I was part of a recent discussion about the corporate world and how it operates. Corporations are usually broken down into parts or divisions or something. Each part has its own goals and priorities. Such priorities are championed by individuals, who view their own little worlds as the universe. They essentially have blinders on and see only what affects and benefits THEM. And that’s the crux of the problem.
These people, we’ll call them “managers,” too often look through a single, narrowly focused lens. What affects ME or MY future? What affects MY budget? What makes ME look good? The answers to the above questions direct the decisions they make despite what is in the best overall interest of the company. Unfortunately, governments work the same way.
EVERY government and every PART of a government has its own budget. The “managers” of the budgets, also known as ELECTED OFFICIALS, all have the same common focus, when doing their jobs. “How can we SPEND all of our budget?” And. “How can we get MORE MONEY?” These people who YOU elect have no concern for how much money they spend … because it is not their money. They have no Skin in the Game. Their only concern is how much crap they are going to get from those who elected them in the first place. And unfortunately, they never get enough of that either.
So how do we get politicians to put some of their own skin in the game? If you ask them, they will tell you something like ‘We already do have skin in the game. We pay taxes too.’ Don’t take that crap for an answer. Their power and wealth go up for every dollar they spend and that increase exceeds the pittance that THEY pay in taxes by miles and miles. They have no incentive to spend or tax less, and they have no spending ethics.
Honestly, I don’t think that politicians will ever have any concern over how much they tax and spend. (Go to a school board meeting and see it firsthand.) Our system with its Base-Line Budgeting, Deficit Spending and FRAUD is specifically designed to keep the politicians’ own skin FROM getting in the game. And WHO designed and implemented that system? That’s right, the people YOU elected.
Maybe Jefferson was right. Maybe the “Tree of Liberty” needs to be “refreshed.” Revolution isn’t always about guns and violence. But revolution ALWAYS IS about a popular, political uprising. We see it today in Iran. We see it happening in China. Will we also see it in the United States? And will it happen in time?
Time will tell.
Written March 26, 2026
