Monday's show will feature Mike Gaddy, LewRockwell.com contributor and a good friend of the Free West Radio program.
FWR has been the subject of a concerted attack, compromising our theme to re-direct visitors to another site. We've installed this safe, temporary theme until we can build a new one, which will change the site's appearance dramatically and (we think) for the better. Meanwhile, we continue to bring you the latest news in the INCOMING blog as well as update the Show Archives as we can.
Nolan Finley is a very conventional columnist for the Detroit News. Nolan has just published a very good column (for the most part) on the Tenth Amendment movement. However, he just has to get in that one little comment that separates him from the radical states’ rights movement (radical … meaning scholarly and “no surrender”):
Critics see the Tea Party’s failure to acquiesce to this reality as evidence of its outdated mindset. The kindest jabs find it amusingly quaint that its followers would read the Constitution and actually think it still means what it says. The more vicious connect the revulsion to an overpowering central government to arguments in favor of slavery and against civil rights. Once again, the attacks go, racists are hiding behind states’ rights.
All I can say to that is, “Wow.” I have been involved in the radical libertarian-freedom movement for twelve years in the sense that I’ve become known, and before that, about fifteen years before anyone knew anything about me. I have never found one states’ rights person in favor of slavery. There are groups of extremely racist hatemongers, and they are self-contained within their own very small bands of obscurity that revolve around online forums and philistine newsletters. They are a speck on the radar map, and they have no voice and no impact whatsoever.
Why is it that every tediously conventional writer who addresses this topic (Tenth Amendment/secession) feels the need to make that very visible distinction: “I am not a racist.” C’mon Nolan, dust off the cobwebs and get with the times. Otherwise, Nolan has written a good, introductory column for the general masses. He says:
Advocates of an ever-expanding central government have found good allies in the Commerce Clause of the Constitution, which has been used to justify seizure of just about all economic activity, and in its call for Congress to provide for the “general welfare.”
General welfare is a wide avenue. It can easily be twisted to give the government the right to impose any mandate, take over any function, ban any behavior in the name of the common good.
Follow that string to the end and Congress can, under the general welfare guise, collectivize any of the rights guaranteed to individuals.
The “Principles of 98,” as they came to be known, are rarely discussed in modern history lectures even though these are integral to understanding how our federal Constitution was intended to function. These are the principles of state interposition or nullification that assert that if the federal government fails to check itself through one of its three branches, then it would be up to the states to rein in the feds.
The main basis for the theory is that the states created the national government when they joined the compact and not the other way around. The states therefore retained the power to judge for themselves the constitutionality of federal laws and reserved the right to refuse to enforce them if they went beyond their constitutionally delegated powers. As a matter of fact, nullification was used even before the implementation of the Constitution when the Colonists nullified laws made by the British Monarchy. The concept of a state nullifying a federal law simply means that a state refuses to comply with the law or permit its enforcement within state boundaries.
The man widely regarded as the “Father of the Constitution,” James Madison, described just how a federal system would work in his essay Federalist No. 51. Madison, encouraging his fellow countrymen to ratify the newly drafted Constitution, described a system of horizontal as well as vertical checks and balances between the federal and state governments — a system known as federalism. “Hence, a double security arises to the rights of the people. The different governments will control each other, at the same time that each will be controlled by itself.”
Madison, joined by Thomas Jefferson, would later go on to expand upon this in the famous Kentucky and Virginia Resolutions of 1798. The federal government had recently passed the blatantly unconstitutional and shameful Alien and Sedition Acts to silence and intimidate political enemies. Those despicable acts were instituted by advocates of unwritten constitutional power and a more robust central government. Both Jefferson and Madison argued that the states constitutionally had the right to refuse not only to comply with such unconstitutional actions of the federal government, but also to actively prevent the feds from enforcing them within their state boundaries.
These visionaries and their resolutions gave a voice to a peaceful revolution of constitutional principles that would govern this great nation for years to come. Many states have in fact utilized state nullification to check the federal government throughout the history of our Republic. From the Fugitive Slave Act to unpopular tariffs, states did indeed nullify federal laws they found to be unconstitutional.
