E-Newsletter No. 122            February 2024

Tyranny – Cruel, unreasonable, or arbitrary use of power or control.

Tyranny has always existed in history.  In the mid- to late 1700s, the source of tyranny in America was King George.  Over half of the text of The Declaration of Independence was a list of grievances, documenting the tyranny the colonists were experiencing. 

In today’s world, tyranny can emanate from a wide variety of sources – – the federal government’s Administrative State, from state legislative bodies, and even from a “democratic” majority that wishes to exercise its power over other people’s lives.  A companion word that accompanies tyranny is coercion – the use of power to achieve a result that other individuals oppose.

Let’s start with the Second Amendment.  The government’s desire to restrict our citizens’ rights to keep and bear arms emanates from the Democrat party and its leadership in the federal government.  The Left was able to pass a federal “assault weapons” ban in 1994, which subsequently expired in 2004.  Subsequent studies on the effectiveness of the ban, including a congressionally mandated study, a 2014 study published in a book by the Oxford University Press and a 2020 Rand Corporation review, concluded there was no compelling evidence the ban saved lives.

However, the Left’s desire to impose its will on our country’s citizens has not abated.  Another tactic of the Left is to pass legislation at the state level, in the hope that a state law will help set a precedent that can then be applied in other jurisdictions.  Fortunately, these laws have consistently been overturned by the US Supreme Court, which has the responsibility to follow the original intent of the US Constitution to protect our citizens’ unalienable rights.

History has many examples of what tragically happens when citizens’ unalienable rights are violated.  The list is long, but we will only mention one of the most tragic examples.  In November 1938, the Verordnung gegen den Waffenbesitz der Juden prohibited the possession of firearms and bladed weapons by Jews.  We all know what happened to the Jews in Germany in the subsequent years. 

It is oftentimes said that one of the primary reasons for the Second Amendment is to protect our citizens’ rights listed in the First Amendment.  That is the discussion for next month’s newsletter.

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BTW – As you may recall, Congress “punted” (yet again) on the federal government’s budget for the year that began last October 1^st.  The new targeted date for some of those appropriation bills is now March 1^st and is March 8^th for the other appropriation bills.  Let’s see what they’ll do (or not do).      

US Debt Clock – – January 1^st – $101,230 per citizen / February 1st – $101,640

E-Newsletter No. 121            January 2024

What is “the Administrative State”?  The simple textbook answer is – – The Administrative State is part of the Executive Branch and is comprised of the various agencies that have been established to perform the functions of the federal government.  It is oftentimes referred to as the “Fourth Branch” of the government.  On our website, we have an original Conversation Piece from October 2013 that lists those various agencies.

What-The-Government-Should-and-Should-Not-Do.pdf (f2ppr.org)

Set aside for a moment that the annual spending amounts shown in that Conversation Piece are from ten years ago, along with the fact that the current annual deficit amount is now a multiple of what it was back then.  We also need to momentarily set aside the issue that most of these departments and agencies are a violation of the Tenth Amendment, and this spending and the resulting deficit that arises is a direct result of the “progressive” movement. 

You will notice that at the top of the list is the Social Security Administration, which is a socialist concept that if left unaltered will eventually lead to the financial ruin of future generations.  Back in October 2013, we indicated that if the functions of several of these “non-constitutional” agencies were to be handled by the states and civil society groups, the spending of the federal government could be reduced by over 48 percent.  And that reduction didn’t even include any cuts for Social Security, which we subsequently addressed a few years later in The 2020 Initiative. We recommend slowly systematically transforming the Social Security program into a means-tested welfare benefit.

In conservative circles, the Administrative State is oftentimes referred to as The Swamp, rife with all sorts of fraud and abuse.  In its most corrupt state, it is also referred to as The Deep State – – agencies run by unelected bureaucrats with their own self-interests, with no accountability, and pursuing their own (oftentimes hidden) objectives, rather than providing for the general welfare of the country as a whole.  In recent years, one of the most troubling aspects of The Deep State is how those agencies are being weaponized against We-The-People.  That is the topic for next month’s newsletter.       

