The civilized world is in decline. The decline is definitely affecting the once-great United States. Most people know we are in trouble. Many do not like the current course of our government. Unfortunately, many of those people still believe we can make some adjustments (vote ‘em out!!) and “get back to normal”. This belief keeps them from making the changes and the preparations that may help them in the future. It is time for a realistic review of the situation and the beginning of an effort to decide what is wrong, what if anything can be done to fix it, and how to proceed.
You are reading this because you are a prepper or interested in prepping. What are you prepping for? An EMP? Earthquake? An epidemic? Cyber attack? All these are good reasons to prep. But there seems to be a tendency to look right past the elephant in the room. It is something we are so familiar with that we don’t recognize it as a risk, and due to normalcy bias may refuse to accept it.
To prepare, a person needs a specific problem to focus the preparation on. The issues should be looked at in the correct order of probability. While an EMP is certainly a possibility, a current crisis is already here. It is time for a reality check, to assess this situation, understand where you are, what the full details of the problem are, what options for action are available for that problem.
Look at the current state of the United States federal government. Consider the following questions: As it declines, is there any realistic way to change its course, legally? Can the United States Government be restored to its original place and intent, a country run by the people? Can it be adjusted back to the original intent of states’ rights? There is a way in theory – by voting in new individuals to do that very thing.
The United States government’s decline is the next great (and current) event.
Millions of Government Employees
The current federal government in the United States is made up of a huge number (millions) of people and their dependents “working for” the United States. There are also thousands of companies and millions of people working in the private sector but paid by government contracts.
According to USAFACTS.org, as of 2019, there were 23.7 million full-time and part-time employees of our federal, state, and local governments, including:
4.0 million Federal employees
5.5 million State employees
14.2 million Local government employees
The military is called out specifically in our constitution:
“Section 8: Powers of Congress: The Congress shall have Power To lay and collect Taxes, Duties, Imposts and Excises, to pay the Debts and provide for the common Defence and general Welfare of the United States.”
As of 2019, there were about 1.4 million people in the military and about 750,000 people that work in national defense but that are not active-duty military.
How can a small government proponent overcome the huge number of people that have a vested interest in maintaining the current size, course and speed of this government? There is an entrenched federal government bureaucracy that will not want to voluntarily change from its current course. Federal government employees are not going to voluntarily eliminate their own jobs. And no federal (or any) politician will willingly step down from power.
Self-Interest First is Human Nature
How many people would want to cut their own department? How many would welcome an individual who wants to cut their department? How many would vote against their personal best interests?
Are many politicians are willing to retire and give up power? Obviously not many, as the average age in the senate is now just under 64 years old. Do you think they may be set in their ways? The president is 80. The senate majority leader is 81, and in rehab as I write this. A senator from California is 89 and not in the best of shape. The recent Speaker of the House will be 83 in March, 2023. One has to wonder who is really doing the governing for these octogenarians.
The federal government, in addition to being driven by self-preservation, reflects the values of the largest states….. California, New York, Illinois.
Federal government politicians are working hard to get more power over people and many are working harder to get money for themselves than working to make life better for their constituents. Suppose there was a person that wanted to run for federal office with the goal of reducing or eliminating much of the federal government. Would that person get the majority of live voters to vote for them and get into office? Additionally, would the network of fascism – government employees, big business fascists and corporate news media – let them win? Experience shows that if an outsider wins they are hounded to get them out of office as soon as possible. The establishment has several ways to get an unwanted outsider out of office; by impeachment, assassination, or forced resignation due to health. With the current voting systems it is questionable if the current president be voted out of office with our current election system.
If an outsider won and were able to retain their position, would a person who wants to cut the federal government get any support from the government? What employee of government, or any business, wants to cut their own job?
How valid is the current federal government organizational structure? It is worth a review. How many people work in branches of the federal government that are not called for in the constitution? How many federal government employees work in departments that are redundant to their state government counterparts?
