Reclaim Conservatism

“A democracy cannot exist as a permanent form of government. It can only exist until the majority discovers it can vote itself largess out of the public treasury. After that, the majority always votes for the candidate promising the most benefits with the result the democracy collapses because of the loose fiscal policy ensuing, always to be followed by a dictatorship, then a monarchy.”

The quote above is often attributed to Alexis de Tocqueville but was used as an unsourced attribution to Alexander Fraser Tytler in “This is the Hard Core of Freedom” by Elmer T. Peterson in The Daily Oklahoman. Whatever the source, the initial portion of the thought certainly appears to be correct. Let me condense the first part down to it’s essence — A democracy can only exist until the majority discovers it can vote itself largess out of the public treasury. I’ve seen it misquoted this way before, but the inaccuracy of the quote doesn’t make an inaccurate observation. We can see example after example in today’s headlines, policy discussions, and political campaigning.

Wisconsin is getting most of the attention, but a nearly identical story is playing out in Ohio, Indiana, and many other states as they are reaching the point (in many cases, already beyond the point) where Peter is willing to let Peter rob him anymore. And it’s not just the public sector unions, an inherently bad idea that continues to get worse, it’s also ideas like “High Speed Rail” (you have to use irony quotes around the title of something that so ill describes what it is). The rail arguments make this clear as they focus on the government money that can be “had” while ignoring the necessity and long term costs. Some of the arguments I’ve heard are so focused on the money Uncle Sam wants to “give away” that they ignore the costs and the other realities of the program.

In many ways the Federal Government has turned into the largest money laundering scheme in the world. Money is taken from the states and confiscated from the citizens, passed through the “super-efficient” Washington bureaucracy, and finally part of what remains is sent back to the states firmly tethered with many strings attached. Among the many things I don’t get is how anyone can think this is a good system for getting anything done. I’m not a politician, and I don’t think I’ve ever stayed at a Holiday Inn Express, but I’m smart enough to know what remains after you pass all of our money through the federal gastro-intestinal tract.

Of course money is only part of it. Yes, we are Taxed Enough Already as the TEA Party makes clear, but we also need a little a little SUGAR for our TEA. What is SUGAR? I’m glad you asked. It stands for Stop Unnecessary Government And Regulation. OK, I had to work to get the A in there, but it’s true, we don’t suffer from too little government or too little regulation. We have plenty of both. I’m fond of this quote from Ronald Reagan — “Government exists to protect us from each other. Where government has gone beyond its limits is in deciding to protect us from ourselves”. That quote is closely related to this one, “Government’s view of the economy could be summed up in a few short phrases: If it moves, tax it. If it keeps moving, regulate it. And if it stops moving, subsidize it“.

If things are finally moving in our (conservatives) direction it is because there are still enough “John Galts” to point out the issues. More than pointing out, we have to act. Act by voting, supporting candidates that will but the brakes on too much government, running for office if that is what you should do, and generally being informed and involved in containing government to it’s limited role. We must do this. We are too close to the tipping point to stop.

Cross posted from bRight & Early