US Debt Clock – – December 1^st – $100,710 per citizen / January 1st – $101,230

E-Newsletter No. 120            December 2023

Article I of the US Constitution sets out the structure and the responsibilities of the Legislative Branch of the federal government.  Our October and November newsletters discussed our country’s dysfunctional Congress and its lack of fiscal responsibility.  This month we will address Article II and the Executive Branch. 

Article II states that the executive power of the federal government shall be vested in the President of the United States.  Under the system of checks and balances laid out by our country’s Founders, the Legislature writes laws, the Executive Branch executes those laws, and the Judiciary has the responsibility to address all cases, in law and equity, under the Constitution.  Article II requires that the President “shall take care that the laws be faithfully executed,” and it states that the President shall also be the Commander in Chief of the various branches of our country’s military.

Let’s first address military matters, because one of the most important responsibilities of the federal government is to protect our country from foreign adversaries.  The Legislature appropriates the funds that are needed by our military and (on paper) has the sole power to declare war.  However, the last war that was formally declared by Congress under the provisions of the Constitution was our country’s involvement in World War II.  All other military engagements since WW2 have been conducted under the direction of the President as Commander in Chief.  Regardless of how these military engagements are initiated, the successes and failures of these engagements (which include the disastrous withdrawal of our forces from Afghanistan in August 2021) is the responsibility of the Commander in Chief.

As noted above, Article II requires that “the laws be faithfully executed.“  Unfortunately, our country’s immigration laws are not being faithfully executed.  As a matter of fact, the disastrous situation that has been occurring on our southern border for the past several years is a direct result of refusing to execute the laws that have been passed by Congress.  The term “illegal alien” is well documented in our country’s statutes.  However, the preferred term now being used by the current administration is “undocumented migrant.”  Illegal aliens are committing a crime by entering our country in violation of our country’s laws.  The primary problem is that our country’s laws are not being faithfully executed.

A growing Constitutional problem is the President’s use of Executive Orders.  All laws are supposed to be passed by the Legislature.  The Executive Branch should not write laws (nor unilaterally forgive student loan indebtedness in defiance of Nancy Pelosi and the Supreme Court).  In his first year in office, President Barack Obama issued 39 Executive Orders.  In his first year in office, President Donald Trump issued 55 Executive Orders (many of which were to reverse Executive Orders issued by President Obama).  In his first year in office, President Joe Biden issued 77 Executive Orders (many of which were to reverse Executive Orders issued by President Trump).  Our Editorial Board believes that every Executive Order should be voted on by the House of Representative and Senate, and if a majority of both houses agree, it would be OK for that Executive Order to take effect.

Next month, we will address “the Administrative State” (aka “the Swamp”) which has resulted in a massive increase in the size and scope of the federal government.  Many of these departments are outside the scope of the US Constitution (our Founders would not approve) and unfortunately, many of these departments in effect both write the rules and regulations (the laws) and then interpret and adjudicate any issues that arise.      

US Debt Clock – – November 1^st – $100,350 per citizen / December 1st – $100,710

E-Newsletter No. 119            November 2023

We are deferring our discussion about the Executive Branch and our weaponized Administrative State (aka the Swamp) until next month.  This month’s newsletter will pick up on the ongoing dysfunction relating to the federal government’s lack of fiscal responsibility.

As you recall, when the federal government’s new fiscal year was about to begin on October 1^st and the required appropriation bills had not yet been passed, Congress chose to continue to follow “business as usual” and passed a short-term Continuing Resolution to provide authorization for continued spending at current spending levels through Friday November 17^th (right before Thanksgiving).  This ongoing dysfunction of failing to pass the required appropriation bills on a timely basis cost Kevin McCarthy his job as Speaker of the House, because his “deal” with House conservatives back in January was to not let this happen yet again.

Are things any better now that the House of Representatives has elected Mike Johnson as Speaker?  In our opinion, the answer is “Somewhat.”  On November 14th, the US House passed a “laddered” Continuing Resolution, which was subsequently approved by the Senate and signed by President Biden on November 16^th.  This temporarily averted a government shut down, as the can was again successfully kicked down the road.  Spending at current levels under four of the appropriations can continue until January 19^th and can continue for the other eight appropriations until February 2^nd.

