“My dream is of a place and a time where America will once again be seen as the last best hope of earth.” – Abraham Lincoln (R), 16th president of the United States.
Any person who looks objectively at the condition of the United States of America today will see a nation that is in mortal peril. There are many factors that point to this conclusion, and here we will recap but a few.
While the problems we face today are the fruit of bipartisan failures, and while I still have hope for the Republican Party, the once-proud Democrat Party has been hijacked by the most extreme elements and taken in a completely wrong direction. The root cause of these problems is the “progressive” ideology that has taken hold of our politics and culture, and which must be relegated to the ash heap of history.
It will not be easy, but to preserve the “last best hope of earth” we must at least try to turn things around.
The State of the United States
Several criteria can measure the health of a nation, and here we will look at a few:
- The economy and GDP.
- Government size, spending and debt.
- The banking system.
- Home ownership.
- Crime rates, particularly violent crime.
- Political stability.
The Economy
As of the middle of 2023, after 2 years of the term of Joe “The Big Guy” Biden (D), our economy is in serious trouble. While U.S. Gross Domestic Product has grown since 2020 (mostly due to recovery from the slowdown caused by government mandates in relation to the COVID pandemic), inflation in 2021 rose to levels not seen in decades. High inflation is detrimental because it erodes our savings, makes everything cost more, and over time will cause GDP to drop.
Most of the causes of this historic inflation are directly due to policy decisions by the ruling Democratic Party. (Despite the current slim majority the Republicans have in the House, Democrats still control the Senate and the presidency). These policy choices are largely driven by their cultic belief in anthropogenic climate change, their ideological mania for “equity” and their dystopian vision of a “progressive” future.
While it is in trouble, our economy is so resilient that it still continues to grow, albeit slowly. It boggles the mind to think of how much growth and prosperity we would experience – for everyone on the economic spectrum – if our economy was free to realize its potential.
Government Size, Spending and Debt
The brilliant men who founded this country believed in limited government and wrote a constitution that left us one. Sadly, over time our governments at all levels have grown considerably in size, scope and functions. Our federal government, in particular, has grown far, far beyond the small, limited entity designed in the Constitution.
Today, the federal government is the largest landowner in America (640 million acres, or 28% of the land), the largest employer (US based employees) and the largest tenant (over 43 million square feet!).
In fiscal year 2023, the United States government has spent $3,611,239,136,330 “…to ensure the well-being of the people of the United States.” (According to them). Only 20% of the categories in the chart below are for what I would consider the proper functions of government. The remaining 80% is way outside what our Founding Fathers envisioned. (Note: nowhere in our founding documents is the mission of government defined as “ensuring the well-being of the people of the United States.)
That $3.6 trillion number is HUGE. Put another way, that amounts to $18,007 per taxpayer. But the government only collected $2,686,716,213,530 in “revenue” for FY 2023. ($13,397 per taxpayer). The difference – $924,522,922,800 – is funded by borrowing money.
The national debt, which is the amount of money the federal government has borrowed to cover the outstanding balance of expenses over time, is $31,462,676,535,393 (or $156,890 per taxpayer). By contrast, the entire value of the U.S. GDP in 2022 was $26,140,000,000,000 which means that our national debt is roughly 20% higher than the value of the entire economy.
If your personal debt was 20% higher than the value of everything you owed, you’d be bankrupt. The United States is heading toward bankruptcy and it will happen sooner or later. The periodic debt ceiling fights are like chest pains – a symptom of something that can be harmful or even fatal. Unless we change course, our government will default, our economy will suffer, and we personally will suffer as well.
The Banking System
The banking system under Joe Biden and the Democrats is very shaky. The failures of Silicon Valley Bank and Signature Bank in New York, followed by the fire sale of First Republic Bank to JPMorgan Chase were due to rising interest rates which in turn were due to the Federal Reserve Bank trying to tame inflation which is directly attributable to Democrat policies and their anti-fossil fuel agenda.
These banks had invested their excess cash in what were considered to be the safest debt securities in the world – US Treasuries – but when interest rates started to rise, their value declined. When big depositors got scared and started pulling their money, the run was on. Now, thanks to how the crisis was handled, US taxpayers are effectively on the hook for all bank deposits, not just those over $250,000. This serves to increase the risk of the entire banking system.
Housing
Under President Trump, home ownership had started to recover from the dip caused by the 2008-2009 financial crisis (which itself was caused by “progressive” lending policies). However, with rising interest rates and shortages of housing stock, home ownership is getting more expensive and more out of reach for younger people.
Cities like Denver have chronic shortages of “affordable” housing. Why? Government policies regarding zoning and limiting growth are the biggest culprits. Add on layers of regulations and “green” requirements, and housing construction becomes even more expensive and difficult.
