Bossy people find what passes for happiness when they can order others around. As a result, governments end up being run by bossy people. Bossy people are readily corruptible.
Bossy people think there are two kinds of people outside themselves: those below and those above.
It is the goal of those in government to be among those above, having larger numbers doing their bidding. They take two things from those below, rights and assets.
Assets are taken by taxing income, property, and activities. As vanity forces more people into governments, more must be taken.
After becoming corrupted, bossy people find that taxes may be levied on inefficient processes. An ancient example of an ongoing process: Rome owned Egypt. Huge ships brought grain from Egypt to be distributed among many of Rome’s citizens. Without it, there would be rioting. It is logical to think that the Roman government would simply turn Egypt into a huge, state-run farm that would provide grain at the lowest possible cost.
Instead, Egyptian farms were allowed to be privately owned. Their owners paid bribes to Senators to keep on owning their huge, productive farms. The higher costs were passed on to Rome”s citizens. They became poorer, but the Senators prospered. That process begins with liking to boss and ends with loving to steal.
In our nation, a large nuclear reactor is the most efficient producer of power. For less than two cents/kilowatt hour, electricity can be produced. Hydroelectric dams are about as efficient.
Our government has not built a nuclear reactor for decades. Hydroelectric dams are being torn down.
Egyptian food producers once paid bribes to Roman Senators who burdened their countrymen with excessive food costs. Now, those who use windmills, foreign oil, and solar panels to produce more expensive electricity pay bribes to American Congresspeople to burden us, their countrymen, with higher electricity costs.
Some things never change. Most people in Rome didn’t understand. Most Americans understand, either.
Catholic Fundamentalism merely mentions this as a warning. Those who use political position to bear false witness for personal gain lose their immortal souls to endless pain.
