Do We Really Need Politicians in America?

Here's an extreme thought: Do we really need politicians? I'm talking about the usefulness of politicians themselves. Are politicians necessary? Or perhaps more importantly, are they harmful to uniquely American freedoms?

Consider a few points in my proposal, and afterward, feel free to throw in your two cents as well. For starters, don't we have enough laws on the books already? Living in America today means to live in the "land of the free," where all of us citizens endure an ever-growing list of thousands and thousands of burdensome laws. The volume of legislation is so heavy, in fact, it's almost impossible to live in any manner, without violating the law in some way.

And whom is it creating these laws? The politician, although they themselves seem to often behave as if they are somehow above their own legislation. We citizens are under so many requirements we almost have to have government permission to do anything. Want to marry the person you love? Want to drive a car? Want to own a business and work for yourself? Want to feed, or house, the homeless?

All of these actions (and so many more) require permission (license) from a government official, in some way or another. Montesquieu is quoted as having said, "Useless laws weaken the necessary laws," and we see now, he was correct.

While some may claim the actions of government bureaucrats are well intended, there is much disagreement. Even Justice Casey Percell said once, "It is not the responsibility of the government or the legal system to protect a citizen from himself." Too many people wanting power over others, put up a facade of false servitude.

Behind the laws which are enacted, supposedly, to protect various special interest groups, lie in wait rules and regulations which seem to serve only the purpose of eliminating individual liberties. As individual liberties die, one by one, the only special interest group which will benefit will be the ruling elite . Were individual liberties protected, special interest groups themselves would be altogether unnecessary.

Why not simply enforce the laws on the books now, rather than creating fraud after deception as justification to create more laws, and therefore justify a politician's tax-funded employment? It seems to be the case, whenever someone opens a statement with "There ought to be a law," there probably ought not. Again, I must defer to someone who lived before the invention of the modern, uninformed, and timid American, Tacitus. He's credited with saying, "The more corrupt a government, the more it legislates."

The only justification for a politician's job, is to create more legislation, which serves to further justify their position. C.S. Lewis said it better than any of us ever could when he said, "The expanding bureaucracy is expanding to meet the needs of the expanding bureaucracy." While his message brings a giggle, it's only funny because it is true.

The next point to raise here is that politicians cost money. In the roughest economy this country has seen in many decades, we need to save money whenever and wherever we can. Rather than taking anything away from our very-necessary military, education, or the ability to help our fellow countrymen who've fallen upon hard financial times, let's consider eliminating the heaviest drain on our finances; the politicians themselves.

The amounts paid in salary, benefits, and retirement to the thousands of federal and state-level politicians in America might not be enough to balance the budget alone. But with politicians out of the picture, gone are the hidden pork in new legislation. Gone are the seemingly never-ending campaigns for re-election of career politicians and their efforts to buy votes with your money (our money). Gone are the staff, expense accounts, lobbying, over-priced purchases, no-bid contracts to "buddies" of the "good-ole-boy network" of all political parties, redundant government agencies, and the very need for a considerable portion of taxes themselves. Why do we pay for the "privilege" of being abused like subjects of a despotic king?

As for budgets, emergencies, responses to military threats, or the legitimate need for any new laws, we can have politicians on-call, so to speak. We do not really even need a president. Our law enforcement agencies will suffice to protect property and lives (and dare I say, would likely do a better job without more and more burdens being dumped on them constantly). Our wonderful military would keep our shores safe from invasion. As for defining right from wrong...seriously...do you really believe politicians are the ones we should trust with that? For the life of me, I simply do not understand what effective and productive purpose politicians serve, when it comes down to it.

Please understand; I'm not talking about any sort of overthrow, or coup, of the government. I'm suggesting we fire them all as full-time employees of our country. Keep a few on call, but other than that, we have suffered enough from those who claim to want to serve their country, when what they really want is undeserved power, and wealth which someone else earned. I'm not calling for "change" from the left, to the right, and back to the left, like we've had all too often already.

We must stop treating just the symptoms of the ills affecting our nation's health, and we must treat the condition itself. We would be the world's first example of true individual liberty, and may very well inspire the people of other countries to cast off their parasitical elite, as well. Replace them all with nothing, or at least as little as is truly necessary. Government is nothing more than an idea, and we've all been sold a bill of goods by politicians.