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The Bargain with Government Is Coming Apart
American Thinker ^ | 14 Apr, 2024 | P.F. Kelly, Jr.

Posted on 04/14/2024 5:37:50 AM PDT by MtnClimber

Imagine you are a mouse — a placid little creature — living in a labyrinth. You don’t know it’s a labyrinth; it’s just where you live. You follow a well worn path, meandering along, chasing the red button. The red button provides you with food or whatever makes you happy.

But you’ve started to notice that things are changing. It’s not as good as it used to be in the labyrinth, not as easy to get to the button. And the payoff when you get there isn’t as good anymore. You’re anxious, but you’re not sure what to do. You’re starting to wonder about things. It’s been dawning on you that following the path isn’t getting you anywhere, and you may even be going backwards.

Suddenly you’re presented with a choice: keep running along the same path, or exit the labyrinth. Will you head for the door? Are you nodding yes? Will you do it? What will it take for you to lift up your head and leave the comfortable confines of the labyrinth?

In a recent Substack article, the online commentator Kulak wrote that history is divided into alternating periods of the centralizing or decentralizing of political power, noting that we have been in a period of centralization from 1700 to 1945. That seems about right, although things took a turn for the worse in the short-term after 1945 with the rise of the gargantuan state. Now the cracks in the foundation are beginning to show.

In fact, don’t tell anybody from the Deep State, but decentralization is happening now. The grand bargain the American people made with an expansive federal government is falling apart. The people tolerated big government for a lot of free stuff, but now the government is undermining the bargain

(Excerpt) Read more at americanthinker.com ...


TOPICS: Society
KEYWORDS: deepstate; government; socialcontract
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1 posted on 04/14/2024 5:37:50 AM PDT by MtnClimber
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To: MtnClimber

If the deep state becomes unemployed, the crime rate will explode.


2 posted on 04/14/2024 5:37:59 AM PDT by MtnClimber (For photos of scenery and wildlife, click on my screen name for my FR home page. More photos added.)
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To: MtnClimber

Which is one of the reasons the deep state wants us disarmed and helpless - so that their precious black/illegal alien criminals won’t be deterred from attacking the core populace that made the USA what it was before the Democrats ruined it.


3 posted on 04/14/2024 5:51:41 AM PDT by from occupied ga (Your government is your most dangerous enemy - EVs a solution for which there is no problem)
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To: MtnClimber
The US Federal Government has become horribly corrupt. This is tragic, dangerous, and frightening. It is one of humanity's greatest tragedies.

Note tagline.

4 posted on 04/14/2024 5:52:47 AM PDT by Savage Beast (Trump is a wise Kshatriya battling evil. Wise, benevolent Truth-seekers understand and support him.)
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To: MtnClimber
The only thing that can stop the approaching decentralization of government power is force.
5 posted on 04/14/2024 5:58:56 AM PDT by ComputerGuy (Heavily-medicated for your protection)
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To: MtnClimber

Right on the money. This isn’t the America given to us by the Founding Fathers. The government isn’t even recognizable these. We’ve even got demented tyrants sitting in the White House. The ignorant inhabitants of this country are to blame. We now have millions of retards running around begging for the government to take away all of their rights, their freedoms and their liberties. BEGGIN’ TO BE SLAVES and for just another spoon full of borscht in their bowl.


6 posted on 04/14/2024 5:59:41 AM PDT by FlingWingFlyer (Gun show sales aren't the problem, public school zombies are the problem.)
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Eighty to 90% of the Federal government has no Constitutional authority.

I am a strict constructionist. I am for strictly Constitutional government. 𝐈 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐤 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐲 𝐥𝐚𝐰 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐫𝐞𝐠𝐮𝐥𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐬𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝 𝐡𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐚𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐲 𝐟𝐢𝐫𝐬𝐭 𝐢𝐭𝐞𝐦 𝐰𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐭𝐮𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐝𝐨𝐜𝐮𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭; 𝐔.𝐒. 𝐂𝐨𝐧𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐭𝐮𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧, 𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐭𝐞 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐭𝐮𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧, 𝐨𝐫 𝐥𝐨𝐜𝐚𝐥 𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐢𝐜𝐥𝐞𝐬; 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐯𝐢𝐝𝐞𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐚𝐮𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐫𝐢𝐭𝐲 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐬𝐮𝐜𝐡 𝐥𝐚𝐰 𝐨𝐫 𝐫𝐞𝐠𝐮𝐥𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧. 𝐈𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐚𝐮𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐫𝐢𝐭𝐲 𝐜𝐚𝐧𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐛𝐞 𝐝𝐢𝐫𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐥𝐲, 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐭𝐰𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐦𝐞𝐚𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠, 𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐝, 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐥𝐚𝐰 𝐨𝐫 𝐫𝐞𝐠𝐮𝐥𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐬𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝 𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐧 𝐛𝐞 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐩𝐨𝐬𝐞𝐝 𝐦𝐮𝐜𝐡 𝐥𝐞𝐬𝐬 𝐩𝐚𝐬𝐬𝐞𝐝.


7 posted on 04/14/2024 6:16:46 AM PDT by StrictConstructionist
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To: from occupied ga

the governments final power grab will happen once military robots and drones become the norm. At that point the government will no longer have to worry about soldiers following orders and we will slip into endless totalitarianism


8 posted on 04/14/2024 6:20:23 AM PDT by TexasFreeper2009
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To: StrictConstructionist

The first Tea Party Congress instituted that. At the time there was enough likeminded GOP to put it in place. The minute control was lost to Pelosi and her ilk it was removed. Since then, even with the occasional GOP control there hasn’t been enough GOP’ers of the Tea Party mind to put it back.


