Federal Government Balance of Power

Last time I talked about the 10^th Amendment and our founding fathers’ concern with a federal government that grew too large and out of control.  Our founding fathers were also very concerned with too much power with any one government group or individual bureaucrat.  They had personal experience with dictators and monarchs and were well aware of the threat to personal freedom this could be. 

Our founders designed a three-part government that would serve as a check and balance to protect personal freedoms.  The three parts are the legislative branch, the executive branch, and the judicial branch.  The role of each of these braches of government is clearly spelled out in the Constitution and the Amendments to the Constitution. 

The legislative branch is our Congress.  The founders built in an additional check and balance in the Congress with two branches.  The House of Representatives were to be elected by popular vote by the state represented.  The number of Representatives each state was allowed was based on population. 

The Senate was to be made up of two Senators from each state.  These Senators were to be appointed by the individual state legislators.  This was and excellent check and balance. The 17^th Amendment made the change to electing Senators by popular vote.  Too bad.  We need to correct that mistake.

The job of the Congress is simply to pass the laws of the nation and pass a budget.  All members of Congress swear an oath to observe the Constitution and the Amendments.  I would interpret this as an oath not to extend the Federal government beyond the powers given in the Constitution. 

Our founding fathers never considered this job to be a career or a full-time job.  The founding fathers considered it to be “Public Service”.  Financial compensation was to be minimal.  In fact, if the individual had the financial resources, they were expected to serve without compensation.  How things have changed.

        The President’s job was also simple.  He was the Commander and Chief, and enforced the laws of the land. 

        He does not have the option of choosing which laws to enforce.  He also does not have the option of creating laws by “Executive Order” or modifying laws at signing.  These practices have continually increased over the years with Presidents from both parties. 

        Recent Presidents have also created new government departments and government bureaucrats without the approval of congress.  These bureaucrats are creating laws or regulations without the approval of Congress, and in some cases in direct contradiction to the wishes of Congress. These practices have continued to increase to a dangerous level in my opinion.

        The Supreme Court’s job is to insure all the Constitution is obeyed.  They also are responsible for prosecuting violations of Federal laws.  Simple.  The Supreme Court is never to “Make Law” with rulings.  There should never be any partisan politics involved.  Simple.

        It was such a simple and effective government.  What have we done to it?  How do we get it back?

       

The 10^th Amendment to the Constitution

One of the primary concerns of our founding fathers was a Federal Government that grew too large and out of control.  They were well aware of the threat to personal freedom this could be.  They had seen too many monarchs and dictators.  This is the reason for the 10^th Amendment to the Constitution. 

The 10^th Amendment to the Constitution is quite short and to the point. 

“The powers not delegated to the United States by

Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the states, are

reserved to the States respectively, or to the people.”

This is clear and straightforward.  What responsibilities and powers are given to the Federal Government in the Constitution?  There are not too many. 

National Defense is the responsibility of the Federal Government.  They need to protect our borders and protect us from invasion.  I don’t remember anything about being the world’s police force.  

The Federal Government is also responsible for controlling immigration.  Too bad it has been ignored for the last 30 to 50 years. 

Foreign relations, treaties, and trade tariffs with foreign nations and American Indians are the Federal Governments responsibility.  Interstate commerce, money, banking, post office, copyright laws, and patent laws pretty much complete the list of the responsibilities of the Federal Government. 

        I just did this list from memory so I left out the details and probably forgot some things, but it is pretty complete.  The Federal Government is specifically prohibited from being involved with anything else under the 10^th Amendment. 

        This presents some interesting ideas.  Think about it.  If we comply with the 10^th amendment, the size of the Federal Government in Washington DC will be reduced to a fraction of the size it is today. 

        Many departments and agencies of the Federal Government would be totally eliminated.  Things like the Department of Education and many others would be gone.  As stated in the 10^th Amendment, the States or the people will handle things like education. 

        There would be little problem balancing a budget.  Federal spending would be a fraction of what it is today.  Federal debt could be reduced and eliminated in one generation so it no longer threatens the freedom of future generations. 

        Political power would be shifted from the Federal Government to the States and the people.  We would eliminate the possibility of creating a “Political Ruling Elite”. 

        I recognize that I am just wishing and dreaming.  The current “Political Ruling Elite” will fight this change every step of the way.  It takes away their power.  Why would they not fight giving up their power?   

        What I don’t understand is why the “People” put up with this “Progressive” growth of government.  I do understand why some of the “People” like the “Progressive” growth of government. 

        Some of the “People” like the growth in government because they work in the public sector or have ambitions of becoming part of the “Political Elite”.  Some just like the handouts of a large Federal Government.  Some people prefer welfare to working, and in some cases are the third generation of welfare.  Some people just don’t feel they are getting their “Fair Share” and want the government to fix it for them. 