While all of this was going on this past month, a significant and unprecedented event happened, which received close to zero coverage by the corrupt mainstream media.  The amount of the federal government’s “on book” debt owed on behalf of every citizen (every man, woman, retiree and minor child) is now officially over $100,000 each.  How we got to this unprecedented level of debt is easy to discern.  The issue is not due to a “government revenue” problem – – the taxes that taxpayers pay is burdensome enough.  The debt problem continues to grow due to unchecked spending by the government.  As we discussed last month, the unfortunate truth is that the largest portion of this spending is for the Socialist programs known as Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid, and welfare, along with interest on the constantly growing debt.  The government is putting this spending on its “credit card” and is pushing the obligation onto future generations.  It’s no wonder that the government’s credit rating was recently downgraded.

This month, we added a new Conversation Piece to our website.  Fiscally responsible individuals need to “manage their checkbook.”  Unfortunately, the federal government’s financing is upside down (basically, the checkbook balance is zero) so the government finds itself (mis)managing its “debt book.”  We didn’t go all the way back to the start of the government’s debt book, but the link below takes you to a table that shows the progression of the government’s debt amount (which is driven by the spending requests of the Progressive Left) since January 1, 2014.  This “debt book” balance has grown to $33.7 trillion as of November 1, 2023.

www.f2ppr.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/The-Federal-Governments-Debt-Book.xls  

US Debt Clock – – October 1^st – $98,800 per citizen / November 1st – $100,350

E-Newsletter No. 118              October 2023

This month, we were planning to wrap up our observations about the differences in the values that are most important to Leftists and Conservatives.  However, due to the “news” this past month, we decided to address what is happening (or not) in Washington DC.  It seems like nearly everyone in the country (except hard-core Leftists and anarchists) is unhappy with our federal government.  A recent Pew Research Center poll shows near record lows for every branch of the federal government.  Next month, we will discuss the Executive Branch, along with several federal agencies (i.e., the Administrative State aka the Swamp). 

Congress (both the Senate and the House of Representatives) is a mess.  The last time Congress fulfilled its fiscal obligations and passed all twelve appropriations bills prior to September 30^th was in 1997.  For 26 years, this dysfunction has led to government shutdowns, massive Omnibus Spending bills, and Continuing Resolutions.  These bills simply perpetuate the problems that have led to $33.66 trillion of “on book” debt. 

Keep in mind the fact that the twelve appropriations bills do not address the trillions of spending for the Socialist programs called Social Security and Medicare.  The outflow for these programs, plus Medicaid, in the year ended September 30^th totaled over $2.4 trillion.   It is estimated that the unfunded obligations for the promises made under these programs is over $75 trillion, which is over twice the amount of the “on book” debt.  Until these Socialist programs get fundamentally transformed (or eliminated) we will continue to weep for future generations.  But we digress.

In the year just ended, the deficit rose to $1.7 trillion, compared to $1.4 trillion the year before.  Nearly 10% of the cumulative debt has arisen in just the past two years.  Spending was $6.1 trillion and revenues were $4.4 trillion.  The government spent over 35% more than it took in.  The Socialist programs, plus interest on the debt are nearly half of the government’s spending.  These programs and the interest on the debt are on “automatic pilot” and are not separately budgeted.   Which leaves us with the budget process for the other half of the government’s spending to be approved via the twelve appropriations bills.

So…  What are those twelve bills?  We will use “shortened” names, but they describe the nature of the spending.  Our Editorial Board generally supports six of these bills (not necessarily their bloated spending) because they are enumerated in the Constitution – Defense, Homeland Security, Military Spending, the Legislative Branch, Department of State & Foreign Operations, Financial Services & General Government (Treasury, Courts and Executive Branch).  The other six bills are questionable under the Constitution – Agriculture, Labor (which includes Health & Human Services and Education), Energy & Water, Interior, Transportation, and “Commerce” (as currently expansively defined and conducted).

