Limiting Politicians

Dumb Voter No More . com

Limiting Politicians

To Protect and Secure Our Rights

Economic Problems Created by Politicians!!
Most of today's economic problems, whether it's energy, health care costs, financial problems, budget deficits or national debt, are caused by policies pursued by the White House and Congress. As my colleague Dr. Thomas Sowell suggested in a recent column, we don't look to arsonists to put out fires that they've created; neither should we look to Congress to solve the problems they've created.

The predominant teaching of this age are that there are no limits to man's capacity to govern others and that, therefore, no limitations ought to be imposed upon government. The older faith, born of long ages of suffering under man's dominion over man, was that the exercise of unlimited power by men with limited minds and self regarding prejudices is soon oppressive, reactionary, and corrupt. Men may have to pass through a terrible ordeal before they find again the central truths they have forgotten. But they will find them again as they have so often found them again in other ages of reaction, if only the ideas that have misled them are challenged and resisted - Walter Lippman

Politicians - people who pick your pocket and give your money away, claiming someone else deserves your money more than you!

"The issue today is the same as it has been throughout all history, whether man shall be allowed to govern himself or be ruled by a small elite." -- Thomas Jefferson
All the great governments of the world—those now existing, as well as those that have passed away—have been of this character. They have been mere bands of robbers, who have associated for purposes of plunder, conquest, and the enslavement of their fellow men. And their laws, as they have called them, have been only such agreements as they have found it necessary to enter into, in order to maintain their organizations, and act together in plundering and enslaving others, and in securing to each his agreed share of the spoils.
All these laws have had no more real obligation than have the agreements which brigands, bandits, and pirates find it necessary to enter into with each other, for the more successful accomplishment of their crimes, and the more peaceable division of their spoils.
Thus substantially all the legislation of the world has had its origin in the desires of one class of persons to plunder and enslave others, and hold them as property...Lysander Spooner

In order to gain votes, campaign money and other favors, politicians;
a) create laws, rules, regulations , that benefit politically connected people
b) redistribute money to politically connected people
c) threaten to create unwanted laws, regulations, rules, unless they are paid off

So, too, with politicians. They may well take payments to make private parties better off, such as providing tariffs or subsidies. Occasionally, these payments cross the legal line and are actionable as bribery. Prosecutions are few and far between. They largely target not the true substance of the transaction—payment for special favors—but some failure to follow the prescribed legal methods of payment for the favors. Campaign-spending laws provide the blueprint for perfectly legal bribery.
But a politician has an alternative for raising money: selling protection. He can agree not to do something that otherwise he says he would do, something that would reduce the wealth of the potential donor. The most obvious burden that can be threatened is a tax, but there are any number of others that a politician can propose and then withdraw for a price. A private citizen will be just as willing to pay for a special favor worth $1 million as he will to avoid a $1 million tax. (This assumes constant marginal utility of wealth; with declining marginal utility of wealth, a citizen will pay more to avoid the $1 million loss than for the $1 million gain.)
This, then, is the essence of the political protection racket. Superficially, selling special favors and selling protection do look the same: payment is made to the politician in both cases. But in the extortion racket, citizens are made to pay, not for special favors from Uncle Sugar, but to protect private wealth that they have earned the old-fashioned way, outside the political process.

If a man proposes to redistribute wealth, he means explicitly and necessarily that the wealth is his to distribute. If he proposes it in the name of the government, then the wealth belongs to the government; if in the name of society, then it belongs to society. No one, to my knowledge, did or could define a difference between that proposal and the basic principle of communism. Ayn Rand
The power of collecting and disbursing money at pleasure is the most dangerous power that can be entrusted to man. If you have the right to give to one, you have the right to give to all; and, as the Constitution neither defines charity nor stipulates the amount, you are at liberty to give to any and everything which you may believe, or profess to believe, is a charity, and to any amount you may think proper. You will very easily perceive what a wide door this would open for fraud and corruption and favoritism, on the one hand, and for robbing the people on the other.
It is a precedent fraught with danger to the country, for when Congress once begins to stretch its power beyond the limits of the Constitution, there is no limit to it, and no security for the people.