9 posted on 04/14/2024 6:21:26 AM PDT by Reily (!!)
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To: MtnClimber
Murphy's Law: This law states that "anything that can go wrong will go wrong." In the context of centralized power, this could mean that any attempt to centralize power will eventually lead to negative consequences.

Gall's Law, which states that "a complex system that works is invariably found to have evolved from a simple system that worked." This suggests that centralized power structures are likely to be less efficient and effective than decentralized ones, as they are more complex and prone to errors.

Augustine's 16th Law, which states that "in any complex system there is a critical point where adding more people makes the system less efficient." This suggests that as power becomes more centralized, the government may become less efficient and responsive to the needs of the people.

The Law of Unintended Consequences: This law states that actions, even with good intentions, can have unintended consequences. In the context of centralized power, this could mean that attempts to improve the lives of citizens through centralized planning could actually lead to negative outcomes.

The Iron Law of Oligarchy: This law, developed by Robert Michels, states that all organizations, regardless of their initial intentions, will eventually become oligarchies, where power is concentrated in the hands of a few. This suggests that centralized power structures are likely to become undemocratic and unresponsive to the needs of the people.

10 posted on 04/14/2024 6:22:21 AM PDT by mjp (pro-freedom & pro-wealth $)
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To: MtnClimber
The people tolerated big government for a lot of free stuff, but now the government is undermining the bargain

There never was any free stuff. It was just paid for by plundering others, or selling generations unborn down the river in debt slavery.

11 posted on 04/14/2024 6:55:09 AM PDT by EnderWiggin1970
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To: TexasFreeper2009

Drones and robots have to have controllers. And those controllers will have bosses. All vulnerable to various things. But they won’t rely on those. The have their totally corrupt FBI, ATF, etc. who will follow any order kind of like Hitler’s SS or Stalin’s NKVD. One day these minions will go to kill some totally paranoid prepped who actually prepared for them and things won’t go their way. At this point they MIGHT realize they’re outnumbered about 100 to 1 and back off, but probably they’ll double down on repression.


12 posted on 04/14/2024 6:58:49 AM PDT by from occupied ga (Your government is your most dangerous enemy - EVs a solution for which there is no problem)
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To: MtnClimber

.


13 posted on 04/14/2024 7:00:12 AM PDT by sauropod (Ne supra crepidam)
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To: MtnClimber; from occupied ga; Savage Beast; ComputerGuy; FlingWingFlyer; StrictConstructionist; ...
In our Republic, there fundamentally exists a two-part covenant between a legitimate government and the citizenry.

There are many factors binding citizens who agree to be ruled, to those they elect to rule them, but when it comes to the foundational elements to hold up that compact, I believe there are only two that MUST be met for our system to work, and they are as follows:

  1. The elections that elect those we agree to be governed by must be free and fair.

  2. Those who govern must live by the same laws as those they govern.

In my eyes, it is that simple.

And both components of that covenant have been broken. We no longer have a legitimate government.

14 posted on 04/14/2024 7:06:50 AM PDT by rlmorel (In Today's Democrat America, The $5 Dollar Bill is the New $1 Dollar Bill.)
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To: StrictConstructionist

Eighty to 90% of the Federal government has no Constitutional authority.

############

Agreed. But there is a fly in the ointment.

The federal government is NOT allowed to rule over whatever it wishes, just because they can muster a majority vote in Congress. Where in the hell did our rulers in Congress give themselves the authority to outlaw incandescent light bulbs and require seat belts? By definition, the feds can do only what the Constitution says in writing they can do, and nothing more. (Please read the Ninth and Tenth Amendments.)

But there are a few things that the Constitution does not allow that we might not want to give up. For example, the Constitution does not mention Social Security, so by all rights it should be ended. All things “environmental” see no mention in the Constitution, so we should see no impact.

I can see Strict Construction, but…


15 posted on 04/14/2024 7:07:43 AM PDT by DNME (… all experience hath shewn … )
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To: rlmorel

Some pushback is called for. I’m not sure what form(s) it should take.


16 posted on 04/14/2024 7:16:17 AM PDT by ComputerGuy (Heavily-medicated for your protection)
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To: from occupied ga

that is just it though. What I was referring to is a point in time where all those drones and robots will follow the presidents orders without anyone else involved in the control and the robots/drones will outnumber people 100 to 1.


17 posted on 04/14/2024 7:25:22 AM PDT by TexasFreeper2009
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To: ComputerGuy

There are a lot of us who feel that way, FRiend.

A lot of us.


18 posted on 04/14/2024 7:28:55 AM PDT by rlmorel (In Today's Democrat America, The $5 Dollar Bill is the New $1 Dollar Bill.)
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To: MtnClimber

Like Trumps comments on abortion or not, states rights are our best weapon against the federal administrative state. The government that is closest to you is always better than one further away.


19 posted on 04/14/2024 7:30:27 AM PDT by bigbob
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To: from occupied ga

Now I know why Jao needed 80,000 new armed IRS agents, he wants a American style Stasi.


20 posted on 04/14/2024 7:34:56 AM PDT by ABN 505 (Right is right if nobody is right, and wrong is wrong if everybody is wrong. ~Archbishop Fulton John)
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