Every government is a parliament of whores. The trouble is, in a democracy, the whores are us. – Parliament of Whores
In choosing the first book for my inaugural blog post, it seems impossible to talk about liberty in America without first talking about government. For far too many, government has become an addiction they can’t shake; a suitor they can’t resist, or simply a benevolent hand in their time of need. And, since we live in such a politically divided time, we need to begin with a bit of fun and levity. Therefore, my first choice will be P.J. O’Rourke’s 1991 book, “Parliament of Whores”, a sarcastic tale about how government works and how it doesn’t.
For America, it all started so long ago when we were finally able to sever the British King from our lives and make a fresh start. We were lean (literally starving, some of us), excited about the future, rugged and independent. We lived in a mostly voluntary state, capable of governing ourselves without the aid of a class of nobles. Or so we thought.
It wasn’t long before personal income tax made its way onto the scene in the 19th century. It was necessary, we were told, to pay for a war, the first of too many. But not to worry, it was only a tax on the one-percenters. And while the tax didn’t last, it served to whet the appetite of a new class of aristocrats. The bureaucracy took hold, and the government grew. A century and a half later there is no end in sight. And now, we the people are literally bloated (most of us), depressed, and needy.
Government receipts are through the roof regardless of which party resides in the White House. Yet calls continue to be made for more and more taxes. Annual deficits now exceed one trillion dollars. The federal government has grown so large they are now the largest employer in the United States with over nine million (gross) employees dwarfing Walmart, the largest private employer with an estimated 1.5 million employees. Our current debt sits at 23 trillion while unfunded liabilities have surpassed 127 trillion. You don’t believe me? Just check out the Debt Clock @usdebtclock.org. If you like, you can even download the US National Debt Clock onto your iPhone and watch the numbers spin out of control.
The federal government seizes up to a third of our incomes annually in exchange for this monstrosity. Maybe, we should scrap the whole thing, and switch to GoFundMe. They only charge 2.9 percent of donation dollars and have never threatened to take away our guns.
But the news isn’t all bad. As industry gained ground, the massive wealth created by capitalist countries essentially rid the world of poverty, with global impoverishment now sitting at less than 10 percent. In the US alone, citizens representing four percent of the world population have created a stunning twenty-five percent of the wealth. Life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness, our founders penned. Indeed!
The collapse in poverty, however, became alarming for the bureaucratic class. They needed to find a new bugaboo to keep us in hand. And that they did, it’s called inequality. And it’s perfect, for some will always have more than others. And as we’ve been told, it’s just not fair that someone working 60 hours a week would have a higher take-home pay than someone working 20 hours a week. But not to worry, Elizabeth Warren has her own envy tax that will end all of that. Hate is a great unifier, after all.
O’Rourke originally wrote his book in 1991 when the Red Team was in power. Since then, the teams have changed intermittently back and forth. Only the names have changed, as the national debt has grown larger. As O’Rourke sardonically laments, it looks like the government is here to stay.
So, what can we do? We cannot change the government until we are honest with ourselves and admit that we are the special interest, we are the rent-seekers, and we are the entitled. There is too much power in Washington. It’s time to act.
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