Kevin McCarthy was subjected to 15 rounds of voting in January before he was elected Speaker of the House.  He was elected only after he promised that things would change and twelve appropriations bills would be passed prior to September 30^th.  That didn’t happen, and to a large degree that was due to the Democrats’ resistance to control spending and their demands for more spending on “their” priorities.  Unfortunately, we will “continue to get what we deserve” (and our children and grandchildren will suffer the consequences) until fundamental, lasting change happens in Congress. 

US Debt Clock – – September 1^st – $97,850 per citizen / October 1st – $98,800

E-Newsletter No. 117              September 2023

Last month, we discussed the reason why Socialism has failed in every single instance where it has been tried – (Human Nature).  Each person is an individual with unique talents and needs and wants.  A centrally planned economy is doomed to failure because elites (bureaucrats) will never be able to know what each individual’s abilities or wants might be.

Unfortunately, this has led to a new class struggle in our country, which is between We-the-People versus “them.”  The elitists / bureaucrats in Washington DC will not stop in their attempts to control every aspect of people’s lives.  Soon, we will not be able to drive gasoline-powered automobiles, buy natural gas stoves or incandescent light bulbs, etc. etc.

And why is that?  There is another aspect of Human Nature that has always been lurking in the shadows, but which has now come front and center for everyone to see.  In our February 2018 newsletter, we discussed the Seven Deadly Sins.  In that newsletter, we (“half-jokingly”) made the case that in the commercial / business world “Greed is good.”  But, having said that…  In the government / political world, we believe that Greed is the most deadly of all the deadly sins.  Greed for power is more deadly than greed for money. 

It is becoming readily apparent to We-the-People that we are at a crossroads in our country’s history.  Conservatives have always considered America to be great.  However, our country is currently in decline, and we need to make it great again.  Conservatives have always thought our Constitution was great, but the unrelenting onslaught by the “progressive” movement to fundamentally transform our country has led to several significant deviations from our founding principles.  It is readily apparent that our federal government is absolutely NOT great anymore because of the progressive movement, and this is why the current approval rating for each and every single element of the federal government is at an all-time low.

The greed for power and control has also led to a disproportionate amount of wealth being funneled to the elites in Washington DC.  Big Government Socialists want you to focus on the wealth earned by capitalists, rather than focus on the inhabitants of the swamp (i.e., the elected and appointed officials and the members of the Administrative State).  That accumulation of power has facilitated that accumulation of wealth.  Socialism always leads to greed for power.  Modern-day Marxists (and RINOs) choose to ignore that aspect of human nature.  They desperately want to hold on to that power, and that is the reason why we get the likes of Diane Feinstein, Chuck Schumer, Mitch McConnell, Nancy Pelosi, “the big guy”, etc. etc.

There are three planks in the Convention of States resolution – Term Limits, Fiscal Responsibility, and Reducing the size and scope of the federal government.  All three planks are more vital than ever, because the new class warfare now being waged is between We-the-People and “them.”

US Debt Clock – – August 1^st – $97,500 per citizen / September 1st – $97,850

E-Newsletter No. 116              August 2023

Last month, we discussed the slight difference between Socialism and Communism, which primarily relates to the process of distributing the outputs of a country’s economy to its citizens.  This month, we will discuss the difference between Socialism/Communism and Free Market Capitalism. 

Karl Marx and Fredrich Engels published The Communist Manifesto in 1848, decades after the end of the French Revolution.  In their view, the French Revolution merely replaced the medieval class struggle between the peasant serfs and the nobility with a new struggle between the working class (the “proletariat”) and the bourgeois owners of capital. Marxists wanted their own revolution to fundamentally transform society, and so they pitted the proletariat against the bourgeois.  However, when that class warfare didn’t ultimately pan out as planned (because of the success of capitalism) they have now had to change tactics.  

Modern-day Marxists (BLM, etc.) have now switched to the issue of racism to stoke the fires of divisiveness.  We also have transgenderism and the LGBTQ+ movement as another means to divide our country’s citizens.  And Marxists will continue to wage war on religious liberty, because according to Karl Marx, “Religion is the opium of the masses.”

