In the absence of term limits, not only do incumbents have an advantage over challengers, but also career oriented politicians have a campaign financing competitive advantage over principled opponents. Politicians committed to staying in office or a party committed to staying in power will invariably resort to using the treasury to buy the votes of their constituents. This is the fundamental element that forms the foundation of socialism. Over time socialism gradually undermines any humane benefits that occur on a short term basis. In the end, through its erosion of both the incentive to self-improvement and the incentives to be productive as well as its displacement and corruption of genuine enlightened charity, socialism ends up doing the most harm to the very people it was intended to help. 

    Once socialism is introduced into an economy, capital formation is inhibited and capital will be consumed. It is the combination of limited capital formation coupled with the destruction of capital that makes deficit financing necessary. Career politicians with a continuing need for socialism and faced with an expanding debt burden invariably yield to the temptation of corrupting the currency. As a result, socialism becomes the economic equivalent of cancer and career-seeking politicians are the only cause and the sole means of spread. It can be argued in the final analysis that career-minded politicians drive out statesmen and discourage good men from seeking office or unfairly limit their opportunities of winning public office.

    It is Gresham's Law of Politicians that leads to ever widening and deepening economic poverty because socialism destroys capital thereby creating the necessity for governments to resort to deficit financing and currency debasement. Gresham's Law of Money is actually the observed effects of the more basic principle of Gresham's Law of Politicians. In the end, this is why all democracies murder themselves ultimately ending in either bankruptcy or hyperinflation. All but the hopelessly naive should be able to see that this is the inevitable fate of the United States unless socialism is abandoned and the Constitution restored. Gokhale and Smetters have established that the United States will cross the thresh-hold as the boomers reach Medicare eligibility. If freedom is to be preserved and the American republic saved, it is going to require the election of statesmen exactly analogous to Ronald Reagan and the Founders. Is there really anyone other than Rush Limbaugh who can more easily tap or better utilize the unique funding mechanisms that are integral parts of this proposed plan to restore the Constitution?

Red Shift