Originally posted at Monty Pelerin's World blog [4],
Some of us are old enough to remember when honor and truth mattered. Integrity and ethics drove behavior rather than “what can we get away with.” Unfortunately for society, that is no longer the case. Now, honor is over and any means justifies any ends. Nowhere is this more apparent than the political sphere. Ideology trumps truth. Getting to the “correct” end is more important worrying about the law or trampling the rights and property of others on the way to it.
[5]
Government is out of control and out of integrity. Here is another example [6]:
(CNSNews.com) – According to the Daily Treasury Statement for July 12 [7], which the U.S. Treasury released this afternoon, the federal debt that is currently subject to a legal limit of $16,699,421,095,673.60 has stood at exactly $16,699,396,000,000.00 for 56 straight days.
That means that for 56 straight days the federal debt has remained approximately $25 million below the legal limit.
Is that possible? Of course not. Quantitative Easing by itself is increasing debt at the rate of $85 billion every thirty days.
Government sets its own laws. When they become inconvenient, they just ignore them and do whatever they choose. Then they lie to the American people.
Long ago Justice Brandeis observed:
In a government of laws, the existence of the government will be imperiled if it fails to observe the law scrupulously. Our government is the potent, the omnipotent teacher. For good or ill, it teaches the whole people by its example. If government becomes a lawbreaker it breeds contempt for law: it invites every man to become a law unto himself. It invites anarchy.
Is there a better explanation for why our society is crumbling?