Mission Creep
How many times does the constitution mention a federal Department of Education? It appears to be zero. By its very nature, what can the federal department of education do that a state, or several states working together, cannot do? Why do we need a federal overseer hundreds of miles away to dictate educational programs to various and very different states at the local level? The Department of Education has 4,400 employees and a budget of $68,000,000. Its mission is stated as “to serve America’s students-to promote student achievement and preparation for global competitiveness by fostering educational excellence and ensuring equal access.” This seems general, and not much different from any state education mission. But the department has a $68,000,000,000 budget. That mission seems redundant to what the states already have. Is there a responsibility of the federal government to “assist” states get equal to others? Does that “equality” mean getting to the lowest common denominator, dictating whatever social program of the day that the federal government employees want pushed down the throats of all states? Does it mean dictating social programs that the most liberal states want, on the mostly conservative states? Where is this ability in the constitution? It might be entertaining to watch the Federal Department of Education try to dictate conservative ideas, maybe like gun safety, on the liberal states.
An idea: How about the federal department of education just distributes money based on headcount, and lets the state decided. Or better yet, the department of education just shuts down and lets the states pay for the education of their own children. In whatever means they see fit, such as choice between public schools, private schools, and home schools. Until that is resolved, we have over 4,000 people who have a vested interest in maintaining power. Not to mention the unions.
Where in the constitution does it mention a Federal Department of Environmental Protection? Don’t the states have departments that address local issues and concerns? I.e., the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency, the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources Environmental Management Division, etc. A quick internet search shows all fifty states have some form of environmental protection department. Who knows best what is needed to protect the environment in their state; a person in Washington DC that has never been to the state, or a person who actually lives in that state? States, in theory, have intelligent and talented and well trained people to run their own affairs. If a river flows between two states and there is an issue they can’t agree on, that would be an issue between the two states. The current administration is once again working to “manage at a federal level” every trickle of water that might eventually make it to a “navigable” body of water. The EPA has over 15,000 employees and a current budget of over $10,000,000,000.
Where in the constitution does it mention a federal Department of Energy? It doesn’t look like it is there. Don’t the states have state and public utility organizations? The DOE has about 13,000 salaried and hourly employees and 93,000 contract employees. Is that last figure a typo? Its budget appears to be about $28,000,000,000 in 2021. Its mission: “The mission of the Department of Energy is to ensure America’s security and prosperity by addressing its energy, environmental, and nuclear challenges through transformative science and technology solutions.” This is not very specific. Are they doing this? What if Texas, North Dakota and Alaska controlled their own resource production? In reality this department may actually have some value to our nation in safety of nuclear plants, etc. There are a lot of line items for defense, and one has to wonder why this is not in the defense budget. How much of the rest of the department’s overall budget is well spent?
Money Talks
Yes, money talks. Money is power, and power gets you money. That sums up our federal government. No one that I have heard of works for the federal government without receiving a salary. And many politicians somehow get rich after they get in power. On the other hand, fascists in big business use the government to gain more money and power by dictating through the politicians policies that help them in business and give them an advantage over their competition.
There seems to be a debate going on about the definition of fascism. I had to dig out a hardcover dictionary, Webster’s New World Dictionary, to find a non-corrupted definition of fascism:
“A system of government characterized by rigid one party dictatorship, forcible suppression of opposition, private economic enterprise under centralized governmental control….”
So the geniuses at the World Economic Forum (WEF) from big business, and the geniuses from our federal government, might be moving in that direction. The only question is- who is really in charge? Could it be the federal government giving tax revenue, and tax breaks, to big business to get what they want while making big businesses richer?
A bigger question set of relevant questions: Who does the government report to? It appears it reports eventually to the people with the money. Who do the CIA, FBI, DOJ, and other arms of the government report to? Who does the president report to? The president supposedly reports to the people of the United States, but what if he does the bidding of his biggest donors? What if the people want a change in course? They must wait up to two, four or six years to vote to change the personnel. If they vote out the current leadership, will the CIA, FBI and DOJ and big business help them change the big government?
Are all government employees are not bad and all are not socialists. But it is hard to believe that any of them want to get laid off or want to quit with no job to fall back on. How many of them have transferable skills? In my experience working with the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency (MPCA), I have worked with some people that could not possibly work in industry. They were openly antagonistic to business. They wore their emotions on their sleeves. My least favorite MPCA worker actually did quit, and went to South America to save the rainforest. I hope he was finally happy.
Now What?