Adam Smith published The Wealth of Nations in 1776, having concluded that individual self-interest within an economy (the invisible hand of the marketplace) led to a tremendous societal benefit, facilitated by a mutual interdependence between the producers of economic outputs and the consumers of those outputs.  He advocated that nations would prosper if individual citizens were free to pursue their own self-interests in a free market without government regulations.  This was one of our country’s founding principles under the US Constitution.  The Tenth Amendment specifically restricted the scope of the federal government, leaving the issues pertaining to daily life to We-the-People.

So, why has Socialism / Communism failed so miserably in every single instance where it has been tried?  Human nature.  It is true that people desire “security” – the promise of being taken care of is very appealing (i.e., “to each according to his needs”).  However, each person is an individual with unique talents and needs and wants.  A centrally planned economy is doomed to failure, because elites (bureaucrats) will never be able to know what each individual’s abilities or wants might be.

Unfortunately, that doesn’t stop Marxists / elitists / bureaucrats from trying to control every aspect of people’s lives.  The new class struggle has now become We-the-People versus “them”.  More on that next month.    

US Debt Clock – – July 1^st – $96,500 per citizen / August 1st – $97,500

E-Newsletter No. 115              July 2023

“A Democracy is two wolves and a sheep voting on what to have for lunch” (Author unknown). 

Steven Crowder explained Democratic Socialism in this YouTube video –

In our opinion, the best snippets are the first 30 seconds, and then [1:05-1:34], [6:08-7:17] and [16:44-17:58].

So, if Democratic Socialism is simply Socialism with a deceptive adjective inserted in front of the noun, then how does Socialism differ from Communism?

Under the theory of both Communism and Socialism, the “people” (collectively) own all of the elements of economic production, which are (in theory) shared equally by all citizens.  There is a slight difference between Socialism and Communism in how the output of that economic production is distributed to the people.

Under Socialism, the economic output is (in theory) distributed to individuals according to each individual’s abilities and level of contribution.  However, the “theory” does not address who makes the assessment of the value of each individual’s abilities or the value of their level of contribution.  (That is a topic for next month’s newsletter).

Many of the early Communists derided the above approach and referred to it as Utopian Socialism.  Karl Marx coined the phrase “From each according to his ability, to each according to his needs.”  Again, the issue of who would determine what each individual “needed” was not specifically addressed.  The “easy answer” became that under Communism, the government (or more specifically, the elitists in the government) would make the determination of how the outputs of the economic system would be distributed.  Therefore, under Communism, the government elitists effectively “own” the means of production AND determine how those outputs are to be distributed.

Next month we will discuss Adam Smith and free market capitalism versus Socialism/Communism.  As you can probably deduce already, Free Market Capitalism (individualism) and Socialism/Communism (collectivism) are polar opposites.

US Debt Clock – – June 1^st – $95,025 per citizen / July 1st – $96,500

Here is a side note:  The federal government’s “on book” debt increased from $31.8 trillion as of June 1^st to $32.3 trillion as of July 1^st.  This $500 billion increase in just one month is the single largest monthly increase since May, June and July of 2020 when the federal government was disbursing massive amounts of “COVID cash” and the government shut down the economy, cratering tax revenues. With the suspension of the debt ceiling until 2025, if the federal government were to add $500 billion (nearly $1,500 per citizen) each month for the next 18 months, the debt amount would grow to well over $40 trillion.  Socialists do not have any qualms about stealing that amount of money from future generations.  In fact, they are still angry that minor cuts were made to their grandiose spending plans.

E-Newsletter No. 114               June 2023

Last month’s newsletter was about Individualism versus Collectivism.  So, the question has become – Do our country’s citizens want to continue to place a higher value on personal responsibility and “rugged individualism”, or do we want to succumb to the false promises of Socialism?  There is no doubt that there has been a steady, ongoing effort by dedicated Leftists and their allies in academia and the media to “re-package” and market the “free” benefits of Socialism.  But what exactly are they selling?

