This is a little long, but the principles are very important, & are not right or left based. "A government by representatives elected by the people at short periods was our object, and our maxim... was, 'where annual election ends, tyranny begins;' nor have our departures from it been sanctioned by the happiness of their effects." ~Thomas Jefferson America was founded upon the principle of citizen representatives.. this was a govt of, by & for the people. It was NOT a nation of an elite ruling class, where everyone else was subservient to the edicts of the rulers. The PEOPLE were to rule. To make that possible, the people were to be the ruling board. The intent was for congresspersons to be elected by the people in the individual states, & senators with a short term elected by the state houses, & a president elected for a short term to run the executive branch. But this is not a history lesson. It is a call for a return to citizen representation, & the reasons for it. Why would citizen representatives be better than a ruling class? 1. Power corrupts. It is the nature of power to corrupt those who have it. The only solution is a system of checks & balances, with term limits on those in power, so they are not intoxicated with the job. The natural cure for an ill-administration, in a popular or representative constitution, is a change of men. ~Alexander Hamilton 2. Money corrupts. Public service should not be a means to riches. Subsistence should be the pay for public service. Governance is a trust, & elected representatives are trustees. There should be strict laws for corruption, graft, or any violation of the public trust. Conflicts of interest, with severe penalties need to be guarded against. 3. A ruling class promotes class division. If the representatives are citizens, they remain equal to those they represent. But the longer in power, they degenerate to a ruling class. 4. A ruling class builds a system or network of power. Influence becomes centralized with favor providers, electioneering, lobbyists, & a 'good ol' boy' network. A pecking order of power grows in the culture of a ruling elite, like a fungus. New representatives, with no allegiance to the power structure, destroys that culture. A constant flow of new people, appointed by the people, keeps the power base fresh & unfettered by networks of influence. 5. Citizen representatives are the people, & reflect their concerns & values. Professional politicians live in another world. They produce NOTHING. They are leeches on society, & pursue power & elitism, living in luxury on the backs of the working man. Regular working people have a better sense of fairness & what the country needs, & will work to represent the common folk, since that is what they are. Professional politicians become elitist, & degenerate to passing edicts down to the unwashed masses. "All [reforms] can be... [achieved] peaceably by the people confining their choice of Representatives and Senators to persons attached to republican government and the principles of 1776; not office-hunters, but farmers whose interests are entirely agricultural. Such men are the true representatives of the great American interest and are alone to be relied on for expressing the proper American sentiments." ~Thomas Jefferson Now, what things can we do to encourage citizen representation, & prevent the growth of a ruling elite? 1. Term limits. This is probably THE most important thing we can do, & is one of the major things that has corrupted our system. Life time politicians worm their way into power, & curry favor with the network, & grow in the system that perpetuates itself, rather than being stewards of the public trust. Term limits keep public service from being a career, & make it a gift from the citizens.. a true stewardship of service. "My idea was that if they might be re-elected, they would be casting their eye forward to the period of election (however distant) and be currying favor with the electors and consequently dependent on them. My reason for fixing them in office for a term of years rather than for life was that they might have an idea that they were at a certain period to return into the mass of the people and become the governed instead of the governor, which might still keep alive that regard to the public good that otherwise they might perhaps be induced by their independence to forget." ~Thomas Jefferson 2. Subsistence. This is in the previous list, but since money is the most powerful corrupting influence to man, it appears here, too. To keep honest, sincere public servants, there must not be a draw for riches. Elected representatives should be compensated minimally.. perhaps minimum wage, for their service. SERVICE is the key word here, not compensation. They are stewards of the public treasury, & do not produce ANYTHING by their labor. They have no right to huge recompense & a luxurious lifestyle on the backs of the working man. It should not be a 'revolving door to riches' nor should public service provide other means to wealth. Conflicts of interest, graft, cronyism, nepotism, & other corrupting practices should be severely punished. "Our public economy is such as to offer drudgery and subsistence only to those entrusted with its administration--a wise and necessary precaution against the degeneracy of the public servants." ~Thomas Jefferson Just these 2 limits would do wonders in our elective process, & weed out hundreds of shysters & scoundrels who think public service is a means to riches. Almost ALL the problems in our governance can be traced to the problems that an elite, favor currying ruling class brings. They are NOT productive members of society, but see ruling as a way to become wealthy & powerful. They become intoxicated with power, money, & a celebrity status. They are infected by the network of power, & look to work their way up the ladder. It is a culture of infection. They become zombies.. the walking dead.. infecting anyone who comes in.. all of them staggering mindlessly around devouring the people. What can be done to fix this? This is the tough question. Sincere people get voted in, & are overwhelmed by the system of power & corruption. They will not limit their own power. They will not limit their own money. They will not cut their term of service, but lust for power & climbing the ladder of wealth & status. IMO, it will take revolution from the people. Perhaps not actual violence, but the threat of it will need to be taken seriously for them to relinquish power. We must FORCE these limits.. they will not voluntarily impose them. If the federal government should overpass the just bounds of its authority and make a tyrannical use of its powers, the people, whose creature it is, must appeal to the standard they have formed, and take such measures to redress the injury done to the Constitution as the exigency may suggest and prudence justify. ~Alexander Hamilton In questions of power, then, let no more be heard of confidence in man, but bind him down from mischief by the chains of the Constitution. ~Thomas Jefferson
