Friday, July 8, 2011

How Would You Do It?

The founders of our fine republic didn't like government all that much, so they structured the constitution to limit its powers. They did a damned good job of it overall -- the government stayed limited for, oh, 150 years or so. However, since the new deal the government has grown faster than my man parts when I see a pic of Salma Hayek. Not a good thing.

That's made me wonder: did the founders miss something when writing the constitution? Is there something they should have put in there to make their goal of limited government more explicit? Could they have prevented the growth of the leviathan somehow?

If there were a revolution tomorrow and you were put in charge, what would you do to make sure that down the road we wouldn't be in the same pickle that we are now?

5 comments:

  1. term limits for all offices and a prohibition against excluding themselves from the laws they write.

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  2. I would explicitly include the rights of States to secede.

    I would also include provisions to limit the federal budget to some percentage of GDP and also limit taxation in any form to that percentage.

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  3. Every law expires with a set date, so that you don't end up with a million page Code of Federal Regulations that outlaws everything.

    How about if there is a budget deficit, lawmakers may not run for re-election? And no such thing as "off the budget", separate books, like they do now. I'm sure that would spawn a new book of accounting rules.

    Maybe include a bill of no rights, too. Like you have no right to other people's lives and stuff. There was one going around - I'm sure a few minutes of Google-fu will find it.

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  4. Require only one item be passed at a time. No omnibus bills. Require that the legislation to be voted on be read on the steps of the Capitol building in their entirety and that exact verbiage be the one voted on. The reading must be done by the same person and all at once. No breaks for food, drink or lifesaving medicine; otherwise start over.

    A bill that fails to pass must be tabled for at least three sessions of Congress. I'm sick of the "only gotta get lucky once" ratchet.

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