Overview

The problem Why does the United States government spend money like there is no tomorrow? Why are states like California, New York, and Michigan always on the verge of bankruptcy? The reason is that representative democracy contains structural mal incentives. These incentives motivate legislators to approve excessive spending to support causes that will please constituent groups. In addition, Modern Monetary Theory has been gaining popularity. MMT proponents claim that the U.S. can spend far more lavishly than it currently does, rendering the conventional constraints of budgeting obsolete. The solution In this groundbreaking book, computer scientist and political scholar Philip Bitar explains the fundamental principles of governance and fiat money. Dr. Bitar analyzes the tradeoffs of representative democracy vs. direct democracy, showing that voter incentives are different in the two systems. Bitar improves an initiative strategy that was effective in Washington State, revealing that a focused use of direct democracy will solve the mal incentives of representative democracy. Since the problem of excessive spending is due to structural mal incentives, a constitutional amendment is necessary to change the structure in order to change the incentives. The structural change will specify an initiative process that gives the citizens control of a ceiling on the ability of the government to take their money and incur debt. The ceiling is a % of GDP. Bitar also shows that MMT proponents do not understand how fiat money works and how it should be managed. Bitar explains how we can minimize the size and cost of government to make government fiscally responsible and minimally intrusive. Approval strategy We start in the 18 states that allow state constitutional amendments by initiative, thereby allowing the respective citizens to implement a ceiling on the ability of their state government to take their money and incur debt. This will naturally appeal to the people since they must earn the money. Starting here, we build grassroot popularity that will eventually transform all 50 states and the nation as a whole. Thus, we build momentum for a federal amendment by first proving the concept in the states, thereby benefiting the states along the way. This is how women obtained approval of a federal amendment securing their right to vote. Antebellum mob rule In the foregoing analysis, Bitar reveals that representative democracy necessarily operates by mob rule, whereas direct democracy with the secret ballot prevents mob rule. Bitar illustrates this point, as follows. Terrified that the Haitian slave revolt (1791-1804) would inspire their slaves, southern slaveowners imposed a cancel culture in their states, preventing discussion of alternatives to slavery. This repression continued decade-after-decade, growing worse over time, and eventually took hold in the U.S. House of Representatives in 1836. The effort to repeal the gag rules was led by John Quincy Adams and took nearly a decade to succeed. Over the decades of imposing a cancel culture in the southern states, the slaveowners became ever more entrenched in their slaveholding mindset. The climax came in 1861: 70 years after the start of the Haitian slave revolt, seven slave states seceded. By then, 75% of southern families owned no slaves, but due to the mob rule of the slaveholding minority via representative democracy, the nonslaveholding majority was politically impotent. By contrast, direct democracy with the secret ballot would have enabled the nonslaveholding men to serve the interests of their families by voting to oppose secession. For more info, visit www.ThePeoplesAmendment.com. To get the latest version, order the book new from Amazon directly because they print it when you order it.

Full Product Details

9780578856292

Table of Contents

Reviews

Author Information

Tab Content 6

Countries Available