Welcome to the Institute for Balanced Government. This organization was created to educate Americans on the history, proper role, and purpose of government in America, and to train activists who are interested in government reform. If you haven’t already, please sign up for our e-mail newsletter, found on the right hand side of the home page.
Of particular interest, please visit our statement of Vision and Purpose so you know what principles guide our efforts. If you haven’t read it yet, this post on what balanced government means is a great place to get started.
I’d like to briefly share a few thoughts, and I’ll start with this quote from James Wilson:
“The pyramid of government-and a republican government may well receive that beautiful and solid form-should be raised to a dignified altitude: but its foundations must, of consequence, be broad, and strong, and deep. The authority, the interests, and the affections of the people at large are the only foundation, on which a superstructure proposed to be at once durable and magnificent, can be rationally erected.”
America is at a crossroads. For too long, politicians have pandered, special interests have thrived and entitlements have expanded, all of which has brought us to the point of insolvency. To correct this, distant units of government are going to need to start pushing responsibility back on smaller units of government. Individuals and families will have to accept traditional responsibility for themselves – responsibility for things that have long been the domain of some unit of external government.
On first blush, this might seem like a bleak future, one in which units of government by necessity have to do less and less. On the contrary, this vision of the future should be regarded with hope. For too long our national spirit has been damaged by a culture of entitlement – of getting something for nothing – and a return to self-control and self-sufficiency will be the dawn of a new era of American prosperity. When we don’t do for ourselves the things we can and should, we lose a bit of our humanity and dignity. It is right that we should regain what we’ve lost, and if the price is more work on our part, it is embarrassingly little to pay in exchange for our dignity.
To get from here to there, we aim to educate so that people understand the nature of rights and responsibilities. After that, we need to provide tools and skills to advocate for these principles. If the government we have is a reflection of the people we are, the only lasting way to change government is to change ourselves.
Lastly, we need your help and participation. Please review our Programs and contact us. Together, we can work to reclaim our honorable heritage and “secure the blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our posterity.”
Michael Tams
Founder and CEO
