By Roger Leonard

America does not have royalty per se, given the Founding Fathers’ distaste for King George of England upon our independence, but we do have our own elite political aristocracy.

Our nation was founded as a republic, where elected representatives represent and protect our democratic liberties. This group seems to be incessantly babbling about raising taxes for government spending, and if we resist such efforts, they label us as unpatriotic and greedy. One point is utterly self-serving by this pseudo aristocracy to gather power and drive dependency, and the other is used to shame us all into mute compliance with their ugly demands. This aristocracy, a sliver of “1 percent,” controls the country by controlling local, state and federal governments. Within this elite group is an ongoing and provocative discussion about greed and fairness. This discussion is said to be about the fundamental greed of the private sector, especially corporations and the moneyed elite, but the group then stands mute on the greater issues of government greed. Gordon Gekko, a famous fictional character in the movie “Wall Street,” famously exclaimed, “Greed is GOOD!” But for whom? And most importantly, to what purpose?

We hear quite often that the “1 Percent” or wealthy must pay more or at least their “fair share.” We hear often from politicos and their benefactors that the greed of corporations, people and especially those that have, is bad and must be corrected by higher taxes.

The higher taxes usually would favor those who have little, if anything, and the elite who seek to garner their vote to hang on to power, via dependency of one form or another.

In this farce of a dialogue, we must not lose sight of the evil of government greed. Government greed is fundamentally driven toward expand into all and toward control all. It seeks to make everyone dependent upon it for life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.

Government greed is without bound and undoubtedly the most corrosive and pervasive force in our present-day lives, yet government makes nothing and demands everything. Government now consumes more than 40 percent of the economy, and its demands are growing. Yet, the greed of people and corporations drives the best innovation in the world, resulting in innovative products like the iPad and iPhone. Government greed, on the other hand, drives a corrosive control of all and defines what is utterly evil and wrong in America today. Government should and must set the framework and constructs of society. However, it must be held at bay like a rabid dog, or its insatiable appetite will expand beyond all bounds in an attempt to control all. The end result is that it will consume all. Heed this warning: Beware of those who would enslave our republic with government greed and the tools of dependency and favor. The Roman emperors attempted to use such evil policy more than 2,000 years ago, and it destroyed them.

With such knowledge of doom, it is clear that government greed will fail us today, for the same reasons. There is no free bread to be thrown to the masses, and those in the government who promise it are the bane of us all.

The Founding Fathers understood a government that made only moderate demands is good and is the only method to reign in ultimate government greed. The only antidote to the evil of government greed is restraint by the people and the proper application of their vote in November. Use that power wisely.

Roger Leonard is from Suffolk. Email him at rogerflys@aol.com.