Over time, thanks to the general inflation that is always present in the economy, real estate including single family homes tends to increase in price. When supply is artificially constrained, prices go up even more. This is one reason that it is so difficult for young people to purchase their first home, and why there is increasing demand for government assistance in securing housing.
Of course, as we saw this last Colorado legislative session, leftists want everyone living in densely populated cities that are “walkable” and to get us out of our cars.
Cities that leftists do not run seem to have plenty of housing. Here in Oklahoma City, I see new development going on all over. Some of it is apartment construction, but most of it is single family homes.
Crime and More Crime
One of the big stories recently in Colorado and nationally is the enormous crime surge. Democrat policies directly contribute to this problem: from soft-on-crime district attorneys, many of whom were funded by the evil George Soros, to reducing penalties for crime, to elimination of cash bail, to removing school resource officers, to demonizing and defunding the police, the crime problems in our nation are just getting worse.
Property crime is spiking in Colorado, as is violent crime, despite all the Democrat-inspired gun control laws. According to a recent report by CBS News, Colorado leads the nation in violent crime victimizations. As Estes Park Police Chief Dave Hayes elaborates, “…state lawmakers have only weakened many criminal justice statutes…including de-criminalizing several drugs.” Hayes further notes that “…lawmakers have also reduced penalties for many crimes, which may dissuade victims from reporting. A bill this year would prevent arrests of anyone 12 and under except for murder. Another bill would prevent arrests for lower-level offenses including third-degree assault, fourth-degree arson and trespassing.”
HB23-1249 is a great example of how Democrats are exactly wrong on crime. Thinking critically about the outcome of this bill makes it clear that juvenile gangs and other criminals will recruit and train children under age 13 to commit violent (and other) crimes, knowing that they cannot be prosecuted. As for a victim, it doesn’t matter if the perpetrator who injured or stole from you is 12 or 60. You still have been wronged. I expect crime to get worse, not better, now that 1249 has been signed into law. It’s extremely disappointing that two of the prime sponsors were Republicans who teamed up with two of the most “progressive” lawmakers in the General Assembly.
Last year, the Common Sense Institute published a white paper on Crime In Colorado, noting that “Crime rates in Colorado continue to top pre-pandemic levels…Compared to other states, Colorado ranks first in motor vehicle theft and second in property crimes.” The report continues to note that the Colorado State Patrol is “…on track to seize 300% more illicit fentanyl this year than last.” (Because Democrats largely decriminalized fentanyl possession). I suggest reading this paper. It is highly illuminating and very depressing.
Crime is a big problem in other Democrat-run cities and states. Recently major retailers including Walgreens, Walmart, CVS, Nordstrom and Whole Foods have announced the closure of stores in several Democrat bastions like Chicago, Portland and San Francisco. What does this mean? It means that lower income people (many of whom are people of color), will be living in “food deserts”, where it is difficult or impossible to find affordable food without driving a long way. For those who rely on public transportation or bicycles (which is what the Left wants for all of us) it is even worse. Democrat policies lead to outcomes that directly harm the people they most pretend to care about. It’s tragic, unnecessary and so sad.
More and more wealthy and middle class folks are fleeing Democrat-run cities and states. Recently the Wall Street Journal reported on how IRS data shows that people are fleeing high-tax states for low or no tax states. Newsweek, hardly a right-wing publication, reports on how crime is making Americans flee Democratic States. Unfortunately, many of those who flee Democrat states for Republican states don’t learn from their mistakes, and continue to vote for Democrats, turning those states purple. It’s so frustrating to watch. Which is why Oklahoma is terrible. Don’t move here.
When the more well-off flee, they take their taxes with them. For example, people who escaped from Illinois and New York earned over $30,000 or more than the people who migrated in, according to the Wall Street Journal. This means that there is less tax revenue for blue cities and states, which leads to decaying infrastructure, cuts in services and policing, and calls to increase taxes yet further, driving even more people out and contributing to an overall downward spiral. The answer that makes the most sense – cutting taxes and government spending – never occurs to the Left.
Political Stability
One of the hallmarks of a healthy country is political stability, and for most of our history, the United States has enjoyed a high level of political stability. Indeed, one of the best features about America is the way we have peaceful elections and transfers of power. In America, the loser in the presidential election concedes gracefully to the winner – except if you’re Al Gore in 2000 or Donald Trump in 2020. In America, everybody trusts the elections system and has faith that elections are fair. Just kidding.
Public confidence in election integrity has been eroding significantly since the 2000 presidential election, when loser Al Gore (D) challenged the results, plunging the country into a month of uncertainty. Yes, the Supreme Court eventually ruled in favor of President Bush, but it shouldn’t have come to that in the first place. George W. Bush was the first “illegitimate” president in the eyes of the modern Left, and for 8 years that’s all we heard about, aside from him being “Hitler” as well.
