[papertyger]

I agree that the bureaucrats, all the massive bureaucracies, and many, if not most, of the relationships congresscritters have with them, are indeed a much larger problem.

So how do propose to "trim the hedges" unless you first remove their powerful guardians?

[PGR88]

So how do propose to "trim the hedges" unless you first remove their powerful guardians?

As long as we have a fiat, unbacked currency, and a Federal Reserve - it means government, can basically fund itself with printed money and massive debt - hunan nature is such that congressman will promise everything to everyone, as they do now.

Return to a truly free-market currency, and government would then have to literally compete with citizens for money and interest rates. Market discipline would force government to run balanced budgets, except in very extreme circumstances.