Democracy Not!

Democracy is a political system in which the supreme power lies in the majority of citizens who can elect people to represent them. Democracy is based on the Majority Rule, which is the doctrine that the numerical majority of an organized group can make decisions binding on the whole group.

An Oligarchy is a form of government where power effectively rests with a small elite segment of society. It is a type of authoritarianism.

Democracy is said to have arisen in Athens in the fifty Century B.C. For the first time in human history, every citizen had an equal voice in government. This is the foundation of our government in the United States. Democracy is a process in which free citizens flock to the poles to elect individuals who in turn represent their interests in the government.

The founding fathers also created a Constitution containing a Bill of Rights in which every elected official swears an oath of office to uphold. Elected officials have no power to amend the Constitution unless they build a consensus of a ¾ majority of both Houses in Congress. So politicians cannot decide which part of the Constitution to apply nor can they ignore parts of it which they do not like; if they do it is considered treasonous.

Yet for the past century, the decisions made by our politicians do not reflect those of the Constitution or those of the electing majority. It seems our government constantly rules in favor of moneyed interests, also know as the elite, by creating laws contrary to the Constitution and contrary to the majority who elected them. How did this happen? It all started in 1914 with the creation of the Federal Reserve Act.

"I am a most unhappy man. I have unwittingly ruined my country. A great industrial nation is controlled by its system of credit. Our system of credit is concentrated. The growth of the nation, therefore, and all our activities are in the hands of a few men. We have come to be one of the worst ruled, one of the most completely controlled and dominated Governments in the civilized world no longer a Government by free opinion, no longer a Government by conviction and the vote of the majority, but a Government by the opinion and duress of a small group of dominant men." Woodrow Wilson, after signing the Federal Reserve into existence.

Woodrow Wilson realized after signing the Federal Reserve Act (FRA) he unwittingly ended Democracy and created an oligarchy. In fact, if you read the last few words, “a Government by the opinion and duress of a small group of dominant men” it is the exact definition of an oligarchy. It is very important to understand the Federal Reserve Bank (FRB) is a PRIVATELY held bank; it is not controlled or administered by the government. The FRA gives the power of creating money to a small elite group of unelected officials who then charge our government interest on this money. This interest is the National Debt. If there was no FRB there would be no National Debt (there actually would be a little debt but no where near what it is today).

“If the American people ever allow the banks to control the issuance of their currency, first by inflation and then by deflation, the banks and corporations that will grow up around them will deprive the people of all property, until their children will wake up homeless on the continent their fathers occupied.” Thomas Jefferson

“When a government is dependent upon bankers for money, they and not the leaders of the government control the situation, since the hand that gives is above the hand that takes. Money has no motherland; financiers are without patriotism and without decency; their sole object is gain.” Napoleon Bonaparte

So how do we break an oligarchy? It is difficult but it can be done. First of all, there should be an amendment to the Constitution eliminating all campaign contributions including gifts and favors of any kind for elected officials or their family, friends, and associates. Instead a portion of tax payer money should be evenly divided among the candidates for campaigning. The penalties for violating this law would be immediate expulsion from office and a very long prison term. This would force our elected officials to be honest. Laws would no longer be only for the profitability of the elite but for the voting majority.

“It is well enough that people of the nation do not understand our banking and monetary system, for if they did, I believe there would be a revolution before tomorrow morning.” Henry Ford.

“A business that makes nothing but money is a poor business.” Thomas Jefferson

Secondly, the Federal Reserve Act should be repealed and the Federal Reserve Bank transformed into a non-profit institution; all debt owed to this institution by the government would be forgiven. Salaries of FRB executives would be regulated and capped. Interest rates for all consumer loans would be capped and lowered to a more reasonable rate allowing people to get out of debt. Because of the lower interest rates you could pay off your debt sooner and possibly retire.

These two simple changes would be enough to end the oligarchy and return our country to a true Democracy. As it stands today we have no Democracy. Our elected officials cast votes in favor of the elite few who spend billions in lobbying to get their way. The politicians have no desire to change anything as they get wealthy in the process.

There is no transparency in government anymore which causes conspiracy theorists concoct crazy schemes. Obama promised transparency in government while campaigning, yet he blocked the release of photos proving the previous administration broke the law by torturing, and he will not release the names of individuals who meet with him in the White House even though the Supreme Court ruled twice that it is public information.

I thought an Obama presidency would mean real change but so far the only thing which changed in the White House is the name on the door. He has yet to stand up to the bankers, who received hundreds of billions in bail out money. He has yet to stand up to the military who are still using our men to increase the profitability of big oil companies. He has yet to stand up to the CIA, who still run an illegal surveillance program on US citizens, He has yet to stand up to Wall Street by enacting tough regulations like we had after the Great Depression; he can begin by closing the Enron loophole. Guantanamo Bay is still in operation.

In a recent gallop pole, 72% of Americans want some kind of public option in the new healthcare reform bill. The jury is still out on healthcare but if the billions in lobbying being spent by the insurance companies are any indication, the middle class will lose again. I am using this issue as my barometer to measure the Obama Administration and Democrats in general. If they can get healthcare with a public option then I feel things will change, if not then that will be proof that there is no difference between Democrats and Republicans.