It's kind of long, i know, but I think this is one of the key issues for effective, american governance. It goes beyond left & right, & cuts to the core of citizen representation. It was the intent of the founders, & our departure from it has resulted in most of the corruption of the american ideal. To me, this is such a core issue on what america is, there is no way to dispute it. Almost every problem in american politics can find its source in the elite ruling class. Almost every thing good about america can be found in the principle of citizen representative. It's not a 'liberal or conservative' issue. It IS a statism vs individual freedom issue, as statism NEEDS a ruling class. But even classic liberals decry the loss of personal liberty, which is the constant push from statism. Here is an interesting way to contrast the american principle of citizen representative. Read any quote or founding document.. or any speech by an american statesman. Anywhere you see 'people' or 'citizen', replace it with 'ruling class'. Here's what you get: We the ruling class of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defence, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America. that we here highly resolve that these dead shall not have died in vain -- that this nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom -- and that government of the ruling class, by the ruling class, for the ruling class, shall not perish from the earth. When the ruling class fear the government, there is tyranny. When the government fears the ruling class, there is liberty. The ruling class reign over the American political world as God rules over the universe. It is the cause and the end of all things; everything rises out of it and is absorbed back into it. ~Alexis De Tocqueville "I know of no safe depository of the ultimate powers of the society but the ruling class themselves; and if we think them not enlightened enough to exercise their control with a wholesome discretion, the remedy is not to take it from them, but inform their discretion." ~Thomas Jefferson This is absurd, of course, and any american would shrink from these statements in horror. Yet this is EXACTLY what we have become. We have a 2 party system and a good old boy power network dominating national politics. It HAS been going on for years, yet we seldom talk about the problems it has caused, or the intent of the founders, or the violation of the BASIC PRINCIPLE of american governance: Citizen Representatives. It is distinctly anti american.. contrary to ALL the principles of the founders. Politicians & statesmen give lip service to it, yet work tirelessly to prevent it. They have built a monopoly.. a cartel of power where all the money, influence, & decision making is NOT available to the people's review, but is dictated. The only restraint over the years has been public opinion, which is shaped by media propaganda. .. and who controls that, now? Libs should like this.. "We are bound by ideals that teach us what it means to be citizens. Every child must be taught these ideals. Every citizen must uphold them.... I ask you to be citizens. Citizens, not spectators. Citizens, not subjects. Responsible citizens building communities of service and a nation of character." Sound good? Of course! Who said it? Dubya, in his inaugural address, 2001. Is there anyone who illustrates 'ruling class' any better than the Bushes? ..ok, maybe the kennedys.. but this still shows the corruption of the current system, & the departure from the principle of citizen representatives. Public service is a magnet for scoundrels. Slimy characters like anthony weiner can worm their way into the political network, then get elected. He was not a businessman, or a working man.. a leader in his community. he got a job as an aide to chuck schumer, then ran for office himself. He never did a lick of honest work in his life, yet was promoted by the political machine & ends up 'representing' new york. What did this route give him? Fabulous wealth.. & he didn't have to work for it, unless you call sleazing around the political network, 'work'. We could go through all the senators.. MOST of them just 'networked' their way into power. Some were rich before, & increased it. Some were not, but are now. How do most of these people get elected? They choose a 'career' of politics. They do NOT do anything productive, or anything that relates to the working man, but they pursue a career that is inherently elite. They go the route of obama, make connections in some city political machine, get elected state representative, then senator, then build a coalition & backing to go national. It is a pursuit of lordship, it is no wonder these people think themselves superior to everyone else. The system is rigged to attract these kinds of personalities. It seems very clear to me, that to return to citizen representative principles would be easy. Take away the lifetime draw, the money, & the ascent of power, & we'd get a much better class of people doing it. This is probably the simplest, most basic principle of america, & would be easy to fix. It would have support from both liberals & conservatives. But not the ruling class! They will oppose it.. not openly or directly, but if the subject comes up, they will nod in assent to the problem, then change the subject. 'Yes, we need to address term limits.. look! a squirrel!' 1. Term limits for everyone. 2. Minimum wage. 3. Strict, enforced corruption laws. I challenge anyone to find any changes to our system that would have a more dramatic effect, & for the good of the people, than these simple things.
"America wasn't founded to have an elite ruling class" Then why was it founded so that only rich white landowning males were allowed to vote and hold public office?
I agree that it was founded with landowners exclusively having the vote. But they were certainly not all rich.. most were dirt poor, pun intended. The purpose of that was the assumption that landowners had a stake in the ruling decisions, more than transient people. Land was cheap.. free in some places for over 100 yrs. Anyone could become a landowner, & many did. The poor from other nations came to america to get land, & they also got to vote. The transition from a monarchy to a 'govt of, by & for the people' was just starting. There were still slaves, & that would end within a few decades.. four score & seven yrs, or so. But it is the basic principle of CITIZEN REPRESENTATIVE that is the point. America was not to be another elite run, ruling class monopoly of rule by decree. The citizens were to have the say. Now, our citizens do NOT have the say, but an elite ruling class run the show. It is a magnet for liars, swindlers, & con men, & they all rush into public service to get rich. Now, slaves are free. Non land owners can vote. What is the excuse to ignore the intent of the founders & promote statist policies of a ruling elite? How long will we let them continue the plunder of the treasury, & fleecing of the working man?