The Purpose of the Federal Government -- to protect our life , liberty , property ( military ) and to settle disputes between the states ( courts ).
The Purpose of the State and Local Governments -- to protect our life , liberty , property ( police ) and to settle disputes ( courts ).
The Purpose of Laws -- to protect our life , liberty , property ( from acts of -- encroachments , fraud , broken agreements ).
The Purpose of the Constitution -- to protect our life , liberty , property ( from politicians ).
The Purpose of Taxes -- to support the proper function of government ( military, police, courts )

Life, Liberty, Property - this is Man
Military, Police, Courts - this is Government

In a capitalist system, government functions are limited to a single purpose: the protection of individual rights. This means that everyone is free to act as he sees fit provided his actions do not violate the rights of others. The government’s sole job is to ensure that no one commits force or fraud against anyone else (and to penalize those who do). Physical force between individuals is legally banished—the police and courts serve to enforce that ban. Aside from that, the government leaves every man free to pursue whatever ends he wishes.
Economically, the result is the free market—a system in which there is a strict separation of economy and state analogous to the separation of church and state. The government does not impose tariffs, subsidize businesses, regulate interstate commerce, set price controls, or take any other legislative or regulatory economic action. It simply protects freedom. It apprehends and prosecutes thieves, fraudsters, and other criminals, and settles civil and contractual disputes between parties.

CAPITALISM - peaceful, honest, voluntary , trade; free from political interference.
Question: What is capitalism?
Answer: According to the philosopher Ayn Rand in her essay “What is Capitalism?,” capitalism is “a social system based on the recognition of individual rights, including property rights, in which all property is privately owned.”
The only function of the government, in such a society, is the task of protecting man's rights, i.e.., the task of protecting him from physical force; the government acts as the agent of man's right of self-defense, and may use force only in retaliation and only against those who initiate its use;
statism
(politics) A form of collectivism that advocates government power, control, or ownership; socialism, communism, and fascism are more specific forms of statism.
Fascism ..... an economic philosophy that leaves property in private hands but subjects it to govt control and regulation.
Fascism and Socialism are simply ( gradual and silent ) transitions between Capitalism and Communism.

Socialism and Communism - the difference between them are only a matter of time and degree; communism enslaves men by force, socialism by vote; both produce equality, equal misery and poverty.

collectivism
(politics) A doctrine in political philosophy (and sometimes ethics) holding that the individual's actions should benefit not the individual but some kind of collective organization (such as a tribe, community, profession, or state). Collectivism in political theory depends on altruism in ethics. There are many forms of collectivism in political reality, such as tribalism, communism, socialism, fascism, certain forms of trade unionism, authoritarianism, totalitarianism, and communalism. The term is most often associated with totalitarian governments of the twentieth century, but is uncommon in everyday language.
The USA has a Mixed Economy
Their encouragement of the government to "do something" to solve economic problems shows Americans' support for the mixed economy. If a fully government-controlled economy (socialism) is at one end of the spectrum, and a fully free-market economy (capitalism) is at the other, the mixed economy is somewhere in between.
The function of government is solely to protect individual rights, including property rights. When it redistributes wealth, nationalizes industries, or regulates voluntary transactions among consenting adults, it commits the moral fallacy of socialism, the fallacy of treating the individual as a means to the collective good.
Individuals who - committ fraud , encroach upon other people , encroach upon other peoples property , and who break their contracts/agreements - should be punished by the govt.

Economic activity that is - peaceful , honest , voluntary - should be free from political interference.
Social activity between adults that is - peaceful , honest , voluntary - should be free from political interference.

People have the right to - acquire property , use their property , dispose of their property - in any peaceful , honest , voluntary manner ; free from political interference.

Collectivism requires self-sacrifice, the subordination of one's interests to those of others." -- Ayn Rand, Letters of Ayn Rand
collectivist ethical principle: man is not an end to himself, but is only a tool to serve the ends of others. Whether those 'others' are a dictator's gang, the nation, society, the race, (the) god(s), the majority, the community, the tribe, etc., is irrelevant -- the point is that man in principle must be sacrificed to others." -- Mark Da Cunha

"We need to stop worrying about the rights of the individual and start worrying about what is best for society." -- Hillary Clinton
"...we understand only the individual's capacity to make sacrifices for the community, for his fellow men." -- Adolf Hitler, 10-7-33

"Individualism answers: The power of society is limited by the inalienable, individual rights of man. Society may make only such laws as do not violate these rights.