When a presidential candidate wins the Electoral College vote – the only one that matters – but not the mythical “national popular vote”, half the population cries “foul” and wants to tear down the system. I guarantee that if a Democrat won the EC vote but lost the NPV, the Left would declare it to be the best thing since Roosevelt’s New Deal.
The Left accuses the Right of voter suppression because we demand that only legal citizens vote and that one must present a valid photo ID in order to vote (requirements that are similar across all Western democracies). But given the record turnout in the past several elections, especially among minorities, it’s clear that if the Right is trying to suppress votes, they are failing miserably.
The Right accuses the Left of fraud, encouraging and allowing non-citizens to vote, illegal voting, voting more than once, casting ballots in the name of dead people, crooked voting machines, ballot harvesting and various other shenanigans. While these things have happened and do happen, the pervasiveness is hard to determine objectively. In any event, neither side trusts the other, and this will be true in the 2024 election: unless it is a landslide victory for either party, the losing party will refuse to accept the result and our republic will continue to be in mortal peril.
The sheer audacity of Joe Biden and the ruling Democrats is breathtaking. There is ample evidence to warrant serious inquiries and investigations into whether or not Joe Biden and his crime family accepted cash bribes to produce certain policy outcomes. His son Hunter is quite the shady character, having pled guilty to major crimes for which he will not serve one day in jail. Hillary Clinton’s probable crimes are also well known. An objective media would be howling for investigations, not covering up their serious offenses.
At the same time, regardless of whether or not former President Trump is innocent or guilty of charges leveled against him, the indictment and persecution of a former president and current presidential candidate is unprecedented in American history and is more appropriate to a third-world country, not the pre-eminent country of the free world.
The levels of political and actual violence are alarming. It wasn’t so long ago that leftist anarchists – antifa – were rioting and looting every night during the summer of 2020. Elected Democrats, far from condemning the violence, in some cases actually incited it.
The egregious, in-your-face nature of “pride month” is another example of how the Left has hijacked our country’s culture and is ramming their depraved values down our throats whether we like it or not. They accuse us of being “haters” and “transphobes” simply because we don’t want deviant sexual performance art in the presence of children. And it’s not just children – I and many other “normal” people like me have NO desire to see men in bondage gear and assless chaps twerking in front of our faces. Keep that stuff in private. Reclaim the rainbow!
The Left and even some conservatives call for “unity”. We can’t have unity. We can’t because our side wants to live and let live while their side wants to tear down the American system – American culture – and put something radically different and far inferior in its place. We can’t “unite” because it is impossible to “unite” with people who want to destroy you and your way of life unless you’ve given up.
Taking It Back
How do we take our country back? It all starts with education, and this is why the fiercest cultural battles today involve children – why the Left wants to indoctrinate children in transgender and other Marxist ideology through the public school system, and why we are resisting this. Children, as they know, are the future. It’s up to us to get them out of public schools or replace leftist school boards (even though so-called “conservative” school boards can be disappointing sometimes).
It’s a common belief that Big Business was hand-in-hand with the Republican Party – or at least that was the perception that the Democrats used to attack us and put government restrictions on business. Well, that is true no longer. Major American corporations have become “woke” and they must be made to pay the price. I’ve never been a Bud Light drinker, but the boycott of Anheuser-Busch over their Dylan Mulvaney partnership is absolutely necessary. Boycotting Target over their sick Pride Month merch displays is another worthy endeavor. In fact, I try to avoid doing business with any “woke” corporation – though that is not always realistic or practical.
Most importantly, we need Republicans to win elections at the local, state and national levels. This means: recruiting and supporting ideologically sound candidates who can WIN. It means being active on social media in support of conservative values. It means supporting conservative organizations that promote freedom and limited government.
And most of all, it means VOTING. Any conservative who fails to vote Republican might as well be voting Democrat. It’s just that simple and it doesn’t matter if YOUR candidate didn’t get past the primary. It’s better to support someone who is 80% aligned with you so that someone who is 0% aligned with you does not win the election.
In Colorado, voters in HD 6 elected Elisabeth Epps. In Denver, voters elected Auon’tai “Tay” Anderson to the Denver Public School Board and Candi CdeBaca to the City Council. When these far left activist people get elected, it emboldens and empowers other radicals to run, and there’s a good chance they can get elected too. Some of the people who’ve announced for next year’s election in several House and Senate districts in Colorado are extremely radical and hostile to our economic freedom, our way of life, our values, our 2nd Amendment rights, and everything else we hold dear. It is IMPERATIVE that we do everything we can to keep them from elected office.
I know the fight can be tiring and can seem daunting. I’m sure that the patriots gathered in Philadelphia in June of 1776 felt overwhelmed too. Yet they persevered and forged one of the greatest documents in human history, moving the noble experiment in self-governance forward and overcoming daunting odds to win a revolution. This is OUR time and OUR place. We must do the same.
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