Ah, but we did have a decentralized government when the government's power affected individuals from greatest to least in this order : local -> county -> state -> federal. Most power has centralized to the federal government, which is not what made this nation great. Do you honestly think that we have a democratically elected government filling the halls of Washington, D.C.? What we have is a vile, reprehensible bureaucracy that has only it's own survival at heart with only the faces of politicians giving it the barest sheen of decency. For every Thaddeus McCotter there is a Jesse Jackson, Jr. In addition, the 'rich cabal' got rich by finding ways to make money. There's plenty to be made by addressing peoples fears of AGW or any other change to the climate. What would stop them from doing that? Resting on the principle that they are only allowed to make money as caricatures of e-e-e-e-vil conservatives? In my opinion, most of this country does not educate itself properly when it comes time to vote and is grossly misinformed about AGW and how the climate works in general.