Passing Responsibility to the SCOTUS

The intent of the founders to include a Supreme Court Of The United States in the US Constitution was not to become a tyranny by committee, but to simply be a referee if the congress attempted to pass an unconstitutional law - or there was a question regarding the balance of power between the 3 branches of government. They are co-equal in power with each branch having specific responsibilities.

The SCOTUS was actually intended to be the “weakest” branch when you read the discussions around the constitution between the founders. They believed they needed the judicial branch just like a sporting event needs a referee (they didn’t use this argument but it is the easiest way for me to explain). The rules are defined and provide the guidelines for the game. When there are disputes or the players on the team break the rules the referee reviews the action based on the rules of the game. The constitution is the rules of the government and the SCOTUS is the referee.

The SCOTUS has too often become a tool for those that can’t get legislation passed in their favor through the legislative process. The most famous case is Row V Wade. The SCOTUS created a right in the constitution that had never existed before. Instead of allowing the debate about legal abortion to play out in the states, they ruled and created a “law” that has been a divisive issue since. Creating law is not the responsibility of the SCOTUS. Ruling on whether a law is constitutional is.

If a law is not constitutional it is struck down and the legislature can amend and change the law to be constitutional. If it is constitutional the law stands.

The way the SCOTUS is being utilized in modern times is to give 9 unelected, lifetime-tenured judges, the same power as a dictator. It is tyranny by committee. Worshiping the decisions of the SCOTUS is unhealthy and it was never the intent of the founders for the SCOTUS to be so powerful. The reason the founders placed the power to make and change laws in the House because it is closest to the people, and held accountable to elections every two years.

Lawyers love to put faith in the judicial branch because it increases their power and relevance but that is to the detriment of the people…

I Love to Think

One of the most enjoyable activities of my day is taking time to think. I love to think about the ramifications of actions or ideas often promoted in articles. It can be in business or politics, but I find myself never, ever taking the information on face value. I know I’m not alone but I often wonder how many people actually look at the ramifications of policy.

For example: I look at the intentions of government welfare programs and I think to myself, do the results of the program match the original intent? Having grown up in NYC I have had a lot of exposure to the results of these programs. Section 8 housing was intended to provide housing for low income families. The result was the destruction of neighborhoods, gang violence, and too many people becoming prisoners within their own apartments. Welfare for poor families has led to the destruction of the family. You see, in order for woman to get welfare they can’t have a male in the house. They also receive additional benefits for having more children. The result is more single parent households with lots of latchkey kids running around without supervision in dilapidated apartment complexes.

The results of welfare have been the destruction of the inner city and especially the minority communities. There is no incentive to get off the program because the benefits package adds up to more than most people with the same education level can expect from full employment. So as I think about and observe the results I can’t help but wonder is there a better way?

Human behavior is easy to predict. It has not changed throughout the ages. You give people stuff and they become entitled. Teach and man to fish and you know what happens? People in America have been blessed with a system of government and an economic system that has produced wealth beyond any past historical comparisons. It has given us the luxury to be compassionate. We want to feel that we are doing something to help the less fortunate so we support any program that intends to help people. But the government is not the best distributor of this generosity. It is the local church or non-profit.

The intent of the new healthcare law was to insure everyone and make healthcare affordable. Who could argue with that? But the results are already being seen and if we look at the track record of other well intended government programs we can predict failure and the destruction of the best healthcare system in the world. All we have to do is think about it. The evidence that the government is not the answer is everywhere.

I love to think. I hope you do too…

This is Who I Am

I shut down my blog when I started to realize I may need to start searching for a new career. That is a different story for another day. I was advised that if people disagreed with my political arguments it could limit my opportunities to be hired. Makes sense I guess. I rarely talk politics at work but have opinions on politics that I believe are in line with why we are exceptional as a country. I want to help people understand why politics is important. I don’t want to demonize people but I have to call stupid, stupid, when it is stupid. For example, thinking that borrowing and printing money out of thin air is sound economic policy.

Most people are not “stupid” but they don’t think their political thoughts through. I am here to help make politics understandable for the casual observer of politics. Or maybe I just have to write my thoughts because that is who I am. I am a student of human behavior which is at the foundation of our constitution and success as a country. I must teach and write my opinions. If I lose a career opportunity because of my passion so be it.