Nullification has started to be mentioned in the news, as states have once more started to utilize the practice to resist federal overreaching. Many states have either passed or proposed legislation or amendments to their state constitutions that nullify federal laws in the areas of firearms, medical marijuana, and healthcare, to name just a few.
The US Federal Government is a cancer that has affected nearly every organ and cell in the body of our nation. Trying to get rid of the cancer may very likely kill the host, just like chemotherapy or radiation do.
There is virtually no possibility of getting the citizens of any state to agree to secede in sufficient numbers that will move the lawmakers of that state to action. The biggest reason is that there are too many citizens of any state that feed at the Federal trough. If those folks saw that secession would mean the end of their jobs, benefits or incomes, they would fight secession with all their energy.
Here is a short list of people who are either Federal employees directly, or whose jobs are directly affected by Federal money:
• State government at every level, from Governor to dogcatcher, that receive and spend Federal money
• Federal bureaucracy personnel: there are tens of thousands of them in Federal offices including managers, IT personnel, secretaries, janitors, security guards, drivers, inspectors, etc.
• IRS personnel
• I.T. personnel
• Accountants: most accountants would not have work to do without the Federal tax code.
• Retirees: anyone who gets a Social Security check or Medicare benefits.
• Pensioners: see retirees. Most get both.
• Medicaid recipients: the poor who get their medical treatment from Uncle Sam.
• Military personnel: active duty would be unemployed. Retirees could lose pensions.
• Tax Attorneys
• Regulatory compliance attorneys
• Bankers: without the Federal Reserve and fractional banking, most people in banking would be out of a job.
• Post office workers: a seceding state would likely privatize this business.
• Law enforcement personnel: lots of Federal agencies have workers with badges and guns.
• College students with Federally backed loans or grants
• Mortgagees with Freddie Mac/Fannie Mae-backed loans
• Hospitals who accept Federal healthcare patients
• Doctors who accept Federal healthcare patients
• Nurses working for those doctors
• Hospital personnel: RNs, techs, orderlies, cafeteria workers, janitors.
• Federal Judges and their staffs
• Grant writers and grant recipients
• Colleges and universities: Huge staffs directly affected by college loans.
• Public schools
• Construction companies building and maintaining Federal structures
• Any company that gets Defense Department contracts of any kind
• Federal politicians and their staffs
• Social Security office workers: secretaries, inspectors, regulators, managers, executives
• Army Corps of Engineers
• Churches and non-profit organizations might lose their tax-exempt status and have to pay taxes.
• Farmers: some get Federal subsidies that would vanish.
• Manufacturers and suppliers of any product or service you can imagine that goes to the Federal government
• Lobbyists
• Property management companies that lease to Federal agencies
• Welfare office workers
• Media (radio, TV, internet, print media): all get advertising revenue from gov’t.
• And most of the workers above have families that rely on their incomes.
• And most of those workers and their families spend their incomes in businesses that rely on their incomes.
This list could go on and on if I thought about it some more. There are likely some obvious people I’ve omitted. But this list alone should give you a flavor of just how much the Federal government has infected America on every level.
Now…consider this wild card.
The inevitable economic collapse occurs. For some reason, the dollar begins its unavoidable hyperinflation because the worldwide economy collapses. The Dow Jones, Standard & Poors, and the NASDAQ all lose at least 50% of their value. The worldwide bond market collapses, and foreign/institutional boldholders refuse to accept dollars as payment. Banks close all over the USA en masse. Catastrophic layoffs begin at all levels of the economy. Unemployment soars to 40 or 50%.
The Federal Government panics…even more than they are panicking today…and starts laying off Federal workers. Their tax revenue is off by 50%.
OK…got the scenario? Now, at every level of society, from Washington to Walla Walla, every person has been affected by the collapse.
When the people on the list above aren’t getting paid anyway…or are getting paid with dollars that are becoming worthless…and the seriousness of the situation sinks in to their minds and stomachs…secession will finally make sense.
As I’ve said before, the number one job of the secessionist movements today it to educate the populace about the benefits of secession. The number two job of the secessionist movements is to begin to create a stable of the best people to occupy crucial positions in the state so it can secede. The politicians likely won’t help.
Albert Einstein said “We cannot solve our problems with the same thinking we used when we created them.” I say that we cannot solve our problems with the same PEOPLE that created them.
The politicians of today must be swept aside to make room for those who will bring the solutions to the table. What of politicians who have a change of heart, and join the movement? My opinion is that they should be “quarantined” and watched closely, and not allowed to participate in the solutions without constant supervision.
The secessionist movements all over the USA must acknowledge the near impossibility of pre-collapse secession, and devote themselves to the post-collapse secession model. Anything else is Tea-Party rah-rah hype just to raise money for their coffers.
Secession is the Hope for Mankind. Who will be first?
Introduced in the State Senates of both Colorado and South Dakota last week is a bill known as the “Firearms Freedom Act.” If passed, the bill would make state law that “any firearm, firearm accessory, or ammunition that is manufactured commercially or privately in the state and that remains within the borders of the state is not subject to federal law or federal regulation, including registration, under the authority of Congress to regulate interstate commerce.”
This now makes Firearms Freedom Acts already passed in Montana and Tennessee, and currently introduced in these 21 states: Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, Colorado Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, New Hampshire, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, South Dakota, Texas, Utah, Virginia, Washington, and Wyoming.
According to Gary Marbut of the Montana Shooting Sports Association and author of the original bill that was introduced in Montana, “It’s likely that FFAs will be introduced soon in West Virginia, New Mexico, Idaho, Kansas, Arkansas, Louisiana, North Carolina and maybe elsewhere”
South Dakota’s Senate Bill 89 (SB89) was introduced by State Senator Rhoden, and has 22 Senate co-sponsors and 44 House co-sponsors.
Colorado’s Senate Bill 092 (SB10-092) was introduced by State Senator Schultheis and has 9 Senate co-sponsors and 7 House co-sponsors.
CLICK HERE – to view the Tenth Amendment Center’s Firearms Freedom Act Tracking Page
UPDATE, 01-26-10
The principle behind such legislation is nullification, which has a long history in the American tradition. When a state ‘nullifies’ a federal law, it is proclaiming that the law in question is void and inoperative, or ‘non-effective,’ within the boundaries of that state; or, in other words, not a law as far as the state is concerned.
But nullification is more than just a mere rhetorical statement or a resolution affirming the position of the legislature. To effectively nullify a federal law requires state action to prevent federal enforcement within the state.
Implied in any nullification legislation is enforcement of the state law. In the Virginia Resolution of 1798, James Madison wrote of the principle of interposition:
That this Assembly doth explicitly and peremptorily declare, that it views the powers of the federal government, as resulting from the compact, to which the states are parties; as limited by the plain sense and intention of the instrument constituting the compact; as no further valid that they are authorized by the grants enumerated in that compact; and that in case of a deliberate, palpable, and dangerous exercise of other powers, not granted by the said compact, the states who are parties thereto, have the right, and are in duty bound, to interpose for arresting the progress of the evil, and for maintaining within their respective limits, the authorities, rights and liberties appertaining to them.
In his famous speech during the war of 1812, Daniel Webster said:
“The operation of measures thus unconstitutional and illegal ought to be prevented by a resort to other measures which are both constitutional and legal. It will be the solemn duty of the State governments to protect their own authority over their own militia, and to interpose between their citizens and arbitrary power. These are among the objects for which the State governments exist”
Here Madison and Webster assert what is implied in nullification laws — that state governments not only have the right to resist unconstitutional federal acts, but that, in order to protect liberty, they are “duty bound to interpose” or stand between the federal government and the people of the state.
In similar proposals, some legislators around the country have begun adding penalties – ranging from misdemeanors to felony charges – for federal agents, too. Other legislators have already introduced what’s known as the “State Sovereignty and Federal Tax Funds Act” which would require the state to interpose against the IRS and withhold tax funds from D.C. Click here to read more about this proposal.
Even without such specific penalties listed, I see this as an important step in the right direction.
My business expertise is in the Insurance Risk Management field. I consult individuals and businesses on the best ways to manage their risks. So, when considering the concepts of secession for US states, I look at their exposures to risk and the actions they can take to minimize their risks.