"Freedom is an intellectual achievement which requires disavowal of collectivism and embrace of individualism." -- Onkar Ghate

"You have to ask yourself, 'Who owns me? Do I own myself or am I just another piece of government property?' " -- Neal Boortz
"The crucial distinction between systems...was no longer ideological. The main political difference was between those who did, and those who did not, believe that the citizen could -- or should -- be the property of the state." -- Adam Michnik in Letters to a Young Contrarian by Christopher Hitchens

"In principle, there are only two fundamental political viewpoints. That is, two contradictory ends of the 'political spectrum.' Those two principles are freedom and slavery." -- Mark Da Cunha

"There is nothing to take a man's freedom away from him, save other men. To be free, a man must be free of his brothers." -- Ayn Rand

"America was founded on the principle of inalienable rights, not dictated duties. The Declaration of Independence states that every human being has a right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. It does not state that he is born a slave to the needs of others." -- Alex Epstein

Government Forced Welfare is collectivism ; a form of slavery.
Voluntary Welfare is individualism: a form of charity.

"State-mandated compassion produces, not love for ones fellow man, but hatred and resentment. The breakdown of 'basic civility' and the rise of the welfare state occur concurrently." -- Lizard

"The Nazis are well remembered for murdering well over 11 million people in the implementation of their slogan, 'The public good before the private good,' the Chinese Communists for murdering 62 million people in the implementation of theirs, 'Serve the people,' and the Soviet Communists for murdering more than 60 million people in the implementation of Karl Marx's slogan, 'from each according to his ability, to each according to his needs.' Anyone who defends any of these, or any variation of them, on the grounds of their 'good intentions' is an immoral (NOT 'amoral') enabler of the ACTUAL (not just the proverbial) road to hell." -- Rick Gaber
"If men want to oppose war, it is statism that they must oppose. So long as they hold the tribal notion that the individual is sacrificial fodder for the collective, that some men have the right to rule others by force, and that some (any) alleged 'good' can justify it -- there can be no peace within a nation and no peace among nations." -- Ayn Rand, The Roots of War

PUT YOUR BELIEFS TO THE TEST Click on images to enlarge them for better viewing and reading

Which of these robots would you want? If you choose the one on the left, you are an individualist. If you choose the one on the right, you are a collectivist.

INTRINSIC NATURE OF RIGHTS
I believe that only individuals have rights, not the collective group; that these rights are intrinsic to each individual, not granted by the state; for if the state has the power to grant them, it also has the power to deny them, and that is incompatible with personal liberty.
I believe that a just government derives its power solely from the governed. Therefore, the state must never presume to do anything beyond what individual citizens also have the right to do. Otherwise, the state is a power unto itself and becomes the master instead of the servant of society.

SUPREMACY OF THE INDIVIDUAL
I believe that one of the greatest threats to freedom is to allow any group, no matter its numeric superiority, to deny the rights of the minority; and that one of the primary functions of just government is to protect each individual from the greed and passion of the majority.

FREEDOM OF CHOICE
I believe that desirable social and economic objectives are better achieved by voluntary action than by coercion of law. I believe that social tranquility and brotherhood are better achieved by tolerance, persuasion, and the power of good example than by coercion of law. I believe that those in need are better served by charity, which is the giving of one's own money, than by welfare, which is the giving of other people's money through coercion of law.

EQUALITY UNDER LAW
I believe that all citizens should be equal under law, regardless of their national origin, race, religion, gender, education, economic status, life style, or political opinion. Likewise, no class should be given preferential treatment, regardless of the merit or popularity of its cause. To favor one class over another is not equality under law.

