Five Reasons Governments Lie
When I say government, I mean politicians and government employees.
- National Security. National security means the security of the government, not its country's people, although the government would have people believe that it is for their own good that they are being lied to. The concern is that the people will panic and revolt. This would not be good for the status quo. In other words, it might threaten the jobs of those people currently in power. This brings me to the second reason....
- Loss of jobs. Governments want to grow, not shrink. That way, budgets grow and everyone associated with the government continues to receive their paychecks and to maintain their standards of living, while generally being unproductive or counter-productive. It also makes more people favor bigger government, thus giving government employees a greater sense of security. In short, lying hides the real motives of the government employees’ desire to keep their easy jobs and keep government growing.
- Loss of power. After 109 years of mismanagement, the Fed (which I consider to be an appendage of the U.S. government) is in danger of losing the U.S. dollar's status as the world's reserve currency, not to mention having inflation get out of control. And then there's their policy of holding interest rates low, thus distorting the capital markets, followed by raising rates high enough to drive the over-extended banks and businesses out of business. If the general public were aware of how incompetent the government is, perhaps they would want to change it. In short, lying covers up the government’s incompetence, and/or puts the blame on someone else.
- Keeping power. With all the money the U.S. government spends on one cockamamie project after another, there’s always plenty more for another boondoggle when you control the printing press. In short, being a politician or bureaucrat can be very financially rewarding. This gives them an incentive to stay in government because they can’t make more money anywhere else with their skill set. There’s also the hope among voters that the voters might obtain some of the wasteful spending that spews out of the government. Politicians feign concern for this cause or that cause, while vote buying is the real reason for most of the handouts.
- The element of surprise. If the government wants to seize your 401 (k) plan or IRA (what the government can give, the government can take away), bail out your bank by seizing your bank deposits, or confiscate your gold holdings, this has to be done quickly. They can’t announce it a month in advance or there would be riots in the streets and people would move their assets out of harm’s way. They have to have a bank holiday or do it on a weekend, when things are normally closed.
When the dollar loses its reserve currency status, there will be a tremendous loss of purchasing power for people who still hold/use U.S. dollars. Not only will this destroy the living standards of Americans, but it could also bring about a revolution by the impoverished society. They may finally realize what screw-ups they have been electing for at least the past 111 years. Would this change anything? It would probably just bring on more government control. After all, governments never let a good crisis go to waste.
Robert F. Sennholz