America's Three Main Problems

Currently, America is experiencing several serious economic problems. Does this generation have the courage to make the hard decisions necessary? Rest assured, every problem has a solution, if we have the resolve to do what it takes. In this short article, I would like to list our three most serious political problems and offer possible solutions.

Our second President, John Adams stated: "Our Constitution was made only for a moral and religious people. It is wholly inadequate to the government of any other."

One measure of morality is the level of tax burden; the higher the tax burden; the lower the overall morality of the people. A low tax burden, on the other hand, indicates a high level of basic morality. Why is this? Thomas Jefferson said:

"With all [our] blessings, what more is necessary to make us a happy and a prosperous people? Still one thing more, fellow citizens--a wise and frugal Government, which shall restrain men from injuring one another, shall leave them otherwise free to regulate their own pursuits of industry and improvement, and shall not take from the mouth of labor the bread it has earned. This is the sum of good government, and this is necessary to close the circle of our felicities." --Thomas Jefferson: 1st Inaugural, 1801.

High taxation means that government is taking from the worker and giving to someone else who has not earned it. High taxation leads to redistribution of the wealth. Redistribution of the wealth leads to an oppressed working class and a dependent lower class that can only survive on the wealth of others. Worst of all, high taxation leads to the centralization of power from which no free society can survive.

American’s three Political Problems
1. The federal government has ventured into and controls almost all social spending.
2. Environmental regulations are keeping us from using our natural resources wisely.
3. The breakdown of the family unit.

Why these are Problems
Federal social spending
• Federal spending is out of control with 63 percent of the federal budget allocated for social spending,
• Social spending is the fastest growing portion of the federal budget
• High social spending creates a dependent class
• Social spending is the main cause of our budget deficits and threaten our monetary system
• High rates of social spending centralize power in Washington D.C.
• Social spending takes “from the mouth of labor the bread it has earned” thus discouraging productive work

Environmental regulations
• A nation is wealthy because of its ability to produce
• Production takes place mainly in the big 5 industries – mining, logging, manufacturing, energy production, and agriculture
• Environmental regulations discourage and at times totally prohibit access to our nation’s natural resources
• Senseless environmental regulations increase unemployment, decrease our standard of living, and increase our budget deficits

Family breakdown
High taxes coupled with federal control of social programs cause the family unit to decline
The family is the most efficient social service delivery system ever known to man
Most childhood poverty is found in single parent homes
Most social problems are found in dysfunctional homes

Solutions
Federal spending: transfer social spending to the states. This simple act would reduce overall costs by $700 billion and reduce the federal deficit by 41 percent. How? Federal programs, by their very nature, are more expensive to run than state-run programs. Once federal programs are at the state level, they could be further modified to help people become independent rather than dependent and further reduce costs.

Environmental regulations: move to a more balanced system that protects the environment while still allowing for natural resource usage. The pendulum has swung too far towards environmental protection. It is time to rethink and reform the environmental rules and laws. States should begin to sue the federal government and environmental groups for violating the general welfare clause of the Constitution. Our general welfare is being impacted.

Family Breakdown: reduction of taxes, reform of social service programs, and acknowledgement by national and community leaders of the value of two-parent homes will allow the family to naturally heal itself with no grandiose government programs. Ill conceived government programs have been the problem.

Conclusion
It seems that we have a choice. We can continue the current course and watch the federal government self-destruct or decentralize power, reject redistribution of the wealth as impractical and immoral, and acknowledge the family as a more important tool in solving social problems than federal social programs.

HOW? We need to focus less on the office of president and focus more on Congress and State Legislatures. Do these politicians support and what is their plan to…
• Transfer social programs from the federal to the states?
• Give more control to the states to determine environmental policies?
• Strengthen the family unit?

If you agree with Rep. Steven Thayn’s views on these issues and would like to have more information or copies of this article, please contact him at 208 365-8656 or check out his blog at steven-thayn.blogspot.com or website at thayn4idaho.com