A simple Democracy

Politicians and the two parties seem to have forgotten that we are a Republic, not a simple Democracy, and unfortunately, far too many Americans no longer seem to care. The difference is extremely important, but you wouldn’t know it by the way our country is being run.

Our founders were very well aware that simple Democracies are doomed to fail because of a flaw so simple a 6th grader understands: in a simple Democracy the majority can vote to TAKE whatever they want from those in the minority.

For example, the 95% of the population that is employed could vote that those who are unemployed must pay a $5,000 fine. It doesn’t matter that the unemployed probably don’t have $5,000 to pay and will struggle for a long time once they are finally employed to be able to pay the fee; in a simple democracy, the majority makes the laws and the rest must comply. Does that seem fair or make sense? Do you see why simple Democracies do not survive?

Our founders fully understood the problem and had the foresight to create a Republic. The Declaration of Independence told us, “all men are created equal” and Article 14 of the Constitution promised equal rights for all, yet our legislators and the judiciary have chosen to ignore these fundamentally critical concepts.

Having just completed my taxes, and with the deficit escalating at a mind-numbing rate, I am once again reminded of this major problem we are facing. Take a look at the table and see if you see the conflict. If we paid taxes equally, each man, woman and child in the country would owe $31,000 as their share of the deficit. Do you have $31,000 to pay your share? For a family of four, do you have $124,000? Most of us do not, but there’s a bigger problem: taxes are not paid equally. Take a look at the following table.


Click on table to enlarge - Compiled from various sources – not perfectly accurate, but makes the point

Consider those in the top 10%, a family of four making $75,000 per year or more, their share of the national debt averages $756,000. For those in the top 5% making over $110,000 a year, the average bill for a family of four is $1,200,000. Those in the top 1% owe almost 30% of the debt, or $3.6 million for a family of four.

Are the days of equality in America gone? Are the majority of Americans about to vote that the top 10% must not only pay for the debt of the other 90%, but also for whatever they decide they want the government to "give" them? Will they next demand a free car and free rent? At what point will those making the most money decide it isn’t worth the effort? How many will follow in the footsteps of John Galt?

Every simple Democracy that has ever existed has failed. Have we become a simple Democracy? Are we on the brink of failure?