Some things just never make sense.

I say we shut down for four years until we memorize the blinking Constitution!

Extreme viewpoint? Maybe, but I needed that rant off my chest.

Sounds like a plan to me.

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let's consider a few things.
on the right we have the argument:

"if a government becomes to big and bloated it is vulnerable to corruption"
is this a valid argument?
absolutely,and there is precedent.

the left make the argument:

"if corporations are allowed to grow to big,they can unfairly influence and corrupt the government"
is this a valid argument?
absolutely,and there is precedent.

but which one of those scenarios can YOU affect change in a representative republic?

you can vote,and pressure government.
you can never vote against the interest of goldman sachs.

not picking a side here,just making points of consideration.

If the federal government has less power, the corporations will not try to influence them. The corporations only look to influence politicians because they have power.

If the federal government stuck to what the constitution says they should do and not keep expanding their powers, there would be less incentive for the corporations to try and gain influence.

you are only repeating the argument that I am already aware of,my point is addressing the people,and the avenues they have to influence power.

and your argument ignores the articles of incorporation,and the laws that dictate the behavior of corporations.

are you familiar with the 6 precepts of government?

The six precepts, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defense, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity, are goals defined in the constitution. Basically, things that the states themselves could not do by themselves.

A common justice system, resolve conflicts between the states, maintain a military and protect our borders, promote intrastate commerce, defend individual rights as outlined in the constitution, and coin money.

The problem has been that the federal government has expanded its role and power far beyond what the founding fathers had envisioned.

it appears you are arguing with yourself here.

as I stated,I am already aware of the "small government" argument,and do not necessarily disagree with the salient points.

however,there is also validity in the "if the government is TOO small,then it cannot challenge the incredible power of multi-national,global corporations"

this is where "the people" come in,because that is really our only true power comes from:the vote (not trying to over-simplify,there are other avenues,but that is our most basic).

there needs to be a balance in the force.
am I making sense here? doing my best brother.

You're making perfect sense.

The problem is, I am not smart enough to come up with a solution. This is a problem that has manifested itself on many decades. I don't know how to shrink the feds back down.

There are some obvious departments that could be abolished, like HUD and the Dept. of Education. But you would have to go through each cabinet department and eliminate agencies one by one. Bureaucracies have no incentive to reduce themselves only grow.

agreed.
no easy answers.
which is why it is so vital we engage with each other,even if there are fundamental differences.
there will always be ideological differences,and our political class has already shown that we no longer matter.
our mass media feeds into the drama and hyper-partisanship that serves only their bottom line,but does absolutely nothing to assist in tackling these very serious issues.

the massive ocean of disinformation,propaganda and opinion has created a toxic sewer of fetid rot.
so much so that we can't even get to the actual politics,until we wade through that disgusting swamp.

the hardest battle I have found as I age,is with my own cynicism.
but I have been witnessing the younger generation engaging on a level that I haven't witnessed since I was young.

ray of hope?
it's all I got.

Agreed. We can only hope. Luckily at my age, I don't think I will live to see the destruction of the U.S.

I think the best we can do is make sure we do not elect someone whose platform is to expand the government even more.

If not for the government, there WOULDN'T BE corporations. It is a completely fictitious entity crafted by lawmakers and continually held up by the government.

He is so unelectable, he is never going to win. He is just a card aiding the opposite party.