Constitution 101: It will fix our Fiscal Disaster
I wish adopting a more Federal approach to governing was a simple fix; it is not, but re-reading what our Founders said and following their wisdom would go a long way toward fixing the Federal Fiscal Disaster we are currently witnessing. If you are not, by some remote chance, aware of this impending disaster, go to our website or review Facts, No Spin #126: Yes, Virginia, the Debt Crisis is Real.
So what is Federalism? I’m not sure this is a word in common use the way I use it; what it means to me is doing what the Constitution says. Our Founding Fathers were statesmen with the courage to risk life, liberty and property to fight against the tyranny of the British King. They realized that unchecked power at the Federal level would lead to tyranny and loss of liberty. So they designed a government that limited Federal power. They enumerated powers for the Federal government in the Constitution, and in Amendment 10 explicitly stated that all power not given to the Federal government belonged to the ‘States or the people’. That is Federalism as I see it, simply going back to what our Constitution says about limiting the role of central government. It is that simple.
We grew rich as a nation with limited government for almost 200 years, we managed just fine without all the Federal Departments and Czars we have had foisted upon us. We have had massive growth in the Federal government in 1913, the 30’s and the 60’s. And the unaccountable bureaucracy that has resulted is doing exactly what our forefathers feared, loss of liberty as the bureaucracy rules with little control by elected officials on how we can live our daily lives. These are rules we must follow that make no sense and are costly and inefficient, hurting our productivity and growth. Small businesses cannot begin to know what is in the 200,000 pages of government regulations, much less comply with them.
BOTTOM LINE
It is time we listen to our Founding Fathers; heed their wisdom. We must look at the monster good intentions has created, and the resulting fiscal disaster this has caused.
The States and the people are quite competent, let them do some of the governing and cut out the parts of government that need not be done at all. Limit the size of the Federal government, I promise it will not kill us. And we will all be better off for it.
If you agree, don't just sit there, DO SOMETHING! Speak up, speak out. We made it easy to express your view on our website where we provide a Contact Congress link - just enter your name and address and hit Send, you can use our message or write your own.
If enough people tell Congress to FIX THIS MESS, they will listen.
LEARN ECONOMICS, THEN VOTE SMART