Checks and Balances?

One of the most important differences between a representative form of government and a dictatorship is a system of checks and balances. In the United States, there are three branches of government... executive, legislative and judicial. I think we all know what each does but the idea is that each one keeps the others from total power.
In the case of the HOA private government, there is no such system. The same small group of people make the law, interpret the law, enforce the law and decide the punishment.
If, for example, you get on the bad side of one of the board members he might decide that the angel staue in your front garden is outside the HOA law. He decides that you must remove the statue, pay a fine, sue you, place a lein against your property or all of the above. You appeal his decision and guess who you are appealling to... him or his buddies that decided to go after you in the first place.
In these cases, the only way to fight the issue is to take them to court. There again, the HOA has you under their thumb. The directors and officers of the HOA cannot be sued. Read your CC&Rs. They are safe from any personal liability. Also, should you end up in court against the HOA and lose the case, you are responsible for not only your legal fees and attorney fees but their's as well. Quite a gamble for most people that work hard to meet their financial obligations. You could easily be out $20 or $30 thousand very quickly and is that angel statue really worth it? Most people would decide, what the hell... just remove it... and the power of the HOA dictators goes on.... and on.
Besides, they are fighting you with an unlimited supply of money... your money by the way. Should the litigation go on into appeals and big lawyer fees accumulate, the board simply asesses the all the homeowners for more money and you are being battled in court with your own money.
There are reasons, important reasons, that our federal, state and local governments have a system of checks and balances. It prevents total power and control and as we all know... total power corrupts totally.