So if you are interested in hiring me know this: I am a strategic thinker that believes politics is at the core of keeping our future secure. Politics impacts everything including business. I will not talk politics at work unless it is an environment that encourages it. But I will never remain silent when information is incorrect. I will be who I am and that means being a productive customer focused executive and political blogger.

I have felt something was missing in my life the past few months, and as I feverishly write this blog I now know what it is. I was holding back a piece of me that is what makes me tick in many ways. I have written hundreds of blog posts and articles, six books, three musical CD’s, and I now know that if I am not writing songs or blogs about politics, I am not being me. I must be honest with myself, and although I appreciate the advice to stay away from politics, it is not who I am.

So today I am beginning my blog after months of hiatus. It is part of who I am and I will not apologize for it. If the people that hire people don’t want to consider people that have a political opinion that is their choice. We live in a free country for now. But a note to those individuals: just because people don’t have a political blog or discuss politics doesn’t mean they aren’t political. They are just afraid to be labeled in a negative way.

Being political does not define a person into a certain category. It simply means they are engaged, and have a true passion to keep this exceptional country exceptional.  

It’s Time To Call Stupid, Stupid!

The economy has been stagnant for the last 3 years and the excuse continues to be that we are still digging out of an economic collapse rivaling the great depression. We believe that excuse? The reality is the economic collapse was caused by government interference. The government forced lenders to reduce or remove income requirements that people actually have the means to pay back the mortgages they agreed to. In order to convince the private sector to go along with this scheme to increase home ownership at any cost, the federal government guaranteed these loans so that there was no risk to the private institutions. The federal government is the root cause of this market meltdown.

The domino effect of these federal mandates to loan money to anyone and everyone impacted the overall economy, and sent the fragile auto industry into crisis. The economic crisis was compounding the fact that the auto industry had embarked on union contracts that were unsustainable. Add to that the years of regulations that have added costs to the production of cars by the federal government, and you have a cost model to produce a product that was sure to collapse. Instead of letting the companies go through bankruptcy, which has always proven to be the best method of restructuring, the federal government stepped in to take over GM and Chrysler. The federal government took tax payer dollars, saved the unions, and fired nonunion workers. Even though they say this was a “success”, it has hampered the auto industries comeback. Ford who refused the bailout is actually the healthiest car company today. The taxpayers are going to lose billions of dollars once the final tally is counted.

Obamacare is mandating insurance coverage, forcing doctors to take ridiculously low fees to see government funded patients (Medicare), increasing taxes on medical devices and innovative companies trying to make the industry more productive, forcing patients to tell the IRS about their personal healthcare matters, and people are surprised that the cost of healthcare is rising and the quality is going to be impacted as well. What do stupid people think will happen?

The EPA and the president stop the energy production of fossil fuels including the Keystone pipeline, put tax payer money into sustainable energy companies whose business models are unsustainable, and people wonder why gas prices average $3.50 a gallon. What do stupid people think about this?

The intrusion of the federal government into our markets and lives is destroying the wealth and health of this country and we applaud this president for “caring” about the “common guy.” Tax the rich because they make so much anyway!! It doesn’t matter that the people that are wealthy have created most of the jobs in this country, or the fact that rewards improve the likelihood people will risk their money to start a business, but we are too stupid to figure this out. Stupid people want to punish the people that create jobs as companies announce layoffs. What did the stupid people expect?

The federal government has not presented the country with a budget for 3 years. We accept it and chalk it up to politics. Chalk it up to people too stupid to hold their government accountable.

If we don’t take back our educational institutions from the incompetent people in charge, we are doomed forever. Our kids are not taught about our founding, constitution, the power of capitalism and free markets or how to think analytically, and we wonder why people are stupid enough to vote for more of this policy chaos?

  Stupid is what stupid does…

Mandate? Not for the President…

The President and democrats in congress are talking about a “mandate” from the people to raise taxes. Really? If that were true, don’t you think the voters would have given the House of Representatives a democratic advantage if that was the case? Every spending and tax bill originates in the house and who was elected to the house in a majority? Republicans, and every republican ran on spending cuts not tax increases. So you could say that the American people actually voted for a mandate of spending cuts.

