During my life time we Americas have had several major events that have strongly impacted our lives. The Great Depression, the Second World war, the Cold War, Korea, Vietnam, etc. Our economy since 1945, except for minor recessions has been ever growing. We are now and in the future, most likely the next sixty years, plus, going to be strongly impacted by another major event. Debt!!!! Consumer debt and government debt. Consumers are in the process of managing their debts. It is the government that is the problem.

The USA’s total value is estimated at 65 to 70 trillion dollars. Our government at present has a debt of 12 trillion. In the next 9 years that debt will increase too between 21 and 26 trillion. The Baby Boomers are retiring now. Their unfunded Social Security and Medicare is estimated between 55 to 60 trillion dollars. This exceeds America’s total value. (If you can find better figures, go for it.) America is going bankrupt. The impact of this debt is going too dramatically change our standard of living, our value structure; both economic and spiritual, and our form of government.

At this point you are expecting me to blame the President, the Congress, the Democrats, the Republicans, the Conservatives, the Liberals, etc... Indeed there are people getting rich blaming each other. You cannot turn on television or radio with out hearing blame rhetoric. Rhetoric is fine but it is time for action. In any civilization passed, present or future, under any form of government despotic or democratic, and particularly in America today, there is only one person responsible, that is the person you meet when you look in the mirror to shave your face, put on your makeup etc…You and I are responsible, collectively we Americans have not excepted our responsibilities, we are the problem. We have allowed government to become our God!!! This has to change.

Americans have a great gap between our entitlement wants and what we are willing to pay for. Our government gives us what we want but does not raise taxes to pay for it, they add it to the federal debt and we believe we are getting the programs for free. Bankruptcy will change this attitude dramatically! Our greatest challenge in the future (the next 60 years) will be to bring our entitlement wants in line with what we are willing to pay for and to pay off the last 60 years of irresponsibility and foolishness. If we don’t do this our economy will never produce the jobs and incomes for the standard of living we want. To do this we are going to need a new tool.

We are going to have to change our Constitution in a way that power is taken away from Government and makes the America people directly responsible.

1. Taxes must be taken off of everything except final consumption. When a family goes to the grocery store and buys $100 in groceries and the checker adds $35.00 for federal tax, $10.00 for state tax and $5.00 for local taxes, the crap will come out of the heads of the America people about the cost of Government. Also, no person or item is exempted, everyone pays. Americans will be ready to fight back with gusto!!!!

2. Take away the power of Congress to pass legislation. Congress can debate, approve or disapprove legislation, but all legislation (bills) must come before the people to be approved or disapproved. We have the communications capacity via the internet, etc. to do this. Furthermore, all bills must be broken down by item and a cost must be access to each item (and written in understandable language). Americans do not have to buy the whole package; we want line item voting power.

3. Any person or group, who can obtain 3% of the registered voter’s signatures, can design and/or present a bill (legislation) to congress. . Congress must debate, approve or disapprove the legislation; however, the legislation must be approved or disapproved by the American people.

4. We need an accounting system that is as accurate as possible, so Americans know where their tax money is going and can make decisions.

With this new Constitutional tool, there will be 300 million Americans who will decide where their tax dollars are spent. Businesses that compete for the consumer dollar will come up with endless ideas on how to make government more efficient. Vested interests give dollars to politicians to get elected, our government is brought and pay for before these politicians take office. We the average American are left out. Self or vested interests would have to come to the American people to gain their economic advantage thru government programs.

With this new Constitutional tool our possibilities are endless. What are the possibilities?

Reduce cost by getting rid of unneeded government programs. - I have been in agriculture for 70 years of my life. We do not need house and senate agricultural committees; we do not need a Department of Agriculture; farm subsidies should have been gutted in 1945. The productivity of agriculture without government intervention would increase by a minimum of 10% a year, reducing our food bill.

Get rid of government regulations that increase our cost of living. - Television, internet and phone service cost American households about $150.00 a month. With an equipment investment of $500 to $1000 we could have these services for free. The technology is here now.

Solve problems government will not address. - Energy independents – drill baby drill – also; there is new energy technology that will be a fraction of our present cost, coming up in the near future.
Health Care program – tort reform and letting health insurance companies sell health insurance in all 50 states. These two items alone would reduce the cost of health insurance considerably. However, the lawyers and the insurance companies own congress.

Make government programs more efficient. - Welfare would change dramatically, most likely to some form of retraining and workfare.

All Americans could add to the above list.

When we pay the bill at final consumption, and we have the right to design and approve legislation, government will become very efficient and well managed. In other words get the maximum return on our tax dollars.

There is an endless history of governments that have spent beyond their means. Rome fell because of corruption and high taxes. Roman citizens even joined the invaders. Arab armies conquered the Mediterranean countries with their famous war cry, “Join Islam and pay no taxes”. Spain after the Spanish armada, depopulated because taxes were so high the people had to leave Spain to have food and shelter. Etc... You can count the leaders in history that kept government costs down, taxes low and let the citizens manage their own lives, on the fingers of one hand. If we Americans manage this debt problem we will be the first in history.

If we revolt against our present form of government we must understand revolutions are brutal. The powers that be, will not give up their power without a fight. The incentive to revolt has to be great. Bankruptcy is one incentive. Another, do we Americans have the courage, moral structure, intelligent and the maturity as a civilization to accomplish such a feat.