Tipping Point

People often say that, in a democracy, decisions are made by a majority of the people. Of course, that is not true. Decisions are made by a majority of those who make themselves heard and who vote - a very different thing.        ~Walter H. Judd

Have we reached a point where the average citizen cannot be trusted to vote in the best interest of the survival of the United States as envisioned by our founders and as built over the first 200 years or so? Could the popular vote lead us down a path to ruin? Has the Left created and conditioned a populace to vote for all the wrong things and for all the wrong reasons? There is no question at all that through bad immigration policies, intentional race hustling and class justice distortion we now have a public all too willing to lead us further away from the hard working, capitalist nation so wisely crafted by our founding fathers. The Left contorts our best freedoms into our worst excuses for compromise, intrusion, and pursuit of all kinds of ruinous policy in the name of “social justice”.

Today the Left tries to position an obvious spending problem as a revenue generation problem. We’ve spent tax revenues on an endless array of bottomless government programs for decades. Our current administration is making that legacy problem disappear, not through the abolishment of fruitless programs, but by creating such an enormous budgetary crisis over the last 2 years that we will all soon forget about the comparatively minor debt issues of the recent past. Blaming our alarming national debt on lack of revenue is like blaming your employer for your gambling problem and insisting on a raise as the only way to maintain your downward debt spiral and feed your fun recreational pursuits.

Spending escalation predictably put us in a position where, finally, maybe we are nearing a point when enough productive Americans will no longer be willing to foot the bill. According to the Committee on Joint Taxation, 51 percent -- that is, a majority of American households pay no income tax. What’s more, things have gotten so askew that 30 percent of American households actually make money from the tax system through tax credits like the Earned Income Tax Credit. Think about that for a second. The Obama administration’s social engineering approach is bringing us nearer to socialism, or at least to a point where people can become comfortable with accepting that those that contribute are no different than those that simply consume. With 51 percent on the consuming only side today, I fear we have passed a frightful milestone where average Americans can no longer be expected to take pride in their own growth and accomplishment instead, but seem more interested in what other Americans should provide for them with no strings attached. This imbalance cannot be sustained for very long. There are no government models, or, more importantly, human behavior models that allow for this imbalance to go uncorrected.

Even though I’m busy for 10-12 hours every day generating significant revenue for the IRS, I do get occasion to watch TV news, visit internet sites and experience for myself how the other half lives. In the last year or so I began watching the show Pawn Stars on the History Channel. This is a reality show where we get to peek into the business of a Las Vegas based pawn shop. The show can be interesting from a historical/educational perspective as well as a business perspective. Supply and demand are both in full effect in the pawn business. This show led me to another show called Hard Core Pawn. This one is based in a tough neighborhood in Detroit and instead of focus on the historical angle; we get a view of the human side, the tougher side of the pawn business. I tuned into this show with no expectations, except perhaps I thought that I would see interesting items being brought in sale, like the Las Vegas show. After watching only a single show I was surprised by one thing in particular. Very commonly the destitute, inner city, pawn shop patrons literally DEMAND a certain amount of money for their usually worthless jewelry, electronics or other similar items. The scenario too often goes like this---A patron wants to sell to the store a gold chain or watch. Very often the item is of much lower quality and value than the patron believes or claims. The pawn show owner or employee offers, say, $30 for the item. The patron wants more money, perhaps $150, and says “you can’t offer me $30, you will give me $150.” The employee responds that it is not worth that much and that the offer of $30 is more than fair. The angry customer quickly escalates by pointing out how unfair it is that this business is in their neighborhood and needs to “help” out the customers whether or not it is good for business. Time and time again the belligerent patrons insinuate or flat out say that this pawn shop is not in fact a business but a public service. I can’t help but wonder if these people even realize the absurdity of asking a family business, based on the hard realities of profit & loss, to forgo its own interests and instead give money to a stranger. I am convinced that these customers simply do not understand the basics of running a business or even personal financial management.

I can only guess as to why so many people from a central American city (like me) and likely from the public school system (like me) fail to recognize something so obvious and crucial to survival in our country. I have to think that they don’t see much capitalism at home in their formative years. High unemployment and higher public program dependence teaches children at a very early age that it is very normal to have a paycheck, food and shelter without having a job. I also suspect the highly unionized and failing inner city schools are missing the point too.

Now, I know that a TV show doesn’t speak for an entire nation, but these behaviors are hard to ignore, and are hardly surprising. I somehow doubt that they are isolated to a small business in Detroit too. I see similar behavior throughout the United

States from picket lines to corporate hallways where many employees act as though employment is a right instead of a means to generate capital for a business and oneself. Even if this sense of entitlement has not yet reached a majority of Americans it can certainly be defined as “normal”. Normal in the sense that it is a common enough occurrence that we all recognize. Have we reached a tipping point where the direction of our nation consistent with the constitution cannot be trusted to the average voter? This is scary to even think about. Some of the possible solutions, like limiting who can vote, don’t seem very American either. Nations reaching such a precipice often have serious civil instability and this can often lead to civil war. Exercising the right to vote is a very serious responsibility, one that not all people approach with the same care. As the next presidential election approaches we are all faced with what could very likely be a decision of epic importance. Indeed, I can only hope that we aren’t reaching a point where those trusted with the keys to our future don’t drive us over the cliff.