Short Version: Political Theory: Washington's Social Programs--Breaking Up Is Hard To Do!

As the song goes "Breaking Up Is Hard To Do". When a relationship ends, it often causes a lot of pain, separation anxiety, and insecurity. This separation fear can occur even if we realize the relationship was dysfunctional. There usually is temporarily a feeling of being lost, like being in a row-boat without a paddle. One could call this an emotional dependency--the "addiction to love".

Likewise we see the government's policies and programs, once created, can form bonds with its citizens, an emotional dependency. Even if this policy proves to be hurtful, or illogical to the society, with poor results, people fear when these these policies are ended. People often predict havoc will occur, if this or that program, is ever ended.

Lets take drug laws as an example. Experts say the war on drugs causes many unintended problems for society. such as...
1) Causes illegal money to go to dangerous drug cartels and gangs ( think alcohol Prohibitions creation of murderous Al Capone )
2) Imprisons many harmless curious youth, and tarnishes their future employability with a criminal record. ( Obama would not never have been President if jailed for his admitted drug use)
4) Exposes non-criminal youth in prison to dangerous felons, and educates them to become better criminals.
4) Has wasted approximately one trillion dollars since the 1960s war on drugs was started.

Yet although many believe this is an erroneous policy, we can't seem to end this social policy dependency, and many claim drug addicts would start raining out of the sky if drugs were decriminalized. We have approximately 600,000 people in our prisons for nonviolent victimless drug issues.

A similar scenario plays out in our American society in many other ways with the many other addictive social programs. And that too is part of the problem, we have so many many programs that when we add them up, we begin to see the enormous scope of how society is being misdirected and misshaped. Most Americans would likely rather have a well paying job, and prosperity, rather than maintain this erroneous taxpayer funded Utopia, yet we can't seem to stop these failed idealist trends. Like a heavy train or car that gets into motion, it is hard to stop it by pushing back.

Some failed programs started off as great ideas, but were poorly orchestrated, or thereafter ruined by Washington politicians. Welfarism, or the protection of the poorer segments of our society never worked out as promised. Many experts argue, that our welfare mentality has caused harm to the poor by crowding them into poor government affordable housing that soon breed crime, and creates an atmosphere of hopelessness.

And sadly, the same addictive conclusion can be made from many of our modern policies and programs of the new Washingtontopia.

• Aid to Foreign Countries going to America's enemies, and facilitating dictator governments.
• Federal Reserves tampering with interest rates, causing inflation and lost savings for Americans.
• Military use to spread democracy to middle east and other countries, risking homeland safety.
• Fannie Mae's contribution towards unaffordable  housing bubbles.
• Taxes on employers causing unemployment and job loss overseas, and hurting business startups.
• Dept Of Education's interference with teaching, to make our students amongst the worlds worst in performance. ( 31 lowest in Math, 23 lowest in science PISA 2009 )
• USDA's farmers paid not to grow crops.
• Social Security mismanagement causing future bankruptcy, instead of being fixed through privatization.

In fact, there are so many failing "feel-good", programs, that just an abbreviated list would take nearly a dozen pages. It may be of interest to some, that all these powers and programs are forbidden to Washington DC ( i.e. the Federal Government), by our ingenious constitution in article 1 section 8, which is the list of  their allowed enumerated powers. It is a list worth looking up, and understanding.

Not only do these failures cost Americans lost money through unuseful taxation, even worse, they causes harm to the entire economy, by diverting useful funds, entrepreneurial energy, man-hours and other resources from prosperity and the productivity in the private market. These are the factory and businesses that gives us our jobs, and the iPhones or widgets we desire. This economic market, according to Nobel prize winning economist Friedrich Hayek, its what makes us free and ended the slavery of serfdom, and the toil of the previous agricultural farm society (subsistence farming). Without this freedom, we are all economically poor eventually.

Devising a restraint on Washington's idealism through the constitution might be a new solution. Enforcing existing rules in the constitution will require the creation of a "constitution enforcement committee". A trusted organization, run by the people and constitution experts, that enforces the constitution not only on Congress, but the President, and most importantly on the Supreme Court. Many law experts mistakenly believe the Supreme Court is the final judge of what is constitutional. This is not entirely accurate, the Supreme Court is the final arbiter for disputes amongst the states, and general laws of the land, but not our constitutional rights. Having the Supreme Court decide what is "allowed to be allowed" to itself, is akin to having the fox in charge of the chicken coop, and Thomas Jefferson knew this well.

Copyright 2013 by Charles Novitsky