Skip* says:
“The Bigger the Government, The Smaller the Citizen.”
Consider the Original Intent, and how far we have strayed (Bastiat was a contemporary of, and influence upon the Founders)…
Jefferson wrote, In the Kentucky Resolutions of 1798:
“….[T]he government created by this compact (Constitution) was not made the exclusive or final judge of the extent of the powers delegated to itself; since that would have made its discretion, and not the Constitution, the measure of its powers…”
Madison wrote, in a letter to James Robertson:
“With respect to the two words “general welfare,” I have always regarded them as qualified by the detail of powers connected with them. To take them in a literal and unlimited sense would be a metamorphosis of the Constitution into a character which there is a host of proofs was not contemplated by its creators.”
Bastiat wrote:
“”When plunder becomes a way of life for a group of men living together in society, they create for themselves in the course of time a legal system that authorizes it and a moral code that glorifies it.””
- It is clear that The Federal Government, and especially this Regime, believes itself to be the final arbiter of its own powers.
- It is clear that the ‘General Welfare’ has metamorphosed into limitless government spending, under a myriad of wasteful programs.
- It is clear that we have created a legal system which authorizes plunder, and a moral code which glorifies it.
The Founders’ intent has been turned upon its head – what should we do to erect further safeguards for our liberty?
First, the problem – I believe that the Progressives of the early 20th Century knew exactly what they were doing, as they set in place:
- A transfer of ‘ownership’ of the Federal Government from ‘the States, respectively, and the People’, to the ‘Ruling Class’ (17th Amendment)
- A centralized taxation system, which eventually allowed the Federal Government to ‘own’ the formerly Sovereign States (16th Amendment)
- A Central Bank which would allow them to buy votes with borrowed money without increasing taxation….. until later! (Federal Reserve Act of 1913)
Thanks to a series of scandals from government overreach we are provided with a God-given opportunity to energize the citizenry and demand a radical restructuring of taxation, bureaucracy, and wealth transfer in These United States. Let us Carpe Diem and propose bold new ideas which will restrain, for the foreseeable future, the growth and invasiveness of government! Let me suggest a few things, and please do debate, or throw tomatoes – we thrive on lively debate here!
First, I believe, as did the Founders, that unfettered democracy is a fancy name for mob rule, and will eventually devolve into “Bread and Circuses”, or as Bastiat put it, legalized plunder. Recently, I set out to provoke debate with my piece entitled “There’s Too Much Democracy In America!”, a critique of the 17th Amendment and other attempts to turn our Constitutional Federal Republic into a pure mob rule democracy.
Things we can do to reduce the power and reach of the Federal Government include:
- Re-Energize the Sovereign States (1) Enforce the 10th Amendment and nullify bad Acts of Congesss as “Not Law, Void, and of No Effect”.
- Re-Energize the Sovereign States (2) Work on Repeal of the 17th Amendment (See Argument).
- Transfer ownership of all domestic programs to the Several States, and let each choose whether to continue a program within its borders.
- Close the IRS and decentralize tax collection.
- Limit the Federal Government’s borrowing authority to stop them buying votes via domestic programs.
- Sharply curtail, or close, the Federal Reserve.
The Tenth Amendment is an idea whose time has come, once more, to the forefront: Virginia and Kentucky invoked it over the Alien and Sedition Acts (see eponymous resolutions); Northern states invoked it over the Fugitive Slave Acts; Liberal states invoked it over the Real ID Act and parts of the Patriot Act (and NDAA); conservative states have invoked it over Obamacare and encroachments on the 2nd Amendment.
We need the states to nullify bad acts of Congress, and interpose their authority between the Federal government and state citizens, as is their right. See Tenth Amendment Center for more information.
Repeal the 17th Amendment: Work state by state to generate demand for repeal; urge The House Of Representatives to pass, and dare the Senate to ignore, an Amendment to repeal the 17th. Avoid, if possible, a Constitutional Convention of the States, because it is possible for such a convention to be hijacked, and for our whole Constitution to be destroyed.