PROPER ROLE OF GOVERNMENT
I believe that the proper role of government is negative, not positive; defensive, not aggressive. It is to protect, not to provide; for if the state is granted the power to provide for some, it must also be able to take from others, and once that power is granted, there are those who will seek it for their advantage. It always leads to legalized plunder and loss of freedom. If government is powerful enough to give us everything we want, it is also powerful enough to take from us everything we have. Therefore, the proper function of government is to protect the lives, liberty, and property of its citizens; nothing more. That government is best which governs least.

(1) Economic Freedom - peaceful, honest, voluntary, economic activity shall be free from political interference.
(2) Social Freedom - peaceful, honest, voluntary, activity between adults shall be free from political interference.
(3) Property Rights - people have the right to acquire property, use their property, dispose of their property, in any peaceful, honest, voluntary manner free from political interference.

There are three (3) areas of human activity:
1. Private personal actions which involve no one except that person and his own self and property. (e.g., smoking pot in the privacy of his own home; or watching his own TV in his own home as long as the noise doesn't harm someone else; or thinking unorthodox thoughts in the privacy of his own brain),
2. Voluntary (market) relations -- any relationship in which the wills of the participants coincide (agree) with respect to the terms of the relationship. (e.g., voluntary sexual intercourse in private quarters; working for an employer in exchange for a salary; buying a loaf of bread at supermarket; lending money out to gain interest or dividends; offering a lower price for ones product to persuade consumers to buy it),
3. Coercive Acts -- acts performed by a human or humans against the will or without the permission of an adult human with respect to that which is his own (his person or property). This includes both the initiatory violence of criminality (e.g., murder; rape, theft; breech of contract; criminal tresspass; robbery; kidnaping; slavery; embezzlement) and retaliatory coercive acts in the pursuit of justice. It should be noted that the realm of coercive/violent activities also includes the proper defensive and retaliatory use of violent force by government against criminals and foreign enemies. These are not market actions. When a police officer arrests you, he does not ask your permission. (Market activities on the other hand do not involve the use of any coercion, either initiatory or retaliatory, but only by the voluntary consent of the particpants involved.)
The proper function of government is to use its powers to protect against and justly retaliate against category 3 -- BUT to leave alone categories 1 and 2. Hence, police protection, the courts, and national defense are legitimate functions of a proper government. Subsidizing tobacco farmers or bankers or home buyers is not. Dictating who we may associate with or not associate with is not.
Government (the primary institution of coercion in any society) should keep HANDS OFF categories 1 and 2. Its only proper jurisdiction is suppressing category #3. This is often referred to as a policy of laissez faire.

To Establish Justice and Secure the Blessings of Liberty

This Constitution is created to ( 1 ) protect and secure our Rights which come from our Creator. Since these Rights come from our Creator, they pre-exist government and no person, majority, or group of politicians has the authority to take away or encroach upon our God-given Rights ( 2 ) to limit, restrain, control, and interfere with political power; to protect the people from politicians going to far.

Liberty defined ... free from government (political) - encroachment.

Encroachment defined ... to - violate, trespass, interfere, intrude, regulate, control - the life, liberty, and property of another.

Common Law defined ... do not commit fraud; do not break your agreements; do not encroach upon other people; do not encroach upon other peoples property.

Purpose of Government defined ... to protect (secure) each persons God-given Rights to life, liberty, and property from - encroachment, fraud, and broken agreements.

Purpose of Law defined ... to protect persons and their property from acts of fraud, encroachments, and broken agreements; to protect already pre-existing rights; not to create artificial rights.

Purpose of Taxes ... to fund the proper function of government; the military, courts, and police; which exist to secure and protect our life, liberty, and property.

What Government Shall Not Do

Government shall make no law prohibiting, controling, regulating - peaceful, honest, voluntary - activity; economic or social; domestic or foreign.

Government shall make no law that taxes - income or property.

Government shall make no law that violates - common law.

Government shall not provide - money, loans, welfare, special privileges - to anyone, domestic or foreign.

What Government Shall Do

Government shall protect the United States from invasion and attack.

Government shall protect and secure our God-given Rights to life, liberty, and property.

Government shall provide courts where people can peacefully resolve their disputes.

Government shall provide a criminal justice system to punish acts of encroachment, fraud, and broken agreements.