Here are just a few of the risk exposures that states and individuals face, and solutions to manage those risks in the best ways.
Monetary Collapse
The risk here is collapse of the dollar’s value, leaving anyone with dollar holdings and earnings with nearly worthless money. Add to that risk the precursor to collapse, which would be bank closings and suspension of credit card usage. A medium of exchange is necessary for commerce. If your medium of exchange becomes worthless, your ability to engage in commerce will rely only on barter. And, for most individuals, barter is a very limited medium of exchange. What would a normal city-dweller take to the grocer to exchange for food? You likely have nothing the grocer needs.
Article I, Section 8 of the US Constitution clearly states that the Congress shall have the power to “coin money, regulate the value thereof, and of foreign coin, and fix the standard of weights and measures.” Delegating this power to the Federal Reserve was unconstitutional. The word is “coin” money, a verb. That means minting coins, not printing paper currency. The printing of irredeemable paper currency without underlying precious metal value is counterfeiting.
The US Congress has spent trillions of dollars of worthless paper money and taken on more trillions in debt. There is only one sure consequence of counterfeiting, and that is the collapse of the monetary system. Eventually, the money will become worthless. But before that occurs, the money will go through a period of massive inflation. It will look as though prices for goods and services are skyrocketing, but that is simply the way that inflation manifests itself in the marketplace. Today it takes a dollar to buy what a five-cent-piece would buy in the 1930s. The dollar’s value has diminished by 95% in that time. That also means that a person earning $100,000 in today’s money could have lived the same standard of living in 1930 for $5,000.
The nations of the world made the gold-backed dollar the reserve currency for the world. A “reserve” currency means that every nation agreed to accept dollars in payment of debts. But now that the dollar has no real value, the world is forsaking the dollar as reserve. The world looks into America’s future and sees no willingness toward fiscal responsibility or even the resolve to support the value of the dollar. Eventually the world will supplant the dollar with another reserve currency. When other nations are unwilling to accept dollars, any remaining value in American dollars will vanish.
A sub-risk in this topic is the timing and procedure used by the nations of the world as they move away from dollars. To prevent a worldwide collapse of the financial system, all nations must make perfectly-timed decisions relating to divesting themselves of American debt securities. Statistically, the chance for a mistake in timing among the nations of the world is extremely high. That means that collapse could happen very suddenly and without warning.
Monetary collapse in the United States is unavoidable. There is nothing that Washington is willing to do to avert the disaster. There is nothing that Washington could do to avert the disaster. They have already gone over the cliff. They simply haven’t hit bottom yet.
Any new nation that replicates US monetary policy will suffer the same consequences over time. A new nation that establishes a gold and silver-backed monetary system, in which gold and silver coins are the only true money, will thrive.
A new nation has only two choices for a new monetary system. Choice One is a gold and silver standard, sound money, no inflation and no debt. Choice Two is counterfeit currency, fractional reserve banking and loans from the International Monetary Fund to operate. Choice One guarantees liberty. Choice Two guarantees financial slavery.
A state that secedes from the Union to form a new nation must establish their monetary system before they do anything else. All private, public and commercial exchange, and the viability of the new nation will turn on this one decision.
Taxation
The risk here is ever-increasing taxation to levels that are unsustainable, reducing citizens to serfs and state property.
Americans are taxed in every way possible. There are personal income taxes, business income taxes, capital gains taxes, inheritance taxes, user fees, property taxes, license fees, sales taxes, Social Security and Medicare taxes and many others. The Federal tax code runs into the thousands of pages, and is so complicated that even the IRS cannot agree on the meaning of the code. The Federal Government has cleverly required employers to collect taxes at the paycheck level, making American employers the tax collectors for the Feds. But this also has the effect of making people seemingly unaware of the total tax burden confiscated from them. The concept of voluntary taxation is pure fiction.
In a new nation, all of the US Federal taxation would cease. Not one more dollar would flow to Washington. Hundreds of billions of dollars would not be extracted by force from individuals in the new nation and sent to Washington. Every individual and business that earns income would immediately begin receiving the gross amount of their earnings. So, if your weekly salary was $1,000, your paycheck would be for $1,000. Imagine that!
