I am referring to the ballooning government of today’s mega-state.  As an especially valid example, I propose the current sales tax here in California.  When I was a mere child, the tax rate went from 3 percent to 4 percent — and the squeals of displeasure were deafening.  Nowadays, the rate is 10 percent and more, depending on local add-ons.  Loyal defenders of big government will reflexively point to the cumulative effects of inflation to justify the decades-long ratcheting up of sales tax.  They are ignorant of economics, let alone simple arithmetic.  Sales tax is immune to inflation because it is value-added onto the retail price of a purchase.

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This is not to justify strict anarchy — the total abolition of government — but rather minarchy: the minimization of government to what is necessary to provide for national defense, public safety, and common area maintenance.  Back in 1957, an apostate former communist named Karl Wittfogel proposed that the origin of government began long ago in China as a necessary means to develop regional irrigation systems so as to support the necessary expansion of agriculture.

The Trump presidency has moved relief from the burden of oversized and expensive government to the front burner.  Never before has it been made so obvious that so much of our public sector is populated by legions of useless hacks.  After Musk’s employment of DOGE to remove thousands of unnecessary tax-supported dysfunctionaries, no diminution of essential service ensued.  Gee, go figure.

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Coupled with this are the fraud and embezzlement that happen when mountains of taxpayer money are moved around with a minimum of scrutiny.  As this process continues, it is obvious that several years remain for a satisfactory conclusion to occur.  Meanwhile, we can take some ironic solace in knowing that our European “friends” have been punished even more by this process.  Just recently this comparison was emphasized by the influx of foreign tourism due to the World Cup competition.  Even lamestream media outlets couldn’t help but report on the awe expressed by European visitors over American comfort and abundance that are easily available to tourists.

It is not necessary for the expansion of the demonic mega-state to continue.  The innocent humans caught in the squeeze deserve protection from the loss of personal sovereignty, let alone of the standard of living that comes with the expansion of the mega-state that taxes away more and more of private wealth.

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It is obviously not enough to just complain.  Thus, I suggest eliminating many of the Cabinet-level departments that were spawned in reaction to various perceived issues.  Homeland Security was the “don’t just stand there — do something” response to September 11.  We already had an FBI, CIA, FAA, etc.  Just more administrative clutter really doesn’t help much, if at all.  The Department of Education was cynically invented to improve Jimmy Carter’s access to teachers’ union war chests in his failed attempt at re-election in 1980.

Why not go back to the original four departments: State, Treasury, War, and Attorney General?  I would also be so generous as to add Interior — both because of the enormous land holdings of the federal government and as a convenient aegis under which to park the otherwise orphaned agencies that may still have some actual reason to remain active.  Unfortunately, our political establishment would be tasked with making those determinations...but it’s not a perfect world.

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Image: PublicDomainPictures via Pixabay, Pixabay License.

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