The Right Foundation for Safety, Peace, Prosperity, and Happiness

Equal Rights ... all people are created with equal rights; these rights are, the right to life, liberty, and property; these rights come from our Creator, not government.

Common Law ... do not commit fraud; do not break your agreements; do not encroach upon other people; do not encroach upon other peoples property.

Economic Liberty ... people have the right to engage in peaceful, voluntary, and honest activity; what you acquire by producing it, trading peacefully and honest for it, belongs to you; free from political encroachment.

Social Liberty ... people have the right to pursue happiness in any peaceful, voluntary, and honest manner; free from political encroachment.

A legal system that (1) protects individuals and their property, (2) enforces contracts fairly, and (3) settles disputes, is an essential ingredient for economic progress, prosperity and happiness.

1. peaceful trade with the rest of the world

2. avoid entanglement in their political affairs and quarrels with other nations.

3. always remain strong enough to defend ourselves from invasion and attack.

As long as a person obeys Common Law, that person has the right ...

to be free from - political encroachment.

to live his life as he chooses; the right to engage in free trade, free enterprise, and the right to accumulate the fruits of those trades (property); and no person, majority, or group of politicians has the right to encroach upon these rights.

to be left alone; as owners of property, the right to include and exclude others from his property; the right to freedom of association and private property; the right to - acquire, use, and dispose - of his property in any Peaceful, Honest, and Voluntary manner.

to choose foolishly as well as wisely; to enjoy the rewards of good judgment, and to suffer the consequences of bad judgment; to pursue happiness in any peaceful, honest, and voluntary manner.

And Each Person Has a Right

to defend his - person, life, liberty, and property

to a speedy and public trial, by an impartial jury; the right to be protected and secure in his person and property against unreasonabel searches and seizures.

Declaration of Independence

When a long train of government abuses (encroachments) has occured, it is the right and duty of the People to alter or to abolish it; to provide new guards for our future security and happiness. The history of the present government is a history of repeated encroachments on our life, liberty, and property.

Let the ( facts ) be submitted ...

Equal Rights have been replaced with Artificial Rights (welfare schemes); People of Liberty should never be (forced-taxed) to provide products and services for other people. There's no way to have artificial rights without (enslaving) a great many of us to forced labor, and taking our property (money) and giving it away.

Common Law has been replaced with Political Law; created to encroach upon our life, liberty, and property. Political Laws allow politicians to take our (money-property) and give it to other persons to whom it does not belong; to benefit one person at the expense of another person.

Political Laws that promote subsidies, foreign aid, and welfare schemes all violate the principles of Liberty, Justice, and Common Law; require Heavy Taxes and a Large Bureaucracy.

Economic Liberty has been replaced with a Mixed Economy; a little Socialism with a lot of fascism; where producers are allowed to bear all the risks of their time and money - and government controls (regulates), takes a great deal of the profits (taxation), and takes none of the risks.

Political Encroachment has deprived Property Owners of (decision making control) over something he or she owns; Government is at war with Property Rights.

Social and Personal Liberty have been replaced with Political Encroachment; Political Laws make (crimes) out of the objects abused; Our prisons are filled with people who have not violated Common Law; have engaged in Peaceful, Honest, and Voluntary activity; and have harmed no one but maybe themselves.

Once the principle is admitted that it is the duty of politicians to protect people against their own foolishness, no serious objections can be advanced against further (encroachments); prohibiting - alcohol, smoking, gambling, etc.

Peaceful Trade with the rest of the world has been replaced with Entanglements in their political affairs and quarrels with other nations; Our military's role of protecting the United States from invasion and attack, has been unwisely expanded to include - international cop and international welfare provider.

Freedom and Government

People who are asking for more government encroachment - interference, control, etc - are asking for more compulsion or coercion - force and intimidation - and less freedom. We need to remember that government is the employment of -

armed men, soldiers, police, prison guards, and hangmen - the enforcement of its decress by and imprisoning.

Without a precise understanding and respect for Liberty and Common Law, the rule of man and special interests are substituted as the Supreme Law of the Land; which results in the erosion of Liberty and Justice.

