America, Like Monty Python's Dead Parrot, Has Passed On and is Pushing up Daisies

If you haven't watched the Monty Python video above, go ahead and do so first, then read on. It's important, plus you'll need the laugh.

Did you watch the video? Good. Hope you enjoyed it.

Like the character played by John Cleese in the sketch, you have been sold a Dead Parrot. In this case, the idea that America exists. It doesn't. It hasn't for a long time.

Some argue that America strayed from its Constitution, leading to the current state of affairs - leviathan government, NSA spying, reduced freedom, endless wars, etc. However, you could trace the long slide to the moment when America traded its weaker form of government, under the Articles of Confederation, for a stronger one under the Constitution.

Setting the above argument aside for the moment, the Constitution created a republic with three co-equal branches. It divided power, not only between the legislative, executive and judicial branches, but also between the state governments and the federal government. State power was intended to act as a buffer between the federal government and the people.

This constitutional construct began to fall apart almost immediately from the foundation of the republic. Whether Marbury vs. Madison (Judicial Review), the emphasis of the popular vote vs. the Electoral College, the Civil War and the effective end of nullification, the 16th Amendment (direct taxation), 17th Amendment (direct election of senators) and the Federal Reserve Act - each represented a step away from a sounder structure towards a less sound one.

The combination of the 16th and 17th Amendments with the Federal Reserve Act, in particular, undermined the foundations of the constitutional system. Power was tilted heavily toward the Federal Government and away from the states, and thus from the people. The 17th Amendment effectively eroded the role of the states as a protector of the people. All of this leads us to today.

America is dead. It's as dead as Monty Python's ex-parrot. No politician can revive it. Barack Obama can't "hope it" back to life. The Republicans can't wish it back into existence. Don't even talk about a third party. Why? Karl Denninger writes how America is now past the tipping point.

Denninger first quotes from cnsnews:

There were 108,592,000 people in the United States in the fourth quarter of 2011 who were recipients of one or more means-tested government benefit programs, the Census Bureau said in data released this week. Meanwhile, according to the Census Bureau, there were 101,716,000 people who worked full-time year round in 2011. That included both private-sector and government workers.

There are more people receiving government benefits than workers to support them.

He continues:

None of the people getting means-tested government benefits will ever vote to reduce them, nor vote for any politician that will reduce them. 

But it's factually much worse than it first appears because federal government workers will not vote to fire themselves either, just as the 17th Amendment (ed: The worst thing to ever happen to this country) is inviolate because 

The Senate will never vote to fire itself.
So we must in fact subtract 21,880,000 from the full-time worker count. 

In other words you're outvoted by 36%. 

Does it make sense yet?  This is not a small margin and it cannot be politically reversed because the margins are too high.  Were the skew relatively small (and it looks small until you subtract out federal workers) you could potentially do so, because some people won't vote and you could "motivate the base."  But note that with the federal workers out, and we're not subtracting the State workers, which also exist on this same largesse, you can't get there because this means nearly 40% of those receiving such benefits would have to stay home when reductions are proposed, and they never will.

As such you cannot vote your way out of this.   

You cannot politically organize your way out of this. 

You can't do it in the Democrat Party and you can't do it in the Republican Party.  Nor can you do it in a third party. 

Every single person who argues otherwise is an idiot or worse, a fraudster (if they have run the numbers above.)

It's over unless people go on strike, peacefully resist and deny the government beast the consent and money needed to keep it alive. However, it doesn't take as much to collapse the system as you think. Once you collapse the system there are risks: 1) It doesn't come back to its former state; 2) The system comes back extremely slowly resulting in shortages, civil disorder, unemployment, etc.; or 3) During the collapse some unsavory group takes over and you end up worse off than what you started.

Even if the people react, there is a good chance that we're already past the tipping point. The Senate isn't going to vote to allow the states to choose senators again. Congress isn't going to vote to repeal the 16th Amendment and the tax revenues it brings. The Federal Reserve, and all those who benefit from its existence, aren't going to allow it to be dismantled. The people receiving government benefits aren't going to vote for politicians who take them away. Federal employees aren't going to vote for politicians who cut their jobs and benefits. It's difficult to imagine one of the above things happening, much less all of them.

So, what can you do? One of the smartest things you can do is buy physical gold and silver and hold it in your personal possession. Keep it out of the banking system (safe deposit box, etc.) where it could be taken from you. Build up some cash savings and, again, keep them outside of the banking system. Have several weeks to several months of fresh water, and food on hand in case there are any disruptions that prevent you from making normal purchases at the grocery store. Finally, consider other residency or citizenship options outside of the United States. One excellent source of information is Sovereign Man. All is not lost. The situation is not hopeless. But, you must be willing to take responsibility for your own future and not expect that any one government or country is the solution to the challenges you face.

In case you disagree with the above analysis, here's Monty Python's rebuttal: