Dear Friends,
It seems to me, the greatest threat the human race faces, is corruption in government. That is the wellspring from which all other threats flow. Economic stagnation worry you? That problem is directly caused by government corruption. Terrorism in our streets scare you? That is another issue created by government corruption. Crime, drugs, violence in schools? They all have as their root government corruption. Do you fear your loved one’s might get sick and not have health coverage to provide life saving treatment? Government corruption stands directly in the way of that life saving treatment. In fact, you cannot think of a problem we face as people, that is not because of government corruption. Since government corruption is so destructive of our well being, health and finances, you would think people would vote against those who have shown themselves to be corrupt, sadly, that is not the case.
The case for economic substandard performance as the result of government corruption is pretty obvious. Markets, like environments, function best when competition is free and fair. The less free and fair a market or environment is, the poorer the performance of the inhabitants. In this, government corruption not only warps markets to serve those with political favor, but that very warping creates the conditions where profits come from political machinations, rather than creating products or services people need and want. The more profit moves away from providing value, and toward political favor, the more the corruption feedback loop is strengthened.
How is terrorism fueled by government corruption you might ask? Machiavelli said a corrupt people can never be free, in that where there is violence, average people will give up liberty for security. Of course they are really trading random violence for organized violence. There is no lowering of violence only the marshalling of it for political ends. Violence is a political tool. That is not my theory but Von Clausewitz. He posited that war is the use of violence to achieve a political aim. How is government to create the conditions where people will give up their freedom? By creating violence in society, make everyone feel unsafe in their own homes, create the conditions where going to the mall is fraught with danger, and foment such mind numbing fear that we will happily trade our liberty for slavery. Terrorism is the perfect means. That is why Merkel is importing so many Muslim’s into Europe. She isn’t so stupid she doesn’t know what she is doing. The argument we need more Muslims to prevent terrorist attacks is the same as claiming you need to put a rattlesnake in your bed to prevent snakebite. Terrorism is a means to a political end, both the terrorists know it as do the elite, they just have different political aims.
The scourge of drugs is due entirely to corruption in government. In 1900 all drugs were perfectly legal. You could buy marijuana at the drugstore, opium was available, cocaine was put in soft drinks and laudanum was sold over the counter. Even with the availability of drugs there wasn’t a huge drug problem. That is because people had a stake in society. As Veblen said, people don’t bristle at income inequality, because everyone in American knows he or she could become rich. In other words, people had a stake in society. Corruption in government has taken away that stake in society. Our young people graduate school without hope they ever can get ahead. The ability of the common man to become rich by the sweat of his brow has been eliminated by corrupt government, as is our stake in society. When someone looses hope, the temporary relief from a drug induced haze becomes possible, it seems like the only way to cope.
This year we are looking at electing someone who is obviously corrupt, has used her connections to enrich herself, destroying anyone who stands in her way, lying under oath on multiple occasions and has a public and private position on every question. Her candidacy is a sign of the times. The elite would like to forgo the election process and have set themselves to that task with an epidemic of vote fraud. The number of dead people who will cast ballots cannot be tallied because the elite have so perverted the election process. Illegally cast ballots from non citizens may swing the election, especially in close states and so with so much corruption undermining our democracy, and thereby the very foundation upon government stands, the consent of the people.
People go where our leaders lead us. When the leaders are corrupt, the people will follow their example and become corrupt, when our leaders are virtuous, the people will follow and become virtuous. We can live as virtuously as we want, but in the end, the actions of the elite will always and everywhere be a far more powerful example to our fellows. As I have shown, corruption is the greatest threat we face on planet Earth. Our economic well being, our safety, our children’s future, even our very lives, all are negatively impacted by the epidemic of government corruption sweeping across the globe. This will not be fixed by electing a strongman who will “get them.” The answer is to police the elite. Create an agency within government that has the authority, power and incentive to bring the elite to task. To think the elite will give up their power, privilege and prestige of their own free will, is to believe the Mexican drug cartels will decide they have made enough profit, and turn to charity instead. The vote has been perverted, our economy has been made a slave, there is ever increasing violence on our streets and our children are subjected to a drug culture that is pervasive. It’s past time to put your foot down and demand change…. demand a NUMA!
Sincerely,
John Pepin