        What happens to our country when the number people receiving their income from the government, in wages or welfare, exceed the number of people getting their income from the private sector?  That possibility may not be that far away.  If that happens will we continue to be a free country or will we be a socialist country?  It is just something to think about. 

        The solution to protect the freedom of future generations is simple.  We just comply with the 10^th Amendment, but it is not a simple change. 

        It took the “Progressive” movement over a hundred years to get where we are.  We won’t change it over night.  The current “Political Elite” will fight giving up their power every step of the way. 

        I just hope and pray “We The People” recognize this problem and deal with it before it is too late. 

Illegal Immigrants or Undocumented Immigrants 

Why should we call illegal immigrants “Undocumented Immigrants”?  This political correctness is getting ridiculous.  If someone is in the country illegally, they are breaking the law and illegal by definition. 

Illegal immigration is one of the top seven problems facing this country in my opinion.  We must recognize the problem.  We must identify how illegal immigration got out of control and how we can deal with the problem.

I am not anti immigration.  The United States is a melting pot of the world.  I can see why people want to come to this county.  It is a great country. 

I don’t understand why some immigrants want to change the country to the very thing they are trying leave.  I am sure some consider immigration as a crusade to change the country, but I think these are a small minority. 

My ancestors came from Norway and Germany.  I like to talk about my three Norwegian grandparents and one German grandfather.  I sometimes refer to my German grandfather as the “Outlaw German”.   

My ancestors came to this country for the personal freedom, religious freedom, and the capitalist opportunities.

They wanted an opportunity to work, succeed, and prosper financially.  They did not expect anything to be given to them.  They just wanted the opportunity to build a better live for themselves and their families. They learned the language and became citizens. 

Immigration regulation and enforcement is one of the few duties the constitution gives to our Federal Government.  Our immigration laws have changed over the years.  The annual legal immigration numbers have increased dramatically.  The restrictions as to where the immigrants come from have been eliminated.  The skill and sponsorship requirements have been relaxed.  Most legal immigrants are admitted on family orientation. 

The Immigration Act of 1990 has an annual ceiling of 675,000 immigrants.  The breakdown is 480,000 (71%) family sponsored, 140,000 (21%) employment based, and 55,000 (8%) “Diversity Immigrants.”

I think this is reasonable legal immigration.  If not, we need to change the law, but we must enforce the law. 

One of the primary duties or the President as the executive branch of the government is to enforce the laws of the country.  Not one President in over forty years has enforced our immigration laws. 

I am not sure, but I think we have to go back to Dwight D. Eisenhower in 1953 to find a President that actually enforced this countries immigration laws.  That is almost sixty years ago.  The President does not have the option, and should not be allowed to pick which laws to enforce. 

It is no wonder we have a problem with illegal immigration.  It may be easier to come to this country illegally than it is to come legally in some cases.  This is not fair to the legal immigrants or the citizens of this country.  We must forget the partisan politics and correct this problem. 

We now have a case before the Supreme Court about an Arizona immigration law.  Immigration control is the responsibility of the Federal Government, but if they don’t do the job, what is Arizona supposed to do? 

Arizona does not have the right to pass immigration legislation that is different than the Federal laws, but that is not the case with the Arizona law.  It will be interesting to see how the Supreme Court rules.

Separate state laws are not the solution.  The executive branch of our Federal Government must work with the states to enforce our Immigration laws.   If the immigration law needs to be changed, that is the business of the Congress, but not the decision of the President.

A Road Trip In A Great Country

I just finished what I call my annual pilgrimage to harass relatives.  This was a road trip, which was 1,760 miles long over a nine-day period.  I stayed in Oxford, Iowa; Tulsa, Oklahoma; and Des Moines, Iowa.

I saw visited three of my four sons, my brother and a lot of extended relatives.  It was great to see everyone. 

The great country I drove through made an impression on me.  I drove through Wisconsin, Iowa, Missouri, Kansas, Oklahoma, and Minnesota.  I saw some of our great cities, like Kansas City, Tulsa, Des Moines, and Minneapolis/Saint Paul. 

I saw fertile farmland, lush grassland, and woodlands full of timber.  I saw oil wells, wind turbines, solar panels, and mining operations.  I saw beautiful lakes and rivers. 

I saw all kinds of livestock.  The new calves and foals in the pastures made some beautiful scenes. 

I had my choice of many routes with good roads and bridges.  I saw several trains and many trucks moving freight.  We live in a great country.

The natural and renewable resources of this country are amazing.  Most people seem to be good stewards of the land.  Obviously there are exceptions. 

The greatest resource this country has seems to be the people.  Most are moral and have a good work ethic.  Again, there are exceptions.  The most glaring exceptions are some of our inner cities.  We need to work on these areas. 

