Government Should Liquidate Itself
Summary
George Ford Smith argues that the U.S. government should liquidate itself, citing the impending Social Security crisis and the Federal Reserve’s inflationary monetary policy as evidence of systemic failure. He traces this "energetic" state back to Federalist constitutional debates, contrasting the unchecked power of modern institutions with the limited government envisioned by the Founders. Smith contends that the income tax and fiat currency have eroded individual rights, concluding that only a return to free market institutions can resolve the current political nightmare.
Topics discussed
Social Security insolvency and the too-big-to-fail state
The origin of tax withholding via the 1943 Act
The 16th Amendment and the expansion of income tax
Federal Reserve Act and the end of the gold standard
Inflation as policy and Keynes on currency debasement
Constitutional roots: Federalists and government energy
Hamilton, Henry, and the inevitability of power retention
Thomas Paine's absence from the ratification debates
Conclusion: Unalienable rights and market-based governance
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