It doesn’t take much to see things look bad for our nation in 2023. A case could be made signifying this year as one of the worst for our nation, but was it really? Looking back One Hundred and Ten years, yes, a century and a decade, one could easily contend the year 1913 was the darkest in our nation’s history. Here’s why…
Three landmark events occurred that year. Congress ratified two amendments and passed one Act that forever changed the fabric of our 
nation. Thus laying the groundwork for future actions changing the course of America.
The two amendments were the Sixteenth and Seventeenth, establishing a federal income tax and changing the way US Senators were chosen. The third created the Federal Reserve, handing over control of our monetary system to a group of bankers. This was the year the money men seized our nation with a bloodless coup.
Like all proposals, each of these were sugar-coated before being fed to the American citizens. The income tax would only apply to greedy businesses and corporations. The Federal Reserve would protect citizens from greed banks that take our money and run off. Finally, putting the power in the hands of the people by democratically electing our Senators rather than letting those corrupt legislators choose their own cronies. You only need to pop your head out of the sand for a moment to see how that all worked out.
Americans have been captured and enslaved by a brutal income tax system. Despite stated principles to the contrary, our labor is not our own. To put our efforts towards to make a living we must first pay tribute. Our very sweat and blood are owned by our masters in the state and federal capitals.
Meanwhile, the Fed has complete control over the tribute paid borrow money as well as dictating what we can earn from our savings, after taxes, of course. They rule over interest rates as well as how and when our legal currency is produced. Meanwhile they are bankers, administering the debts of our government via treasury bonds.
If this isn’t bad enough, potentially the worst act of all is almost entirely ignored – the Seventeenth Amendment to our Constitution. Please, allow me to remind you…
Seventeenth Amendment
The Senate of the United States shall be composed of two Senators from each State, elected by the people thereof, for six years; and each Senator shall have one vote. The electors in each State shall have the qualifications requisite for electors of the most numerous branch of the State legislatures.
When vacancies happen in the representation of any State in the Senate, the executive authority of such State shall issue writs of election to fill such vacancies: Provided, That the legislature of any State may empower the executive thereof to make temporary appointments until the people fill the vacancies by election as the legislature may direct.
This amendment shall not be so construed as to affect the election or term of any Senator chosen before it becomes valid as part of the Constitution.
Okay… so what’s so bad about that? Isn’t “power to The People” what it’s all about? The problem here is this amendment didn’t “give power to The People”. Not really. The reality is it actually took power away from us. How?
A few days ago, I saw Mark Levin interview Ted Cruz. Senator Cruz talked about when he was last re-elected in 2018. He stated it was the most expensive election in history. He also stated the Senate Majority Leader, Mitch McConnell spent not one dollar on Cruz’s campaign. Wait? What?!
This is where my ears perked up. It seems Mitch McConnell’s great talent is raising money for his Political Action Committee (PAC). He wields these funds like a sword to remain as the leader in the Senate and bully other members into submission. (Not surprisingly, our House Speaker, Kevin McCarthy is said to wield his own “magic sword”.) You can dispute the facts as presented here but the reality should shine through – our nation’s premier and most prestigious legislative body is nothing more than a cheap game show money grab. Go figure.
So how does this relate to the events of 1913? It’s easy to see once you follow the money. Electing Senators by popular vote opened the floodgates for the political parties to swoop in and take over. Now the candidates need not bother answering to the state legislators. The power of our national government was consolidated into one master – the state party boss. This streamlined the process making it no longer necessary to ensure the money men had to secure enough legislative votes to put their man in office. Nope. From now on it would be one stop shopping to purchase the Senator of their choice. How convenient.
Granted, one of the arguments for passing the Seventeenth was the legislatures were already corrupt. I’ve no doubt this was true. Politics is a dirty business. It always has been and always will be. That said, the answer is never to centralize. Centralization always, always, ALWAYS consolidates power. Decentralization disperses power. Such is the nature of things.
If I could wave my own magic sword, I would chop the Sixteenth and Seventeenth Amendments from our Constitution immediately. Then I would dice the Federal Reserve into tiny bits. Such would not immediately save our nation but it would be a good place to start. Sans a “magic sword”, instead I’ll call upon fellow citizens to call for the immediate repeal of these two amendments as well as the dismantling of the Federal Reserve.
For now, I’d settle for returning the selection of Senators to our state legislatures. This would restore a good part of the balance of power our forefathers intended. It would immediately zap the power of the Senate PACs. For Senators to remain in office, they would have to answer to their state legislatures and the state legislatures would have to answer to us citizens.
Meanwhile, We the People, can set to work on stripping the political parties of their power. It is time to decentralize.