When government steps beyond its proper function of protecting persons and property, there will be an incentive for special-interest groups to seek privileged positions and the use of government to capture benefits at the expense of taxpayers and consumers...James Dorn

The purpose of the Constitution is to interfere; to prevent politicians from going to far...Harry Browne

The appropriate question isn't, "Are you better off now than you were four years ago?" It is; are you as well off as you could be? And the answer is that--with government taking 48% of the national income in federal, state, and local taxes--we're all much worse off than we should be!

Before we commit to "change" , we must answer the questions , "From what to what?" The answer to those questions must be "from a nation of looters to a nation of free individuals who acquire property in the only civilized manner; via voluntary exchange." Tom Mullen

A government official in some central location, unless endowed with a form of omniscient ESP, cannot know how best to spend the money that has been appropriated into his charge. Therein lies the gross inefficiency.
You think that you need a new pair of shoes -- he thinks you need a diplomat in Lithuania.
You think that you'd like a new car -- he thinks you would rather support someone on welfare.
You think that you'd like to buy a house -- he thinks that you'd rather build a new jail to house drug offenders.
You think that you need some new medicine to survive -- he thinks that you should spend your money on a bloated FDA to spend years testing while you die waiting for approval.
Sure, all of these things that he, the government official, thinks you need might be of some use to you, but the difference between those uses and what you really want is the inefficiency. And that is not even mentioning his salary, which by the way, he thinks is in your interest to pay.

_______________________________________________________________________________________

Politicians are the only people in the world who create problems and then campaign against them.

Have you ever wondered why, if both the Democrats and the Republicans are against deficits, we have deficits? Have you ever wondered why, if all the politicians are against inflation and high taxes, we have inflation and high taxes?

You and I don't propose a federal budget. The president does. You and I don't have the Constitutional authority to vote on appropriations. The House of Representatives does. You and I don't write the tax code. Congress does. You and I don't set fiscal policy. Congress does. You and I don't control monetary policy. The Federal Reserve Bank does.

One hundred senators, 435 congressmen, one president and nine Supreme Court justices - 545 human beings out of the 235 million - are directly, legally, morally and individually responsible for the domestic problems that plague this country.

I excluded the members of the Federal Reserve Board because that problem was created by the Congress. In 1913, Congress delegated its Constitutional duty to provide a sound currency to a federally chartered but private central bank.

I excluded all but the special interests and lobbyists for a sound reason. They have no legal authority. They have no ability to coerce a senator, a congressman or a president to do one cotton-picking thing. I don't care if they offer a politician $1 million dollars in cash. The politician has the power to accept or reject it.

No matter what the lobbyist promises, it is the legislation's responsibility to determine how he votes.

A CONFIDENCE CONSPIRACY

Don't you see how the con game that is played on the people by the politicians? Those 545 human beings spend much of their energy convincing you that what they did is not their fault. They cooperate in this common con regardless of party.

What separates a politician from a normal human being is an excessive amount of gall. No normal human being would have the gall of Tip O'Neill, who stood up and criticized Ronald Reagan for creating deficits.

The president can only propose a budget. He cannot force the Congress to accept it. The Constitution, which is the supreme law of the land, gives sole responsibility to the House of Representatives for originating appropriations and taxes.

O'neill is the speaker of the House. He is the leader of the majority party. He and his fellow Democrats, not the president, can approve any budget they want. If the president vetos it, they can pass it over his veto.

REPLACE SCOUNDRELS

It seems inconceivable to me that a nation of 235 million cannot replace 545 people who stand convicted -- by present facts - of incompetence and irresponsibility.

I can't think of a single domestic problem, from an unfair tax code to defense overruns, that is not traceable directly to those 545 people.

When you fully grasp the plain truth that 545 people exercise power of the federal government, then it must follow that what exists is what they want to exist.

If the tax code is unfair, it's because they want it unfair. If the budget is in the red, it's because they want it in the red. If the Marines are in Lebanon, it's because they want them in Lebanon.

There are no insoluble government problems. Do not let these 545 people shift the blame to bureaucrats, whom they hire and whose jobs they can abolish; to lobbyists, whose gifts and advice they can reject; to regulators, to whom they give the power to regulate and from whom they can take it.