Socialism is a political philosophy that is characterized by the collective ownership of the means of production, along with the distribution of those goods and services.  In other words, it is the government (the politicians, the ancillary political “elites” and the bureaucracy) that controls the country’s economy.   

Let’s first address the production of goods and services.  If you simply look at historical outcomes, this has always been the downfall of a Socialist economy.  “Central planning” has never worked very well.  Resource allocation has never been the government’s strong suit.  (Free market capitalism has always been a more effective method of providing the goods and services that consumers want).  A government generally needs to rely on its primary power (which is to coerce) and oftentimes consumers disagree with those decisions.  Unless our current government’s stated objectives change, in a matter of only a few years, we will no longer be able to purchase gasoline powered cars or natural gas stoves. 

On the other hand, Socialists have been much more successful in selling the “benefits” of the way they want to redistribute goods and services.  One of Marxism’s primary tactics is to divide a country’s citizens into “subgroups” and then pit those groups against each other.  Students of history know that the use of this tactic goes back to the mid- to late-1800s – – the proletariat versus the bourgeoisie; workers / unions versus business owners; rich versus poor.  And now the Socialists are pushing for reparations for slavery that ended with the conclusion of the Civil War in 1865.  And the Socialists also believe other citizens should pay off the student loan debt of the people who took out those loans, etc., etc.

Many of these initiatives are simply Socialist politicians buying votes with other people’s money.  As Alexander Tytler Fraser once noted “the majority always votes for the candidates who promise the most benefits from the public treasury.”   Unfortunately, many of our citizens have not yet made the connection that the funds being used to buy those votes are being “borrowed” from our children and grandchildren. 

This past month, the federal government’s debt ceiling crisis was resolved by making the ceiling irrelevant until after the November 2024 elections. We put the word “borrowed” in quotes above, because the more appropriate term would be “stolen.”  A lender in a regular business transaction consciously agrees to make the loan.  That opportunity has never been given to our children / grandchildren who aren’t old enough to vote.

US Debt Clock – – May 1^st – $94,765 per citizen / June 1st – $95,025

E-Newsletter No. 113                May 2023

In decades past, Americans were known for their rugged individualism.  The term had its origins in the American frontier experience.  It meant that an individual was self-reliant and independent from state or government assistance.  Ray Lyman Wilbur, a former Secretary of the Interior, once wrote, “It is common talk that every individual is entitled to economic security. The only animals and birds I know that have economic security are those that have been domesticated—and the economic security they have is controlled by the barbed-wire fence, the butcher’s knife, and the desire of others. They are milked, skinned, egged, or eaten up by their protectors.”

Collectivists (socialists) seem to have a similar goal.  You may recall a few years back (when men were under attack by “woke” Leftists) a new term came into being – toxic masculinity.  A new similar term “toxic individualism” is now in play as well.  A rugged individualist is more than likely a fervent anti-Communist.  Therefore, in order to advance the Socialist agenda, such an individual must now be labeled as being toxic. Socialism demands that a person sacrifice their individualism for the greater good of the collective.  This is the fundamental transformation that the Socialists are trying to achieve.

News update:  It appears that our federal government is merely weeks away from running out of money yet again.  President Biden’s original desire was for a “clean” debt limit increase, with no restrictions on future government spending.  Fortunately, it appears that conservatives in the US House of Representatives are not going to let that happen.  Yes, the debt limit will be increased, as no one wants the federal government to default on its payment obligations.  But hopefully, our federal government will begin to make some fundamental changes to curb future spending. 

Unfortunately, that objective is going to be extremely difficult to achieve, unless the various Socialist programs (Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid) are fundamentally transformed.  These “mandatory” programs are not separately budgeted. They are on automatic pilot, and they represent over 65% of federal government spending.  With the aging of our country’s population, something must change, but career politicians refuse to address the problem.  It is so much easier for them to steal from future generations.  Margaret Thatcher once said, “The problem with Socialism is that you eventually run out of other people’s money.”  Yep.  That happened a long time ago and is the reason why the federal government’s debt limit is north of $31 Trillion and is about to rise yet again.

US Debt Clock – – April 1^st – $94,600 per citizen / May 1st – $94,765