and eliminating 524 (535-11=524) members. The average cost for operating each Congressional office exceeds $1 million per year. If Congress eliminated 524 members, that would save taxpayers more than $524 million (1/2 Billion) each year. And it would eliminate Congressional Earmarks and Pork Barrel Projects. Presidents have said that if Earmarks and Pork Barrel Projects were eliminated, it would be easier to balance the budget. Congressmen have mastered the art of elections. They spend their entire career in Congress. They add “Earmarks and Pork Barrel projects” to legislative bills. These bills make them appear caring. But they are using government money to advertise themselves for re-election. And these Legislative additions increase spending and add to the US Deficit. If Washington’s Politicians were limited to one term in office, they would not be concerned about re-election. Then they might serve the people. Congressional Reps should be Independent; limited to one-six year term in Office; and each two years, replace 4/4/3 members. The 1950-60’s Civil Rights Movement lasted about 18 years. It was about Freedom and Equal Rights for blacks. If Congress had been 11 members, Congress would have immediately impeached government officials that were depriving Civil Rights. Then the CRM would have been stopped immediately. Unfortunately, with 535 members, oversize Congress could not get the 2/3’s vote needed for action. A recent newspaper article said that Congress had picking a 12 delegate Super Committee to solve the Debt Crisis. After 100 years (1911-2011), Congress is finally reducing itself from 535 Reps to a 12 members. That means that our taxes are paying 523 Congressmen for doing nothing, while a 12 delegate Super Committee tries to solve the Debt Crisis that Congress created! Thus, Congress is living luxuriously, while they control oversized Congress and destroy our country. Another article found that when Washington, D.C., was compared with the 50 states; Washington’s affluence grew faster than any of the 50 states. What else would Americans expect from Government Officials that collect taxes, pay themselves dearly, and slyly avoid duty? For 224 years, “The Great Compromise of 1787” has gone un-corrected. This compromise makes Congress impractically large—a dinosaur! Unfortunately, dinosaur Congress has sole power to legislate change. When Congress fixed the House at 435 members in 1911; they stopped Congress’s growth; but they did not make Congress a practical size. Congress has had more than 100 years to correct “the Great Compromise of 1787”; and make Congress ideas size. Congress has been sheltering its 535 lucrative jobs instead of legislating itself into a practical size (about 11 independent members.) Obviously, Congress is looking out for themselves instead of their country and its people. Our founding fathers used Locke’s philosophy advocating separation of powers. They created three branches of government, with equal power, to enforce the Constitution. Hence, the “Checks and Balances” of the Constitution. The three Branches are supposed to work together and control each other. So I went through the entire judicial system; and thousands of times, I asked all three branches of government to secure Liberty to walk on public land (public golf courses.) But every official evaded my pleas instead of controlling each other. They are interested in elections. They are not interested in Liberty and Justice for all! So the US is slowly failing for the same reason that every great nation has failed for the last few thousand years. Government is looking out for itself instead of its country and its people. Patriots built a great America. But leach politicians are destroying America. Soon it will be said, “Government fiddled while America burned!”