Taxation and Regulation Without Representation

The problem that everyone feels instinctively is that we have taxation and regulation without representation. The big decisions are made by regulatory agencies, federal courts and executive orders. Nobody elects the regulators and judges, but they unilaterally regulate the internet, declare war on coal and redefine marriage. The only individual who is elected is the president who delays the collection of the Employer Mandate tax for a year and issues executive orders on immigration. Congress gets to decide once a year whether to fund the government or shut it down. Harry Reid's success in smothering Congressional power is the reason we have Trump as a Republican presidential nominee.

The voters tried to work through Congress starting in early 2010. In response to the threat of Obamacare, the voters of Massachusetts elected a Republican Senator to replace Ted Kennedy. Obamacare passed anyway via parliamentary tricks. In 2010, voters elected a Republican House. Harry Reid made sure nothing of importance that the House passed reached the President's desk. In 2012 and 2014 Congress got more Republican, but it didn't change anything. Even with control of both the House and Senate, not one spending bill passed before the omnibus all or nothing vote was required.

Frustrated by Congressional victories that gained nothing, Republican voters decided that they needed to try something radical. That's why we have a choice of Trump Trash or Crooked Hillary.

A vote for Hillary is a vote for continued taxation and regulation without representation. Why bother with Congress now that President Obama has shown you don't really need them?

Congress Is Powerless, It Gave All Its Power Away

We need a Constitutional Amendment to force Congress to approve every regulation on an up or down, limited debate, no amendments, recorded vote.  Since Congress avoids responsibility and the Executive Branch loves enacting laws without Congress, this Constitutional Amendment will have to come from a Constitutional Convention called by 2/3 of the states' legislatures.  The Constitution never envisioned regulatory agencies with executive, legislative and judicial functions.  The result is tyranny.  The argument that regulations need expertise does not mean that Congress can't be trusted to approve regulations proposed by the regulatory "experts."  It's their job in Congress to enact laws.  There are no exceptions.  The fact is the Democrats have been able to deadlock Congress on purpose and avoid having to negotiate deals with Congressional Republicans. That's why we now have a choice between Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton.  Congress has no power because it gave it all away.

Original Article:

http://www.wsj.com/articles/a-brave-new-workplace-1468364967

Convention of the States:

http://www.conventionofstates.com/

Renegade Judges, Unchecked Regulators and Presidential Decrees

Many observers feel the US Federal Government is not working very well.  The article liked below wants a more parliamentary form for choosing the President.  I think the article misdiagnoses the problem. First off, it's too hard to get rid of federal judges, who have life tenure. Once judges decided to rule on the basis of what they wanted the law to be, rather than what the law is, the law gradually became chaos and nobody could know what the next ruling would bring. If there was an easy way to get rid of judges who rule based on what they want rather than what the law says, we could at least address the problem. Second, administrative agencies have become a law unto themselves from which there is no effective appeal. This flows from the fact that the courts generally defer to regulatory agencies, and Congress has no right of review. The result is that the EPA can determine that when you exhale, the CO2 you emit is a pollutant. If Congress preserved a right to repeal any regulation without presidential consent, it would help a lot. Since the polite fiction is that Congress is delegating its legislative power to the regulatory agencies, it should fly, but only if the first problem is fixed. Finally, we get to the President ruling by decree. If the first two problems were fixed, the President would not be able to rule by decree. The courts would rule against him and the regulations that implemented the decrees could be repealed without Presidential consent. Unfortunately, I am not sure that we can get anywhere close to a solution right now. It's likely we have slipped too far into Presidential rule by decree backed by unchecked regulatory agencies and courts ruling based on the outcomes they want, rather than the law as it is. 

http://www.nationalreview.com/article/388132/two-cheers-constitution-day-f-h-buckley