Above all, do not let them con you into the belief that there exist disembodied mystical forces like "the economy," "inflation" or "politics" that prevent them from doing what they take an oath to do.

Those 545 people and they alone are responsible. They and they alone have the power. They and they alone should be held accountable by the people who are their bosses - provided they have the gumption to manage their own employees. ( 545 People by Charley Reese )

Please scroll down and read the article below ...

Only when Congressmen have no special favors to sell will lobbyists stop trying to buy their votes -- and their souls.

Congress is once again addressing the issue of campaign finance reform -- and no wonder. The American public has become increasingly disgusted by the unprincipled manner in which our legislative process is conducted. The process, in essence, consists of swarms of lobbyists descending like locusts on Washington, demanding special favors in return for campaign contributions. "Wealthy special-interest groups," and the money they wield, are accused of being the ultimate culprits in this mess, and, it is asserted, Congress must rein them in.
Such reform cannot and will not work, because it targets the wrong culprit. "Moneyed interests" are not the real problem; they are only symptoms of a deeper cause. The corruption is caused not by material wealth but by spiritual poverty. The root cause is not "bad money" but a bad idea, namely the concept of the "public interest."

Let us see how the premise of the "public interest" operates in practice. Imagine that you are an honest, idealistic congressman just elected to office. On your first day, you are accosted by four lobbyists. The first demands a tariff increase on certain imports to "protect" his group's industry -- which, he claims, serves the public. The second lobbyist asserts that it will benefit the public if his group gets a subsidy to help its members survive in a "brutally competitive" market. The third insists that it will help the public if members of his group are given license to be the exclusive providers of a certain service. The fourth says the public will be better off if unions are made illegal in his industry. The next day, a new group of lobbyists asks you for favors. These often conflict with those demanded by the first group, but are just as fervently presented as being in the "public interest."

How then do you decide what to do? If an auto-industry spokesman argues for import tariffs on cars to protect the jobs of hundreds of thousands of workers, and an auto-dealer association argues for no tariffs in order to give hundreds of thousands of buyers lower prices, which group, in this case, is the "public"? Both and neither. You realize that "the public" is not an actual entity but only a collection of individuals. So which individuals, in any given case, should get what they want and at whose expense? There is no way to tell -- anyone can claim to be the public on any issue. In dismay you recognize that "the public interest" has no objective meaning. It is empty rhetoric.

Politics abhors a vacuum and when there are no coherent principles to guide action the void is filled by pressure-group warfare. The winner of any given battle is decided by such arbitrary factors as which group is bigger, richer, better connected (e.g., to the White House), or more attuned to the latest media hype or political tide. In practice, the principle of the "public interest" leads to a political war of all against all in which some individuals are sacrificed for the benefit of others. This mess is known as the "mixed" economy. (There are, of course, some principled lobbyists who seek, not special privileges, but simply the right to be left alone -- but their pleas fall on unprincipled ears.)

All this leads to widespread cynicism and demands for "campaign finance reform" -- reforms which cannot work. To think that you can eliminate the problem (the buying and selling of favors) by controlling its effects (limiting the size of contributions) is like trying to eradicate mental illness by limiting the number of beds in mental hospitals. Real campaign finance reform requires philosophical reform. We must discard the notion of the "public interest" and replace it with the proper principle: individual rights, which means the freedom of each individual to pursue his own interests as long as he does not coerce or defraud others. This means: replace the mixed economy with real capitalism -- no tariffs, no subsidies, no protection from competition, no favors.

Only when Congressmen have no special favors to sell will lobbyists stop trying to buy their votes -- and their souls. Property rights should have the same sacrosanct status as freedom of speech. If a modern lobbyist went to a Congressman and demanded that he get a law passed preventing people from publicly criticizing his organization, he would be laughed out of Washington. The same fate should befall lobbyists who want to limit how people use their property -- and for the same fundamental reason: an individual's right to his life.

--This editorial is copyrighted by the Ayn Rand Institute and reproduced here with permission." Visit their MediaLink at http://www.aynrand.org/medialink/.

Edwin Locke

Edwin A. Locke is a senior writer for the Ayn Rand Institute. He is author of The Prime Movers.