My Proposal for a More Democratic Government by Vasilios Gardiakos

Q: Who is running this country (USA)?
A: The Old Money and they do not have our interest in mind!

Q: In a democracy aren't we, the people suppose to be running this country?
A: Yes!

The USA is a plutocracy not a democracy. It is the Old Money, the money the wealthy have accumulated through many generations that run the US government. It is the Old Money that stifles the functioning of a true democracy. The power the Old Money have acquired is used to further their interests not the interest of the citizens of the state. The Old Money is the single most persistent enemy to a fully functioning democracy. We can vote the elected officials out of office but what do we do with the entrenched Old Money that influence or to be more blunt, control the political decision making process?

Our democracy has been compromised by the political power of the Old Money. Democracy is power of the demos, the populace not power of the few Old Money who have their own interests in mind and certainly not the inertest of you and me. We know that the wealthy always want more wealth and more power. This human nature that the wealthy have will never change so we must find other ways to reduce their powerful political influence and return the power of democracy to the people.

Money, lots of money is what allows the wealthy to gain political power over several generations. I suggest that the inheritance of any individual be taxed 100% beyond 40 million dollars and no inheritance tax below this amount. Forty million dollars can be passed on the next generation. This is not enough money to acquire any destructive political influence. This is enough seed money for the offspring of the wealthy to educate themselves and to start a business. Many wealthy entrepreneurs have started with a lot less than forty million dollars.

Upon the death of a wealthy individual all the assets are to be made public. The assets to be sold at auction and the proceeds go to the local and federal governments. The progeny may keep any portion up to 10 million dollars for each category up to forty million dollars total. Total $40,000,0000 divided amongst all the progeny.
Inherit real estate up to $10,000,000
Inherit cash, stocks and bonds up to $10,000,000
Inherit art and antiquates up to $10,000,000
Miscellaneous items up to $10,000,000

Any undeclared or hidden asset will be deducted from the 40 million that the that is kept. This will motivate people to be honest with the Internal Revenue Service. Non-cash assets beyond the 10 million per category will be auctioned.

One may say that the very wealthy will find ways to go around this inheritance tax. Yes to some degree this law along with many others can be abused. However over all it can be enforced well enough to accomplish the goal of eliminating the politically powerful wealthy, the entrenched insiders that run our country. This will help the economy and return democracy to the people.

The elimination of allowing all or most of inheritance to be passed on will do away with the idle wealthy progeny. The return to wealth with sweat will be a welcome change. The rich will have to earn their money "the old fashioned way" by working for it. The forty million dollars for most of us is a lot of money, so any objections from the wealthy will fall on my deaf ears. The elimination of the Old Money wealthy class will greatly reduce their power. No multi-generational great wealth no political power!

Since the wealthy will divest their wealth upon death let's substantially reduce the income tax burden while they are still alive to motivate the entrepreneurial spirit. This will have a positive impact on the work ethic and creativity thus producing prosperity for all very quickly.

The real estate property, your house you believe to be yours is actually leased from the government. Just stop paying your real estate taxes to see what I mean. In the same manner wealth is not yours to keep forever. Somehow through the many generations this has become the entrenched. This entrenchment is a good idea for the lower and middle classes but not for the wealthy because they use their wealth to buy political influence.

We offer inventors only a limited monopoly on their patents, I believe 17 years. We offer authors a limited copyright on their literary works. There are limits for how long these assets can be monopolized. It is good that we do not offer an endless monopoly to these innovators. When the patent or copyright expires the asset becomes public domain. This means that the the citizens now own the right of these assets. We do this because we make the rules so that the individual profits and society in the end benefits. We do not allow a perpetual ownership of these assets. For the same reason let's not allow the Old Money wealthy an endless monopoly of their wealth of assets. The wealthy cannot take their wealth with them to the grave nor do they maintain any control of it through their offspring.

This is our country, this is our playground, we built it and we make the rules. The rules are that we try to protect everyone from outside and inside enemies. We make the rules to help all to prosper. The rules allow for some to prosper well above and beyond the rest of us. This is good, but when the extremely prosperous die the new rules say that since you cannot take with you, you must give it to the owners of the playground which provided the environment and allowed you to amass your fortune in the first place. When you die the fortune you accumulated will no longer belong to your close genetic beings, that is your family and relatives but to the national genetic pool. In a nutshell we make the rules so the individual can climb the ladder at any height but in the end society gets the ladder for all to benefit. In a sense over the long term the wealthy create wealth for society. They are philanthropists. They donate the forty million dollars to their offspring and the rest to society. True philanthropy which should be acknowledged as much as we do so to scientists, artists etc.

