U.S. Elections May Bring Little Improvement

As you read this, we here in the USA are holding what is known as the "mid-term" elections. These are important for many reasons, including many reasons which may not be political. For instance if the party currently out of power wins majorities in the two houses of the U.S. Congress, expect the next two years to be filled with investigations of the President. Also, the Congress may have the votes to influence foreign policy. They may do this by cutting off funding for the military in overseas locations.

If votes are close in certain districts, expect the courts to get involved, for one side or the other will cry, "Fraud!" Then, high-powered lawyers will spend time trying to influence judges on how the votes should be counted.

No matter who is in power, expect government expenditures to increase, and it follows, either taxes will increase or government deficits will increase. The third way to pay for government largess, inflation, seems to be under control at the moment.

I would love to know what the people of New Zealand did a number of years ago, when they threw out a system of taxation similar to ours and streamlined the entire government. We could surely take a few lessons from their experience as well as a good dose of their resolve.

The democracy in the United States is getting quite old. It is in the late geriatric stages as compared to all democracies in history, going clear back to the Athenians. It will be interesting to see if it can be rejuvenated (as in the New Zealand model) or whether it will implode from within—-a course it seems to be on at the moment. Taxation and spending are the key components to watch.