An Honest, Simple, Efficient Government | Robert Wayne Atkins, P.E.

On this Independence Day in the United States of America I was thinking about the problems we are currently facing as a nation. It then occurred to me that most of the people all over the world have the same basic fundamental problem with their governments. The problem is that those governments have become too complicated to be controlled even by the people within the government itself. The government grows and grows and grows until it takes on a life of its own and then its primary objective is the well-being and longevity of the government instead of the common people the government was created to serve.

Therefore it occurred to me that the solution to this problem would be to provide a simple foundation on which to form a government instead of trying to devise a complex set of checks and balances along with a set of laws and regulations for every conceivable problem a government might face.

It also seemed logical that the number of rules, regulations, and laws within a nation should be minimized. This could easily be achieved by allowing all of the common people to vote on these issues instead of electing a small group of people and then giving that small group the authority to make these decisions. Although the small group of people is theoretically suppose to consider the best interests of the common people, in reality it doesn't happen that way. The small group of people is too easily influenced by special interest groups (and occasionally by bribes), and the common people suffer as a result. However, by allowing the common people to make these decisions, then the number of those decisions will be minimized and the results should be in the best interest of the common people the vast majority of the time.

Therefore the following are my thoughts on how to form an Honest, Simple, Efficient Government:

If a person is born inside the boundaries of a nation then that person is a free citizen of that nation.
An adult citizen is any man or woman age 18 or older.
When a person reaches the age of 18 that person is legally an adult for any and all legal purposes.
All adult citizens, including both men and women, have the right to vote.
All new laws or modifications to existing laws may only become law if they receive a majority vote of the adult citizens.
All new taxes or modifications to existing taxes may only take effect if they receive a majority vote of the adult citizens.
All new fees for government services, or modifications to existing fees, may only take effect if they receive a majority vote of the adult citizens.
The vote of each man and women is to be confidential and by a secret ballot that the individual places into a public voting box.
Prior to the start of the voting process any adult citizen who has the right to cast a vote in that voting box may inspect the voting box to verify that it is empty.
A list of the names and addresses of all eligible voters must be kept in the voting area and as each eligible voter casts his or her vote then his or her name is to be checked off the list. The list of names and addresses may be inspected by anyone whose name is on the list at any time before or after the voting process.
During the voting process the public voting box must always remain in full view of all the citizens who wish to observe the voting process.
At the close of the voting process the votes in the public voting box must be counted immediately in full public view of all the citizens who are then present and who wish to observe the vote counting process. The total number of ballots should be equal to the number of names that were checked on the list of eligible voters.
After the results of the election have been publicly announced, and before the voting ballots are transferred to another place, the number of votes in each category may be counted by any adult citizen who wishes to verify the total number of votes for each item on the original agenda. Only adult citizens eligible to cast a vote in that specific voting box may verify the votes in that voting box.
In the event of a tie vote for a law or tax then a majority vote was not achieved and the proposal fails to pass.
If the event of a tie vote for the election of an individual to a government office then a follow-up election is to be scheduled one week later on the same day of the week.
All government officials will be elected to their office by a majority vote of the adult citizens within their specific geographical area. Each elected official may only serve a single term of office that shall not be longer than three years. After serving in any government office an elected individual will not be eligible to serve in another government position at any time. The elected individual must pursue some other career or occupation but not one in public service, either elected or appointed.
Any individual appointed or hired to a government job by an elected government official may only serve in that government job for the term of office of the government official that appointed him or her to the job. An appointed individual is not eligible for another government position at any time. The appointed individual must pursue some other career or occupation but not one in public service, either elected or appointed.
The number of individuals elected to a government office each year shall be approximately one-third of all the government positions.
Governments will only govern (manage) that which is specifically delegated to them by the adult citizens within their geographical area.
The fair and just laws of a nation, state, and community shall be applied uniformly and without partiality to all individuals regardless of their social position, or career choice, or position in government, or wealth or poverty.
In order to support the government all adult males and females, and all partnerships, corporations, religious organizations, charitable organizations, and other legal entities, shall be required to pay a total tax of exactly five percent on their total annual gross income. That total of five percent shall be sub-divided between the local, state, and national governments as the adult citizens decide by the normal voting process. The use of that tax money by the local, state, and national governments shall also be decided by the normal voting process by the adult citizens within the nation.
There will be no other type of tax levied on any person, or any organization, or any product, or any property, or any service, at any time.
Land may be owned by any adult male or female age 18 or older. All land and the improvements to that land shall belong to the land owner. Land and the improvements to that land shall never be taxed in any manner for any reason. After an adult male or female has purchased some land that land shall remain in the possession of that individual until:
- He or she voluntarily chooses to sell the land. The title to the land will then pass to the new land owners and they will have all the rights and privileges of the previous land owners.
- He or she dies. At that time the title to the land will pass to the legal heirs of the individual. The heirs will then be the new land owners and they will have all the rights and privileges of the previous land owners. If one or more of the legal heirs are under the age of 18 then the title to the land will pass to those heirs but an heir will not be able to mortgage or sell the land until he or she reaches the age of 18.
An individual shall not be persecuted by another individual, or by a group of individuals, or by a religious entity, or by a legal entity, or by a government for choosing to peacefully exercise his or her free rights in any of the following areas:
- choice of political beliefs,
- choice of religious beliefs,
- choice of educational pursuits,
- choice of literature to own and to read,
- choice of a career or occupation,
- choice of financial investments,
- choice of a spouse and whether or not to have children or the number of those children,
- choice of firearms and firearm related items and any other weapons the individual chooses to purchase, own, and/or carry, either openly or concealed.
The adult citizens within a nation shall not be compelled to serve in the nation's military. Adult males and females between the ages of 18 and 40 will have the right to voluntarily join the nation's military for a period not to exceed three years. If promoted to the rank of an officer in that military then the individual may voluntarily choose to serve a maximum of no more than three additional years (or a total of six years) if he or she wishes but the individual shall not be compelled to serve the additional time if she or she does not want to.
During a time of war or other national emergency any male or female may voluntarily and temporarily join in the defense of their nation and their state and their local communities. These voluntary military units will be coordinated by the members within each voluntary unit. Each voluntary member will provide his or her own firearm, the ammunition for that firearm, and daily food rations. An individual may cease serving in this voluntary capacity at any time and for any reason the individual so chooses without fear of punishment or harassment.

Respectfully,
Grandpappy.

Grandpappy's e-mail address is: RobertWayneAtkins@hotmail.com