The ingenious and hard working people of this country have built the greatest country in the world.  They invent solutions and solve problems.  We have so many people willing to risk their personal resources to create companies and jobs.  This is capitalism at it’s best. The United States of America has a lot going for it. 

I was totally impressed with what I saw on my road trip.  Considering what I saw, it is hard to comprehend why we have a problem with government spending and our national debt. 

Maybe our biggest problem is in Washington DC.  Maybe our political elite doesn’t have a clue what is happening in the rest of the country.  Maybe they don’t care.  Maybe they just want to drain the country to increase their own power. 

Maybe Washington DC is the problem and not the solution.  Maybe the political elite just needs to get out of the way.  It is just something to think about.

First Dollar Coverage Auto Insurance 

I had to put new tires on my vehicle.  They were expensive.  I wish they were covered by insurance.  Just changing the oil is expensive.  That should be covered too.  With the current cost of gas, filling the tank is expensive.  Why not have all these normal, routine, and maintenance items covered by insurance?

Let’s take a look at how this would work.  When we go into any auto repair or maintenance facility, we would give them our auto insurance card.  With gas stations, maybe the insurance card could be like a credit card so we can just swipe the card.  That would be really convenient. 

After we receive the auto service or product like gas, the retailer providing the service will bill our insurance company.  The insurance company will then review the claim to determine if it is covered by the insurance policy you or your employer has bought. 

The insurance claims person will then check if you have met your deductible and what percentage is your co-pay portion.   The insurance company will then notify you and the retailer submitting the claim how much the insurance company is paying and how much is your responsibility.  After the retailer knows how much of the claim is your responsibility, they will bill you. 

Obviously, the insurance company will have to raise your insurance premiums to cover the additional claims.  There will also be substantial additional costs for handling all the additional claims.  This will require more employees and more insurance company facilities.  The insurance company will also need additional profits. 

There will also be additional expenses for the retailer providing you products and services for your vehicles.   They now have to submit claims to your insurance company and then bill you for any portion of the claim that is your responsibility.  This will add to the labor cost of serving you. 

There is also an additional monetary cost of doing business to the retailer.  Additional working capital will be required, as it will take longer for the retailer to get paid for the product or service.  The cost of the products and service will have to go up to cover these additional costs of doing business.

Costs will also go up due to lack of competition.  Why would you as a consumer care how much you are paying for your gas?  Why would you care what kind of gas mileage your vehicle gets, or how much you drive?  The gas is covered by insurance anyway, so who cares? 

Your insurance premiums will increase tremendously and will continue to increase.  The cost of the products and services for your automobile will also increase substantially. 

How much will your total vehicle costs increase?  It is safe to expect an increase of 300 to 500 percent, but who cares.  It would be so convenient. 

Does this sound ridiculously stupid?  Why should it?  This is exactly what we are doing now with first dollar medical insurance.  Why doesn’t that sound stupid?

We can never control health care costs until we stop paying normal, routine, and maintenance heath care costs with insurance.  Insurance has created the problem.  We can’t solve the problem with insurance. 

We must move to true major medical insurance and medical savings plans to control health care costs.  If we don’t, we will eventually see government provided health care. 

I don’t mean “Single Payer.”  “Single Payer” still has the same claims processing costs as present medical insurance coverage, and we know the government has never handled these things as well as private industry.

The Political Name Game

        A name can mean a lot and project an image.  That image may or may not be representative. 

        We have a Republican political party.  That name comes from the fact our government was formed as a republic.  We elect representatives to conduct the business of government for us.  We just can’t be informed in every aspect of government.

        We have a Democratic political party.  That name comes from democracy, which we like to think we are, when our government actually is a republic.

        The Libertarian political party is simple.  These people believe in personal liberty and freedom with less government control. 

        Constitutionalist political party is again simple.  They believe in following a strict interpretation of the Constitution.  None of the notion that the Constitution is a “Living Document.”  This often is just an excuse to ignore the Constriction for the personal gain of special interest groups in my opinion.  

        Now let’s touch on some more political names.  We have “Socialist”. The Socialist Party USA web site says, “The Socialist party strives to establish a radical democracy that places peoples lives under their own control.”

        I have a little confusion here because they are proposing “progressive” changes though government controls to achieve this.  These government controls equalize people, but take away individual freedoms. 

        Socialism means a government controlled economy and government controlled business.  Again this takes away individual freedoms.  It is very confusing. 

        The Communist party has a more negative image.  I think that is because it brings an image of violence.  I have a hard time differentiating between socialism and communism except for the violence aspect. 

        Both socialism and communism have several things in common.  They both advocate strong governments with a political elite making decisions for what the people need.  There will be no rich except for the political elite. 

        Both parties talk about the rights of the individual.  They advocate the “Right” to some minimum standard of living.  This is a “Right” that does not have to be earned. 

        The potential negative side to this political view is the individuals ‘Right” to work and earn a standard of living higher than the minimum is diminished.  Incentive to succeed is taken away. 