The method of taxation that carries the lowest risk of abuse, and the highest levels of individual liberty is the national sales tax. A new nation could opt for no income tax, which would mean no income tax withholding. A new nation could raise their revenue from only sales tax, rather than a mix of taxation schemes. A national sales tax pulls revenue from all commerce in the new nation, not just citizens. Property taxes could be entirely abandoned as a taxation scheme. The only tax code that would exist is the codification of the sales tax. There would be no other code necessary, no individual tax filings, no tax liens, no tax foreclosures. There would be no deductions and no tax-exempt organizations. The new national sales tax could be divided among the counties and cities as needed.
Voter Fraud
The risk here is that when voting cannot be determined to be accurate, confidence in the outcome of an election or referendum vanishes. In addition, this means that voting outcomes can be manipulated. In America, voting has become an anachronistic relic, and only serves to placate the populace and deceive them into believing that their vote counts for something.
It has been proven over the last 10-15 years that electronic voting machines are wholly unreliable and that their systems can be hacked to change voting outcomes. Therefore, when voting outcomes can be rigged, all elections and referendums are subject to suspicion. This happens from the highest office to the lowest, and in every referendum. The only way to alleviate this problem is through a physical ballot system, which can be counted and verified.
A new nation will have the ability to organize the new government any way it wishes to protect the integrity of the voting process.
US Debt Level
The risk here is bankruptcy and dissolution of the US Federal Government.
The US debt is almost unknowable. There are so many spending programs that are not considered in Generally Acceptable Accounting Principles (GAAP) on government books that the brightest minds cannot know the total amount of Congressional spending. Congress increases the so-called debt ceiling in every session of Congress, recognizing absolutely no restraint on their ability to spend.
A new nation will instantly forsake the US debt, leaving Washington and the remaining United States to fend for themselves. The new nation plots its new course with no debt.
Regulation
The risk here is that unconstitutional Federal regulations stifle human behavior and commerce, steal individual rights and liberty, and make good governance impossible.
There is not one second of any 24-hour period in which an American citizen is not regulated by some law. There is not one human act that an American citizen can do that is not regulated by some Federal law. Even thoughts are regulated in today’s America when you consider hate crimes laws on the books.
A new nation would start with no burdensome regulations. This would allow maximum freedom for the individual.
Health Care
The risk here is that health care in the USA has been regulated so much by the Federal Government that it is becoming unmanageable. The unconstitutional health care legislation currently being negotiated in Congress will add thousands more pages to Federal regulations, and make matters worse for individuals and insurance companies.
A new nation will have no health care system. But if the citizens of the new nation decided that they wanted to spend their own money on a national healthcare system, they could do so with only their own resolve and funds.
War and Defense Spending
The risk here is that America is experiencing negative outcomes from its foreign policy decisions, which are carried out by the military.
Any military action done outside the borders of the United States is an offensive action. You cannot defend your country by attacking another on their soil. Defense means to defend, to repel, to thwart attack. Maintaining military bases on foreign soil is unconstitutional and costly.
The defense budget for the United States has become so large that it can scarcely be controlled. And it’s more than just prosecuting foreign wars that runs up the cost. Hundreds of billions are spent annually for new weapons systems that are unnecessary, as well as maintaining the existing weapons systems. Every one of the 50 states has either a military base or businesses that help produce military goods…or both. The Department of Defense cleverly planned it that way so that cutbacks would be very unpopular and difficult to achieve.
In a new nation, properly organized, there would be no standing army, but a citizen militia, just like each state had in 1776. A new nation would walk away from the gigantic defense budget of the USA. If a new nation wanted new weapons systems, it would have to look to its founding documents for authority, then pay for the new toys itself.
Social Programs
Over time, Americans have had an intolerably heavy burden of social spending laid on their backs. Many programs are so deeply buried in the Federal budget that they are known only to the ones who benefit from them. Programs like farm subsidies, loan guarantees, and thousands of government grants given out to either promote or prevent certain human actions fill the various Cabinet-level agencies’ spending. We usually only discuss Social Security and Medicare, but think about obscure pork barrel projects. The long list of pet projects passed by Congress in a record deficit year includes $1.8 million to study why pigs smell. Other gems include $1.9 million for a water taxi in Connecticut, $3.8 million to preserve a baseball stadium in Detroit and $380,000 for a fairground in Kotzebue, Alaska, just above the Arctic Circle.