So, what is the way out of the current nosedive of our country? Vote the rascals out? Even if you could vote them out, and assuming that one side is better than the other, the needle would not move much toward restoring the US. The millions of federal employees provide a lack of inertia that would make it extremely difficult for any new faces to make a change. (See 2017 through 2021.) The big businesses and big donors are not voted out.
So, further disintegration, failure, dysfunction, and oppression by the US Federal Government will be the most pressing problem to prepare for.
So how else does our venerable US government get a “reset”? Split? The United States would be weaker internationally if it broke apart. It should not be an internal revolt or insurrection.
Internal revolt or insurrection? At this point some would say revolt. Americans should not fight each other. The United States would be weaker internationally.
If the US started to melt down into a civil war, our enemies would step in in seconds. Fighting amongst Americans will not be in anyone’s best interest. Regarding the current state of our defense, our woke military may not be adequate. Our depleted arms, (since donating so much equipment to the Taliban and the Ukraine), most likely will not be enough to effectively fight a war. Yes, we supposedly have 434,000,000 firearms across the US. These “small arms” may be better suited for a civil war or civil defense, than fighting an organized Chinese army. So an international war would not be a good option.
Data: According to Guns.com, the US has 434 Million Guns, 20M ARs, 150 Million Magazines. Most of those are in private hands.
Thus the reality check of the current situation indicates the immediate problem to prepare for is the continued failure of our federal government. Assessing the current situation shows the federal government will not change in the short term. The overall environment, financially, morally and practically, will deteriorate.
And as things deteriorate many of the other scenarios preppers have prepared for may become realities such as; no power, social unrest, food shortages, fuel shortages, and lack of good healthcare. All of which are already happening!
Accept the inevitable. The US federal government continues its decline.
Focus on the local
In the words of Theodore Roosevelt: Do what you can, with what you’ve got, where you are.
One good option is to keep it local. Focus on what is important. You do control your own property, your family situation, who you keep as friends and allies, and how you relate to your maker. All the prepping activities in the blog still apply.
So once again – you probably are not going to change the US federal government. It will not change itself. You probably are not going to change your state government. But at least your state government reflects more closely the values of its citizens. So, if your current state of residency is run by a government does not reflect your values and the values you feel you need to live under, consider a move. If your state works for you, the answer is to prepare in place. “Shelter in place” is a term used for emergencies. It also is a guideline for general, pending events.
Keep it local. Take care of your own. Let the government die slowly, or rise again, if that is possible. Address your own house. Don’t burn all your energy worrying about things you can’t control. Figure out what is really important. Act on those items. Read SurvivalBlog to determine what you need to do. Sleep at night knowing you have done the best you can in the areas you can control. Be happy knowing you did the right things.
In any case, prepare. Some words of wisdom:
1. Look ahead. Be prepared:
Proverbs 22:3
The prudent see danger and take refuge, but the simple keep going and pay the penalty.
So, stay alert for what you think is coming. If you don’t it is on you. Washington will not help you.
2. Instead of worrying, act, and accept. Put your faith in bigger things. Do Not Worry.
Matthew 6:25-27
25 “Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothes?
26 Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they?
27 Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life?
God will take care of you. His will be done. Worrying will not help.
3. But be aware! Be alert! Be ready!
Matthew 24:42-44
42 “Therefore keep watch, because you do not know on what day your Lord will come.
43 But understand this: If the owner of the house had known at what time of night the thief was coming, he would have kept watch and would not have let his house be broken into.
44 So you also must be ready, because the Son of Man will come at an hour when you do not expect him.
Luke 21:36
36 Be always on the watch, and pray that you may be able to escape all that is about to happen, and that you may be able to stand before the Son of Man.”
Conclusion
I personally am not giving up. I will still vote. I will try to make a difference. I am just refocusing my efforts and trying to determine a reasonable, doable course of action. The bottom line: you can’t really change how things are in Washington DC. We might, or might not, “get ‘em in the next election”. Instead of worrying and waiting without taking action, we need a reasonable look at where we are, where we are headed, and where the best path forward is specifically for us. Work on what you can control. Get peace in knowing you did what you could. All you really can do is work to take care of yourself and yours.
Note: the numbers I mention are from Internet queries, so others may have differing numbers and opinions. The point is the same.