The new rules also encourage more to seek prosperity faster than ever before. Innovation should be encouraged and well rewarded. However the assets accumulated by innovation should be given limited protection not a perpetual monopoly status.

The wealth of the super rich must be reduced
upon their death so their descendants will not have
the funds to perpetuate undue political power.
Political power belongs to the people!

If the very wealthy do not want to avail themselves to philanthropic giving then the state will step in and do it for them. Removing most of the assets of the wealthy at death is for the betterment of society. The failure of the wealthy to manipulate the political process benefits all of us. Promote the New Money by reducing the income tax bracket of the super rich. The real tax payment will be paid upon their death.

Wealth and political power go hand in hand. The only way to pry the grasp of wealthy to the politicians is to remove the assets. Their philanthropy can be voluntary or involuntary at the choice of the wealthy.

Fresh blood is better than old. New blood is vibrant and sustains life. New Money is more entrepreneurial and more creative and more aggressive. New Money will create more wealth so more citizens will benefit. New Money will gain political influence but that influence will dissipate upon death. Just like politicians which are voted out of office the clan of the wealthy will also loose their political clout.

The idea is not to have a perfectly level field which will be impossible but to strive to reduce poverty and prevent the Old Money from monopolizing the political arena. One may say this is socialism. It really isn't as the tax burden is shifted to the end of one's life. To promote the ambitious entrepreneurial spirit the income tax on the rising stars and the new rich should be reduced. The new entrepreneurs are given a lower tax burden to help them achieve their goals early within their lifetime.

Yeah, it may be true that the rich are smarter than the average lot. Some of them may even work a little harder, because of the great rewards the wealth affords them. The richer one gets one usually gets to be more ambitious. But why should these attributes earn them wealth beyond their contribution? Though business savvy should be rewarded it should not be at the perpetual expense of the masses. Hard work coupled with accomplishment should be well rewarded as a reward in itself and to encourage others to follow. Merit is the guiding force to wealth.

I am certain that there will be cheating. Over all this program can work as the result of one's wealth is expressed in one's lifestyle. So any outlandish lifestyle will be a dead giveaway of inheritance tax invasion. Make tax evasion of $10,000,000 or more a punishable 10 to 50 years prison sentence. This hard punishment will hopefully dissuade the wealthy of tax cheating.

In the USA we do not allow criminals to financially benefit from their crimes by writing a book. The criminal will not get any of the profits from the sale of such a book. In the same way the violators of the new inheritance law cannot benefit by circumventing the intent of the law. All the assets will be confiscated and penalties meted out.

I have not figured every detail about my proposal on the inheritance issue. One thing I am certain about and that is that we must do all we can to dismantle and render powerless the entrenched Old Money which stifles democratic rule. This will give rise to a more democratic society. All of us will be the beneficiaries. Prosperity and democratic political power for all is achievable. There may be some downside to my proposition but in the end the benefit of a true democratic society outweigh the pitfalls. Democracy is not free. A democratic society is attained at a price and that that price must be paid now.

Certainly the Old Money will not be happy with me and label me a communist when in fact I am a true democrat. I do not mind being the nightmare of the Old Money and I am proud to be the dream of the demos. Yes, this dream can be realized by the citizens. The Old Money can look at themselves as philanthropists when they give up their wealth for the benefit of the citizenry. It is a noble goal to be a great philanthropist. When the wealthy donate most of their wealth for the betterment of society and democracy they will gain the respect from all of us.

Perhaps there are other ways for us citizens to gain our rightful place in the political arena. This is my proposal for a more democratic society and if given a chance will succeed.

Let's set aside a day every year perhaps July First as International Democracy Day.
Let's offer thanks to the Athenians for the foundation of this great principle
and a reminder to all of us to make sure that tyranny will never take hold.

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My Proposal for a More Democratic Government Let's vote on it!

Vasilios Gardiakos

My Proposal for a More Democratic Government
Let's vote on it!