In a new nation, all of the criminal, unconstitutional spending done by all the 50 states vanishes overnight. The new nation is free from the burden of contributing their hard-earned money to waste and fraud.
Education
The risk under consideration is whether the state has an obligation to educate its citizens or not. If the new nation decides to fund education, it must collect more taxes from the people residing in the new nation. If it decides to forego compulsory education and allow parents to educate their own children and themselves, the new nation will allow for maximum individual liberty and responsibility.
Immigration
The risk in immigration is normally the strain it places on government services. But a new nation, properly organized and formed, would turn the immigration question on its head, and make many of the immigration concerns irrelevant.
If the new nation adopted the “corporation model,” no immigrant could gain citizenship without a procedure of some sort. No children born of immigrants would achieve automatic citizenship. If the new nation resisted the Siren’s song to pay welfare benefits, there would be no drain on the coffers of the new nation. The free marketplace would handle the influx of new individuals coming to the new nation to live. They would have to work and earn income, or leave the way they came. The new nation could also use its citizenship as an incentive to attract the most talented immigrants from around the world. Prices for goods, services, food and housing would accurately reflect supply and demand and directly affect immigration. Said another way, why would you immigrate to the new nation if you could not find work, housing, food, and you knew there were no welfare benefits? But if work, housing and food were available, the immigrant would contribute to the new society.
Constitutional Governance
I left this point until last to emphasize the greatest risk of all. The risk here is how to prevent fraud. The US Constitution is a mere compact between parties, and it cannot bind any two parties into a legal contract. Consequently, the US Federal Government can enact any legislation it pleases and spend any money it pleases in any manner it pleases. It truly answers to no one but itself. So the general understanding of constitutional law is misleading. My points listed above that direct your attention to the US Constitution are true, but the fact that the Constitution has no authority makes many of the arguments moot. It does not, however, diminish the risk for a seceding state. If anything, it increases the political risk. Any new government not founded on contract law is less than a gentlemen’s agreement affirmed with a handshake.
A new nation would have the opportunity to create a new form of government that is actually a legal contract between all parties. The new government could be structured like a corporation. Each person who wanted citizenship would be required to execute a legal contract. No one would be automatically born into citizenship, but would have to attain the age of majority before becoming eligible for citizenship. Stock and voting rights would be issued to each citizen.
Conclusion
The overall recognition of risk found in this article is that a government not strictly limited cannot be controlled, and in such nations, individual liberty is lost.
But a government strictly limited in authority and scope can be successfully managed with the goals to “establish justice, insure domestic tranquility, provide for the common defense, promote the general welfare and secure the blessings of liberty to ourselves and our posterity” (excerpted from the Preamble of the US Constitution). The founding documents for the new nation must be enforceable, and the corporation model would provide for this enforceability.
Try to envision yourself and your family in a new nation created by secession. All the people you meet are excited and breathless in their anticipation of the future. The general opinion of the populace is pure unbridled optimism. The new nation’s economy is booming, the money is backed by gold and silver, and there is no inflation. “Now Hiring” signs are in all the shop windows. The newspaper’s “Help Wanted” ads are packed full. Prices for goods and services are low, and the stores are loaded with goods. Manufacturers are streaming into the new nation to take advantage of the rare pro-business atmosphere. Wages are climbing steadily in manufacturing jobs as companies compete for the best and brightest to be their employees. New businesses are being created at a fever pace. Residential and commercial construction is at a high level to meet the demand of the new residents.
All because one state recognized this historic opportunity and chased the dream of liberty through the process of state secession.
Secession is the hope for mankind. Who will be first?
Critics see the Tea Party’s failure to acquiesce to this reality as evidence of its outdated mindset. The kindest jabs find it amusingly quaint that its followers would read the Constitution and actually think it still means what it says. The more vicious connect the revulsion to an overpowering central government to arguments in favor of slavery and against civil rights. Once again, the attacks go, racists are hiding behind states’ rights.
Get the RSS