Since Franklin Roosevelt’s election expelled Republicans from control of government in 1932, Democrats have controlled the White House, the Senate and the House of Representatives for 31 years; Republicans controlled all three for only four years during this period. Democrats controlled Congress for 53 years; Republicans held the majority for only 12 years. In view of this reality, Democrats are primarily responsible for public policies that have resulted in:
- Loss of manufacturing capacity;
- Decline in education ranking;
- Exploding illegal immigration;
- Growth of regulatory compliance costs;
- Growth of government.
It is neither fair nor accurate to blame all the nation’s woes on Democrats; Republicans provided considerable assistance over the years. But there can be no doubt that since Franklin Roosevelt’s election, the nation’s public policies have been shaped by Democrats.
Regardless of the label policymakers may wear, what they believed is quite clear from the policies they adopted. Those who have made policy believe:
- The federal government is not limited by the U.S. Constitution. This belief predates Roosevelt, but abuse of the enumerated powers expanded rapidly during and after his administration.
- Government, not the governed, is the source of power, and has the inherent authority to grant or deny rights to the governed, and to take and redistribute the property of the governed.
- Government should manage markets with tax penalties, incentives and permits. A classic example: gasoline is heavily taxed, while ethanol is subsidized.
- Government should manage society by regulating the use of property. In some areas, government limits home building to one per 40 acres, while allowing dozens of homes per acre in other areas.
- Individual rights are subservient to the government-defined collective rights. Private homes are often taken by government so government can give, or sell, the property to another private owner who may pay higher taxes – which benefits the collective.
People who believe these are legitimate government activities are more likely to be Democrats, although some Republicans share these views. More importantly, whether Democrat or Republican, people who believe these are legitimate government activities are not capitalists. They are collectivists.
Capitalists believe that the means of producing wealth should be owned and controlled by private individuals or privately owned corporations. Collectivists believe that government must own or control the means of producing wealth to assure that society (the collective) shares resources equitably.
John Adams summed up the capitalists’ value system when he said:
“The moment the idea is admitted into society that property is not as sacred as the laws of God, and that there is no force of law and public justice to protect it, anarchy and tyranny commence. Property must be secured or liberty cannot exist.”
The opposite value system is expressed pretty well by Karl Marx, who said:
“The theory of the Communists may be summed up in the single sentence: Abolition of private property.”
“Collectivism” includes communism, socialism and other “isms” that put the government in charge of people and in control of their property. Capitalism celebrates the fact the people create government and are, therefore, its master.
For nearly 150 years, the government created by John Adams and his cohorts was very much the servant of its creators, but this has changed over the last century. Now, government is in charge of the people and controls nearly every facet of life. Most of this change has occurred over the last 76 years, since Roosevelt was elected. The rate of change quickened during the Carter years, slowed to some extent during the Reagan years and shifted into high gear during the Clinton years.
Once again, Democrats control the White House, the Senate and the House of Representatives, and government’s control of people is rapidly expanding again. The so-called stimulus bill seeks to put all medical records into a federal database and to set up the mechanism for determining which patients are allowed to get treatment on a cost-effective basis.
Way beyond the enumerated powers granted to the federal government by the Constitution is the National Animal Identification System (NAIS). Government is gearing up to register every property that contains even a single livestock animal in a federal database, force owners to identify and tag each animal with a Radio Frequency Identification Device (RFID), and report within 24 hours the movement off the property of any animal.
When government controls a person’s most private information, medical records, without regard for the Fourth Amendment guarantee of privacy, and when government controls even the movement of animals a person may own, any semblance of capitalism – private ownership of property – is gone.
This is no longer the government created by our founders – of, for and by the people. It is a government hijacked by the collectivists, for the collectivists, and to hell with the people who still cling to their guns, their Bibles and their capitalist ideas. This collectivist government is continuing the march toward Marx’s ideal society – absolute control by government.