This is not true for the political elite who are the decision makers.  Theoretically, they are working in the best interests of all the people.  We know how well that idea works, don’t we. 

        Liberals and conservatives are more clouded because there are both social issues and fiscal issues.  Many individuals are conservative on fiscal issues and liberal or social issues, or vice versa.

        On fiscal issues conservatives are for less government, and liberals are for more government.  Personally, I don’t think social issues should be handled by government anyway and certainly not the Federal government. 

        On some social issues like religion, we end up letting a small minority dictate to the majority anyway.  This is just not right. 

        Now to a political term that drives me crazy.  What is a political “Progressive.”  Most definitions of the word “Progressive” are positive.  The political “Progressive” is for larger government, more government spending, more government debt, and less individual freedoms.  Personally, I don’t call that positive or progressive. 

        Have we heard anything like “Large Government” with any other political parties?  Must just be a coincidence.  What’s the old saying?  “If it looks like a duck, walks like a duck, and quacks like a duck, it probably is a duck.”  Some politicians now hedge their bet by calling themselves “Modern Progressives.” 

        Many “Progressives” talk about the “European Socialist Economy.”  How well is that working out for Greece?  Socialism has never worked in history that I can find.  Why do we keep trying to reinvent the wheel?

One other thing that drives me crazy with the political name game is how the same issue can be brought up over and over again with a new name. 

“Global Warming” is a good example.  This came after the predictions for another “Ice Age” in the 1970s.  Global warming is a big issue and a potential fortune for the political elite.  If a political proposal is not acceptable, just change the name, and try again.  The name keeps changing.  How many names has this issue had?  Now we hear things like “Clean Air and Jobs” and “Green Jobs”.  Just how naive does the political elite think we are?

The Name Game In Business, i.e. Pink Slime

A catchy name that conveys an image can also make story news worthy.  The media was giving a lot of attention to “Pink Slime”.  What is “Pink Slime”?  Is it something bad, or is it a safe meat product?  If this product has been used in our meat products for decades, how bad a product is it for us to consume?

If the facts end up showing it is safe and nutritious beef trimmings, where did the name “Pink Slime” come from?  What should this product be called?  I kind of like “Dead Cow Bits and Pieces” myself.  Does the name game convey an image? 

I hope the current controversy over “Pink Slime” has some basis in fact and not just a good media story, because the resulting costs are huge.  It has cost the meat industry thousands of dollars and hundreds of people have lost their jobs.  Don’t think it won’t cost you when you buy meat, because it will. 

I am not saying all meat processors are perfect, but most turn out a good product.  My brother worked in meat processing plant for a while.  He taught me a lot about how to select the best cuts of beef. 

We have all heard stories of people that worked in meat processing plants that would not eat hot dogs because of what was in them.  Just what is a hot dog other than “Pink Slime”?  Most people still like hot dogs.  What would happen to baseball without hot dogs?

I was raised on a farm.  We raised our own cows, pigs

and chickens for our meat.  We butchered our own hogs and chickens.  I won’t go into details for you city folk, as I don’t want to turn more of you into vegetarians. 

The cows we just field dressed and took to the local locker plant for processing and freezing.  The locker plant was a building with a section refrigerated to below freezing.  The refrigerated portion of the building had large storage bins that people rented to store their frozen meat. 

One of my favorite meals was when we butchered a hog.  That night, Mom would slice the fresh tenderloin into small patties and fry them in a pan with butter.  Good eating.

We used all the fat from the hog to render our own lard.  Lard was a preferred ingredient for many baked items.  Good eating.  We were not big on eating healthy on the farm. 

When we butchered a hog, we also always made “Head Cheese.”  “Head Cheese” is all the trimmings and everything that can be scraped off and out of the hog’s skull.  As I remember, we threw away the brain, eyes and ears, but used the tongue.  Dad would smash the skull with a sledgehammer, and scrape off all the meat.  Mom would pick out any bone fragments.  This “meat” was then cooked and ground up very fine.  I guess we could have called it “Brown Slime” instead of “Head Cheese.”  We served it chilled as sandwich meat.  Done right, Head Cheese might even be considered a delicacy. 

Once when I was a kid, we had a bunch of relatives over and Mom served “Head Cheese” on fresh homemade buttered buns.  They were delicious.  I waited until some of my cousins were on their second or third sandwich before I told them what they were eating.  Some of them got a little green. 

A name can mean a lot.  A name can convey a good image or a bad image.  A couple other names currently thrown around in the food industry are “Lite” and “Low Fat”.  Just what do they mean?  They may not mean what you thought. 

I heard one nutritionist on TV say we should go through our refrigerators, cupboards and pantries, and throw away anything that had the label “Lite”.  Who knows?

I will talk more about the name game in politics later.