Book starts after image of book's cover
Table of Contents
Acknowledgements
Foreword
1. Definition of a Legal Structure
Components of a Good Legal Structure
Creeping Socialism
2. Crazy Laws
Above the Law
Division of People
Complexity of U.S. Laws
Torts
The Festering Growth of Attorneys
4. Suffocation of the Economy through Regulations
Parkinson’s Laws
Societal Cost of Regulations
Problems of Regulations
5. Destruction of Wealth through Taxes
Taxes Change Behavior
The Laffer Curve
Instability of State Government Finance
Property Taxes versus Income Taxes
6. Corrupt Police and Kangaroo Courts
The Race to Incarcerate
Administration of Justice
State Protection of Children
7. The Erosion of the Bill of Rights
Amendment I
Amendment II
Amendment III
Amendment IV
Amendment V
Amendment VI
Amendment VII
Amendment VIII
Amendment IX
Amendment X
8. Repetition of History – The Roman Empire
The Rise of the Roman Republic
The Birth of the Roman Empire
The Decline of the Empire
9. Similarities between the 2007 Recession and the Great Depression
The Prosperous 1920s
Stock Market Crash of 1929
The Banking System
Deflation
Farmers
Employment
Taxes
The Growth of Government
Securitization
Collateralized Debt Obligations (CDOs)
Credit Default Swaps (CDS)
11. A Grim Future
Perpetual Bear Financial Markets
Fleeing Businesses
The Collapsing U.S. Dollar
Excessive Enforcement of Laws
The Growth of Crime and Black Markets
Decline of Civic Loyalty and Political Corruption
Acknowledgements
I had a hard time writing this book, because a country’s legal structure is very difficult to dissect and examine. I am looking to improve this book. If you have any ideas, suggestions, or better stories for this book, then let me know. Also, some of my references are incomplete.
If you can fill in the gaps, then let me know. You can e-mail me at ken@ken-szulczyk.com. Make sure in the subject line you address this book. Otherwise, you are at the whim of my junk e-mail filter.
People who help contribute to this book:
Foreword
The inspiration for this book was from a traffic citation I received in Stillwater, Oklahoma. I truly believe I did not commit the offense and was shocked at the behavior of the city municipal court. Not only was I denied a jury trial, but the judge still found me guilty after finding inconsistencies in the officers’ statements. This case got me thinking about legal structure and the relationship between government and its people.
I also worked for a city government and lived in five states and two foreign countries. After seeing various forms of governments, I began to see patterns in governments’ behavior. Even living in the Republic of Kazakhstan, a former Communist country that implemented market reforms, their government still does crazy things. The reason is governments are really crazy institutions, dominated by power hungry bureaucrats. Politicians and bureaucrats guide the ship we call government on a daily basis and rarely examine their long-run trends. This book examines government and the long run trends. This book has a little economics, current events, rumors, and wild speculations.
Many examples used in this book originate from Texas. It appears I am anti-Texas, but this is not true. I am not against the people of Texas and have met many great Texans. However, Texas has a crazy government and a nutty criminal judicial system. The craziness arose from Texas being a law and order state. When the Texas government passes a law, they expect all of its citizens to be 100% compliance with the law. If the state believes someone is not in compliance, then the state sends in the storm troopers. They shoot first and ask questions later. Even if the state makes a mistake, it does not back down. Texas is like a pit-bull that latches on and does not let go.