In my Humble Opinion: Federal government overreach: Part 2
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In My Humble Opinion
Jodi McDade
I am sorry I missed last week’s paper with Part 2 of my column. I had a water leak in my house and had a mess to clean up instead of making the deadline. My topic had become the overreach of the federal government based on our Constitution, and I’m now going to get a little more specific on the problems I see us facing today.
As I had stated, the powers of the federal government were extremely limited. Each state was sovereign and held the power to make decisions for its citizens. With our Constitution our state and national governments were assigned very distinct, separate and specific powers.
A “power” is the legal right of the executive, legislative and judicial branches of government to act on certain issues. As I stated in my last column, the Bill of Rights within our Constitution spelled out how the powers should be handled – The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the states, are reserved to the states respectively, or to the people.
But, in our world today, too much power has been transferred from the states to the federal government. The best government is that closest to the people – that SHOULD mean that city/town, county, state, federal would be the ladder of power and how decisions should be made. But it is now the exact opposite.
A city/town cannot make decisions in many instances without first consulting with the county, state and federal government. The counties are the same with having to consult with the states and the states to the federal government.
While our country was formed under the premise of states rights, the individual states have voluntarily given up their powers in many areas to the federal government. So now we have a large, overinflated, overreaching federal government that is trying to regulate everything in our lives.
One way this has been used is with the unfunded mandates that the federal government makes on the states and local governments. When the federal income tax came into being and the federal government started regulations and laws on how this money could be used, many mandates (requirements) were put on the states in order for them to receive money back from the federal government.
One of the most recent examples is in education. The federal government, through programs like “No Child Left Behind” and “Common Core,” attached the requirement that states participate in these programs to receive funding from them for the schools. Also, the requirements for the free lunch programs were reduced to include all students or there would be cuts to the funding. I hate to call education a “social” program, but that is what it has become.
Other areas are also mandated like the Clean Air Act, Food Stamps, Medicaid, Americans with Disability Act, and OSHA regulations. These programs are required by the federal government, but little or no funding is provided to the states or local governments. It is up to those entities to further tax the citizens or find other funding to meet the regulations. States must then choose between funding agencies that are important to the safety of the citizens (like law enforcement and prisons) or providing funds to meet the costly requirements of the federal mandates.
We see more of this overreach every day. While the Civil War supposedly ended slavery, we are all now slaves to the government in one form or another. We must work long hours or several jobs to support our families, many citizens are totally dependent on the government for their housing and food, the cost of goods/gas/food, etc. is regulated by the government through their economic policies, and even our medical care must meet government guidelines. We must pay taxes or tariffs on everything from our income to our purchases.
This is not the country our founding fathers envisioned. This was to be a “land of the free” to choose our own journeys – life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. How much of those three freedoms do you really enjoy today? Isn’t it time we really examine where we are and where we are going so we can alter our course before it is too late? Does it really make sense to you that illegal immigrants are being provided free everything when we have Americans who are homeless, unable to pay their bills or feed their families? Are you in favor of the runaway crime rates while our law enforcement agencies are being defunded?
We have a major election coming up again next year, and we all need to determine what issues mean the most to us. Are you going to vote for a political party that is wanting to require you to use only electric stoves and electric cars or do you want the freedom to buy gas stoves and cars? Are you going to vote for a political party that wants to restore law and order while following the Constitution or do you want to see the violence and crime in your neighborhoods increase?
Again, we have moved so far away from the “land of the free” it is hard to know if it’s too late to turn around. But, I’d rather die trying instead of giving in to people who are trying to take my freedoms away. Keep in mind, you were not born into a political party, and the party of your grandparents has changed drastically during your lifetime. Choose wisely, my friends.
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