"Property monopolized, or in the Possession of a few is a Curse to Mankind. We should preserve not an Absolute Eqaulity.--this is unnecessary, but preserve all from extreme Poverty, and all others from extravagant Riches."
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Extreme wealth concentration. Labor outsourcing. The gig economy. Labor-saving technology. Pay disparities. Crushing debt. Each of these problems drags down the American middle class.
America was founded as a middling democratic republic. Three generations of uncontested military dominance have disfigured our nation, transforming us into an opulent plutocratic republic. If they could see what we have become, the Founding Fathers would be disgusted by the extreme fortunes accumulated by those of our own citizens who have shown more regard for foreign profits than for their own countrymen. They would compare the extreme concentration of wealth at the expense of the American middle class to the worst Roman excesses. They would analogize American victory in the Second World War to Roman victory in the Third Punic War. They would see the Republic-destroying exploits of the Gracchi, Marius, Sulla, Crassus, and Caesar flashing before their eyes.
Between [rich and poor] stand an innumerable multitude of men almost alike, who, without being exactly either rich or poor, are possessed of sufficient property to desire the maintenance of order, yet not enough to excite envy. Such men are the natural enemies of violent commotions: their stillness keeps all beneath them and above them still, and secures the balance of the fabric of society.
But would the Founders know what to do? America was born middle class. Extreme concentration of wealth, grotesque social stratification, and a swelling, landless urban proletariat were not the challenge of their times. They are the challenge of our times. It was their task to establish our security and our sovereignty. It is our task to reestablish our modesty and independence. Yet we can still follow their lead. Our Founders looked to the Roman Republic when they designed our Republic. We must look to the same history when we repair ours.
Both the Roman and American republics were born in modesty and will die in luxury. In Rome as in America, the economic dependence of the people is the Grim Reaper of democracy. We must evade if we can, and counter if we must, the gathering forces of Caesarism with the lessons of the most sober reflections of mankind’s most serious intellects: Plato, Aristotle, Polybius, Harrington, and John Adams. We must translate the accumulated wisdom and mistakes of centuries into a method to save the Republic.
In all things, that which is not fundamental is dispensable. In political society, that goes for the egos of billionaires as much as for the opinions of beggars. For nations and households, what matters most is the foundation. And the foundation of every democracy is the middle class. Our nation was built upon the middling virtues of liberty, loyalty, modesty, equity, industry, and skepticism of great wealth and power. To preserve these virtues the noblest action that any American patriot can undertake. Greater glory and honor, even in failure, belongs to those who fight for America’s soul than follows upon all the fame, fortune, and power that will ever be heaped upon an acquisitive few for their short lives.
It is clear that the political community administered by the middle class is the best, and that it is possible for those states to be well governed where the middle class is stronger than both the other two classes.
Let us therefore rediscover our national principles and priorities based on middle class logic, not the patronage of the rich, the platitudes of the poor, the rhetoric of ambitious demagogues, or even the looming violence of partisans:
First: Our laws shall promote due process, individual liberty, and loyalty to our country.
Second: Our middle class shall be the largest group and include most of the citizens in our country, subject to the first principle.
Third: Anyone may accumulate unlimited wealth in our territory, subject to the first and second principles.
Consistent with our national principles, America’s most urgent political objective must be to rehabilitate its middle class. We must renew the economic independence of the American people and cast off the yokes of dependence and patronage.
To negate the economic forces which injure the middle class, we should anchor the economic outcomes of the top households to those of the median households. This is the only way to deploy the plutocracy into the service of the middle class. When the top households can gain only if the median households gain, all energies of pecuniary minds must focus on nullifying every force which depresses the median. A wealth limit benchmarked against median net wealth cannot be ignored or evaded by our top households, for the cumulative effects of all economic activity are registered by the net median. Every pay cut, every tax hike, every price increase, every hidden fee, every single layoff, every job outsourced, every machine used to reduce the wages of a flesh-and-blood American worker – every direct and indirect method to deprive the national median of a single dollar is reported by the median net wealth.
The great art of lawgiving consists in balancing the poor against the rich in the legislature.
To accomplish our goal, let each household accumulate up to 100,000 times the national median household net wealth (about $10 billion) but no more. Going forward, tax all household revenues over that limit, but do not confiscate existing wealth. As the median goes up or down, the limit goes up or down. Use the proceeds of this tax only for veterans’ benefits, national security, and social security, and for no other purpose. But always remember, as the Greeks discovered, that revenues are less important than ratios.
The legislator should determine what is to the be limit of poverty or wealth. He who exceeds the limit must give up the excess to the state.
Call this the Patriot Tax. The purpose of the Patriot Tax is not to impose any absolute limits on wealth, but to establish reasonable, sustainable guardrails. It is not to hold the rich back, but to take the middle class along for the ride. It is not to wage class warfare, but to restore by law the modesty and moderation that once prevailed by custom. It is not to deliberately injure any foreign workers or enterprise, but to protect our own. It is, in the end, to make our middle class the largest and strongest group in our nation. We respect property and prosperity. We reject confiscation of wealth. But we also know that preserving the middle class is a higher priority than preserving the luxury of a few.
Enforce these principles with discipline, make evasion more painful than compliance, and be astonished how fast America’s middle class is rebuilt. Not by socialism. Not by communism. But by a new “ism” born of ancient roots: Rationism. And with this new philosophy, we will not destroy incentives for hard work. We will not engage in central planning. We will not confiscate existing wealth. We will not subsidize any special interest group. We will not create new taxes on business or corporations. We will not create any new business regulations. We will not favor any political party. We will not favor any ideology over another. We will not favor any race over another. We will not favor any sex over another. And we will save our middle class.
50 acres of land shall be
appropriated without purchase money to every person not owning nor having ever owned that quantity & no other person shall be capable of taking an appropriation.
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© 2024 John Adams Institute. All rights reserved. The John Adams Institute, operating as the Adams Institute for the Preservation of the Democratic-Republican Model of Government, is not a government organization or affiliated with any government organization. We do not endorse or oppose any specific candidates for public office. This website is not a government website. No statement or suggestion of government endorsement is intended or should be inferred. No endorsement of any of our ideas or activities by any person referenced on this website is intended or should be inferred unless otherwise explicitly stated. The John Adams Institute is a nonprofit corporation, is not a tax-exempt organization, and does not engage in commercial activities. No communication on this website is intended as a lobbying communication or as a solicitation for financial support but is only intended to stimulate intelligent public discourse. For full legal terms and disclaimers, visit our Legal page.