In a free society, government exists because people need certain things taken care of—roads, schools, safety, basic protections. But let’s be clear: in a truly free society, most people don’t need governance. They don’t need to be told how to live, what to do, or how to manage their lives. That’s the whole point of freedom.
What they do need—what we need—is a government that keeps up its end of the deal. Because that’s what this is: a contract. The people are in charge. We elect representatives not to rule us, not to micromanage us, but to handle the things that make society functional and fair. Most of us? We just want to live our lives. But every society has a percentage of people—let’s call it 15 percent—who need help. Not governance, but help. The elderly, the disabled, the working poor who can’t seem to get ahead no matter how hard they try. And then there’s a much smaller group—less than 1 percent—who actually do need governing. People who, for whatever reason, cannot make responsible decisions for themselves.
That’s the balance. That’s the contract. And here’s the thing: It’s not a secret. It’s not even controversial. We all know that police aren’t making arrests every second of the day, fire departments aren’t constantly battling blazes, and Social Security checks don’t go out to everyone at once. So what, then, is the primary role of government when we’re not at war, not in crisis, not in the middle of some massive national emergency? It’s helping the people who need help so that the rest of us can focus on our own lives.
That’s it. That’s the job.
If a society is only as strong as its weakest citizens, then the role of government is to ensure that no one is so weak that they can’t stand. That’s why we don’t need citizen police forces. That’s why we shouldn’t need private food pantries. That’s why crowdfunding your hospital bills shouldn’t be a national pastime. Because in a well-functioning democracy, the government already took care of those things.
So what do you call a government that refuses to do its job? Worse, what do you call a government that doesn’t just neglect its responsibilities, but actively works against its own people? Because that’s where we are.
This isn’t a case of government doing too much. If that were the problem, you wouldn’t have mothers skipping meals so their kids can eat while Congress votes to slash food assistance. You wouldn’t have teachers buying school supplies out of their own pockets while billionaires get tax write-offs for their private jets. You wouldn’t have cities full of unhoused people while luxury apartments sit empty. The problem isn’t overreach—it’s abdication.
We have a government that has turned into a landlord—only showing up when the rent is due, never when the pipes burst or the heat goes out. Worse, we have a government that isn’t just missing in action—it’s actively making things harder. Cutting benefits. Criminalizing poverty. Finding new ways to punish people for being born into the wrong ZIP code. This isn’t just a failure. This is betrayal.
Government wasn’t supposed to be our overlord. It wasn’t supposed to be our enemy. It was supposed to be the mechanism by which we ensured that the vulnerable were cared for, so that everyone else could get on with the business of living. Instead, it’s turned itself into an occupying force, spending more time policing people’s bodies, their books, their bank accounts, than actually making sure they can afford to live.
A government that truly served its people would ensure that private charities weren’t the last lifeline between families and starvation. A government that actually functioned wouldn’t let GoFundMe become the nation’s largest health insurer.
The contract was clear: We empower government to handle the things individuals can’t or shouldn’t have to handle alone. And in return, government ensures no one is left behind. That’s what a functional democracy looks like. But this? This is government setting the house on fire and then blaming the tenants for not having a fire extinguisher.
So let’s be crystal clear: The government’s job was never to govern us. It was to serve us. And right now, not only is it failing to serve—it’s making damn sure that failure falls on us, and not them.
And that? Well, that, my friends is a breach of contract. And we the people have a cause of action. Indeed, While the Declaration of Independence has no weight in law, Jefferson’s words still guide us:
We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.–That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed,–That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness.
Yeah! It’s that serious! Breach of contract is a big deal.
