About Reform the Kakistocracy

Book Awards and Reviews:

The Award-Winning Reform the Kakistocracy received the 2021 Independent Press Award for the category of Social/Political Change. It also received the 2020 Bronze Book Award from the Non-Fiction Authors Association and received several 5 – Star reviews from Readers’ Favorite: https://readersfavorite.com/book-review/reform-the-kakistocracy

About the Book:

Reform the Kakistocracy: Rule by the Least Able or Least Principled Citizens, sets forth ideas on how citizens can restructure a federal government so it works for them, not for politicians and their friends. The conclusions presented are based on Kovacs’ forty-plus years of policy experience, inside and outside of government.

Unlike many books on government reform, Reform the Kakistocracy does not let the reader dangle with fuzzy proposals. It presents clear, thought-provoking ideas for reforming government to make it work for citizens, not politicians. Proposals range from electing officials who will function as fiduciaries to the Constitution, not as politicians serving interest groups; mechanisms for devolving power to states; how Congress can reclaim powers it delegated to the executive and courts; creative ways to reduce federal debt; mechanisms to ensure government transparency and many other innovative principles of governance.

Part I sets out the many actions of our federal government that place the nation at risk. It discusses how these actions have transformed the federal government from one of limited powers to one of almost unlimited power by diminishing the constitutional checks and balances essential for citizens to manage their government.

Specifically, Congress delegated its legislative power to the executive branch which is now the primary lawmaker through regulations and Executive Orders. Moreover, the courts have also become legislative bodies as they find rights and privileges never envisioned by the words of our Constitution or in the laws passed by Congress.

Unfortunately, due to political polarization, Congress is unable to reclaim its legislative powers as an institution, transforming itself from the primary lawmaker to an observer of the lawmaking process.

Part II sets forth a series of governance principles that, if adopted, would guide government officials in structuring a government that focuses more on addressing the needs of citizens and less on achieving dominance as a political party supporting interest groups that collaborate with politicians to get them elected and then take what they want from government.

Parts III and IV set forth “modest proposals” to restructure the kakistocracy. The proposals are anything but modest, but they are novel and doable. Overall, these proposals discuss how citizens, states, and the federal government can reallocate powers to produce a government that is sustainable in the long term by spending only on priorities, selling off assets to reduce debt, reducing the complexity of laws and regulations, and devolving those powers to the states that the states can most efficiently manage. It also addresses the clear fact that there cannot be a coherent restructuring of the federal government without addressing the automatic withdrawals of taxpayer assets by the entitlement programs, which are becoming the costliest items in the federal budget. Finally, it ends by suggesting restructuring the federal income tax code to eliminate complexity, unfairness, and tax-avoidance schemes while raising sufficient revenue, at the lowest tax rates, to pay for government programs citizens need.

Part V acknowledges that while it is impossible to control all schemes of thought-up by the government, citizens can put in place mechanisms that can provide them the powers to manage the general operation of the kakistocracy. In the end, if all the reforms fail, Reform the Kakistocracy reminds us that the Constitution sets forth a clear and legal path for peaceful revolution – states can restructure the Constitution. Voters can replace the entire government in a short time.