Devolve most government departments to the states: Aside from Defense, State, and Commerce (in its proper Constitutional role), most of the Federal Government’s departments and bureaux are unconstitutional, and should be closed.
As a way to get “from A to B”, we should devolve responsibility for those departments and programs which operate in all states, to the Sovereign States, which can then choose to continue or terminate their portion of each program. This will, of course, require a MASSIVE re-orientation of revenue collection in order to put the requisite monies under control of the states. (Block grants could be used as an interim measure to move control of the money and programs to the states.)
Certain other departments which might arguably provide research or information of benefit to the states (NASA, NOAA, Energy, Centers for Disease Control…) should be reclassified as research agencies with NO RULEMAKING POWER WHATSOEVER. The FBI should the the servant of state police forces, not their master – call it the FEDERALIZED Bureau of Investigation – a central clearinghouse, if you will.
Close the IRS and reverse the flow of tax money! Instead of the Federal Government collecting the vast majority of taxes and doling out revenue to the states through a variety of very lossy programs, let the states run the programs, as noted above, and let the states remit funds to the Federal Government for those remaining Departments and Programs which are deemed Constitutional or desired by a supermajority (say, 75%, like an Amendment) of states as co-operative.
How? Clearly, the states cannot choose to evade the funding of the Constitutional duties of the Federal Government, or we would have a return to the chaos which existed under the Articles of Confederation, but I do have an idea:
Having (re)set the Federal Government to its Constitutional bounds, the audited budget, including debt service (see below) would be binding upon the states, unless a 75% supermajority of them rejected it, in which case they would be obliged to fund the Federal Government at the prior year’s level until agreement was reached.
The formula for dividing the cost of the Federal Government amongst the states is a key part of the plan – it’s simple, equitable, and rewards frugality (what a concept) – here’s how it works:
- A state’s contribution shall be in proportion to its annual SPENDING (not revenue)
- The spending number used shall be the average of the prior five years gross audited state spending
- The averaging method and requirement for audited numbers reduce the ability to game the system
- The states which spend least per capita will have a lower burden, rewarding efficiency
- The method of state revenue collection is immaterial under this methodology
Stop the borrowing: The Federal Government MUST be prevented from borrowing monies to buy votes with handouts which are not supported by revenue. This will require a Constitutional Amendment, along the lines of a balanced budget amendment, but is potentially simpler and more restrictive:
The Federal Government SHALL NOT borrow monies, except for the prosecution of a Congressionally Declared War, or for capital projects in pursuance of duties delegated by the Constitution. Monies thus borrowed, and NO OTHERS, SHALL be an OBLIGATION upon the states, pursuant to section 4 of the 14th Amendment.
Strictly limit, or end, The Federal Reserve: This requires only Congressional willpower – no Amendment required! The stated aim of the creation of The Fed was to end boom and bust cycles, and to stabilize the economy – instead, The Fed has created more booms, busts, and bubbles, and unleashed the ravages of inflation, failing even in its most basic duty to preserve the value of our money.
The remedy is simple – the Federal Reserve Act can be repealed or amended by Congress, without recourse to an Constitutional Amendment, unless, like Andrew Jackson, our aim is to ‘kill the bank’, and drive a stake through its heart this time!
If The Federal Reserve is to continue in existence, it must have a singular function – preserving the value of the Dollar in a measurable fashion, such as against Gold, or a basket of commodities (EG Gold, Silver, Platinum, Copper…). Other duties loaded on by Congress, such as maintaining full employment, are wholly incompatible with a stable Dollar value, and must be excluded.
In Conclusion: Move programs back to the states, strictly limit Federal Government functions and borrowing, make the states responsible for revenue collection, and have them tithe to the Federal Government in proportion to state SPENDING. Repeal the 16th, and if possible, the 17th Amendments, put the Fed back into its box (or in a box!).
*Black and white portrait of ‘our founder’, in keeping with the black and white portraits of Our Founding Fathers.
