Conservative Principles Now

No greater dilemma faced the Colombian political system in recent months than the issue of presidential re-election.  Should a constitutional referendum be held to allow a popular, extremely effective leader to run, and likely win, a third term as president? For many Colombians, President Alvaro Uribe had become the indispensable leader.

Yet, across the political spectrum, many friends of Colombia worried about the impact of such concentrated power on the congress and judiciary.  A third term for Uribe would damage democratic belief in the alterability of executive power and resemble what  authoritarian populist Hugo Chavez is doing to destroy democracy in Venezuela.

On February 27, the Colombian Supreme Court rejected the holding of a referendum.

History will record that President Uribe [2002-2010] was a transformative president and a strategic visionary who save his nation from collapse, restored national confidence and pride, and blazed a path linking security with democracy.  In the fight against drugs and terrorism, the U.S. found in Uribe a responsible and effective partner.

While the Bush Administration recognized Uribe’s achievements, the Obama Administration and Congress have maintained a distant posture. While advancing security cooperation with Colombia, the Democrats have failed to deliver on the Free Trade Agreement signed in 2006.  More than three years of inaction has cost the U.S. jobs and market share.

The Obama Administration warmly applauded Uribe in a recent letter .  It can take the next step by recognizing the maturity of Colombia’s democracy and pushing for congressional passage of the trade agreement.  This action would be a fitting tribute to Colombia’s democratic progress, foremost, and a final, well-earned tribute to President Uribe.

Today marks the seventh year that we have published the Index of Dependence on Government. And, for seven years running, our Index shows growing dependence. The Index now stands at 240, up from a value of 19 in 1962, or a nearly 13 fold increase since the Kennedy administration. The rate of growth, however, actually has increased over the last eight years. That period saw the second highest rate of growth in dependency creating programs: since 2001, the Index has increased 31 percent. Most disturbing of all, all of the evidence points to even more rapid increases in dependency ahead, which well could threaten democratic government.

From virtually the first day of his presidency, Barack Obama and his top deputies have advanced programs and initiatives that deepen and expand American citizens’ dependency on government. From new federal programs designed to boost economic activity to health care reform that could place the U.S. government at the center of the nation’s health care system, the central thrust of policy since January 2009 has been to increase Americans’ daily dependency on Washington.

However, the rapid expansion of dependency-creating programs did not begin with Barack Obama’s inauguration. Indeed, President Obama inherited substantial momentum toward greater dependency on government from the George W. Bush Administration and prior governments. President Bush’s years saw growth in all dependency creating categories, but particularly in programs aimed at health, education, and working-age income support.

Even more disturbing is the confluence of growth in the index with increases in the percentage of taxpayers who pay no taxes and Congress’s control over spending. The percentage who pay no taxes jumped from 21.3 percent in 1980 to 34 percent in 2008. In 1980, 20 million tax filers paid nothing; in 2008, 48 million paid nothing. This number will growth dramatically next year when the Index counts for the first time taxpayers who took advantage of Obama era credits, such as Making Work Pay and the first-time homebuyers credits.

Combine these two indexes with the Steuerle-Roeper Fiscal Democracy Index, and you have a perfect storm for the future of our republican form of government. The Fiscal Democracy Index measures the percent of revenues not allocated by previous Congresses to mandatory spending. In short, it measure the control that Congress has over outlays. This Index nearly hit zero in 2009 and is forecasted to be steadily below zero in 10 years.

The steady growth of dependency creating program, particularly the so-called entitlement programs, and the equally steady shrinking number of taxpayers who have any financial stake in the government threaten rapid growth in mandatory, dependency programs and our very democracy. Are Americans closing in on a tipping point that endangers the workings of their form of government? If citizens can vote ever greater outlays for their income, health, housing, education, and food support; will the growth of government overwhelm the delicate political balances between those citizens who provide the means for helping other citizens in need?