Any talk of giving into the president’s agenda is wrong and will further divide this nation. The federal government has an addiction to spending and most Americans believe it is time to put the federal government into spending rehab. If the voters were asked the question: should the government increase taxes on small businesses in order to create jobs and reduce the deficit? I believe people understand taxing the people that they work for is not a good idea and will come out of their hide either way. It is when the question is posed to “tax the rich” it wins support. Which is unfortunate in itself but “the rich” have been demonized by democrats for so long that this faceless group is easy to gain support for punishment.

President Obama won by a razor thin majority and not by a landslide. The people that are continuing to gloat over their win will soon find themselves in a situation where they are laid off, cutting back, paying more for everything, and if taxes are permitted to be raised, a deep recession. My heart breaks for my children and their generation, because they have been lied to, and may never again see a great America if this president gets what he is hoping for in his final term. The gloating is disturbing.

So based on the election results the House of Representatives must stop the fiscal bankruptcy by cutting spending. If they want to close some loop holes that is OK as long as everyone’s taxes are raised. The 47% who don’t pay federal tax must be made to pay something since they get most of the services.

We are a divided nation and it is getting worse. There is no need to come together on the issue of raising taxes because it will destroy our economy. And then we will be in it together but in a place we will not want to be. The mandate is to cut spending not increase taxes. Republicans must remember that and focus on reforming all entitlements and balancing the budget…  

Ideas VS Identity Politics

Here’s an idea; how about we create a system that allows for nearly full employment at livable wages? Good idea? If this idea came true would it be good for only Republicans or Democrats? Would political party matter if the idea worked and put Americans back to work?

Here’s an idea; how about we create a system that gives women first priority on all jobs in the marketplace. Until we know there are no women that want the job we can then open it up to men. Would political party matter? Most likely yes because this is not an idea that would be created to benefit the masses, it is more likely a policy to reward a specific group. This particular group being women and the two parties thrive on implementing policies that increase their power amongst the citizenry.

I could continue with the examples but when it comes to government policies, they are often designed by politicians to support constituents. It is called identity politics. Republicans play identity politics with religious right to life groups promising they will use the hammer of the federal government to impose rules on family matters like pregnancy and abortion. Democrats play identity politics with the gay community by promising to support gay marriage and adoption by using the hammer of the federal government to force people to accept these positions.

Using the hammer of the federal government is used by both of the political parties. It is simply that the democrats have more groups they represent than the republicans do. Identity politics is nowhere to be found in the US Constitution. The constitution was written to limit the power of the federal government and was originally focused on the things that were of common interest to the states. The national defense, foreign treaties, and a place states could resolve their disputes between each other.

But today the federal government has devolved into a hammer between the states and citizens and is destroying the common fabric of our nation. It must end before it destroys us. It will take a new way of thinking but is a message that all thinking individuals could rally around.

We must start electing governors that are willing to nullify federal law and embrace the ninth and tenth amendments to the constitution. The talk about the Republican Party having to moderate is not the answer. What Republicans must do is to give up the hammers it uses to get their ideas codified at the federal level. Abortion, gay marriage, prayer in school, school vouchers, etc… must be looked at in a new way.

Most of the most controversial issues are codified in the tax code and by Supreme Court decisions. Do we believe that a Marriage Amendment at the federal level will make people respect marriage more? Marriage is good for our society for the creation and raising of children, but should the federal government be used as a hammer to enforce it? Of course not, marriage is mostly a religious sacrament and we should allow churches to manage it the way they believe is in their best interest. If a church wants to support gay marriage let them. Go to another church. If you believe abortion is the taking of a life make your arguments to convince people of your view. By using the hammer of the federal government to infringe on people’s private, difficult, and personal matters you lose any credibility of truly wanting to reduce the federal government. Wanting to regulate life upon conception can’t be managed without infringing on other people’s rights and the federal government is not an entity we should want so involved in our personal lives. Conservatives must be consistent or they lose.

If we really want to reduce the federal government, we must argue against every area that the federal government should not be. Freedom has costs. If you are a Christian you believe we will all be judged. We should live by example and resist the hammer of the federal government to get our messages and policy implemented.

We can become a much greater nation when we focus on our own lives and limit the hammer of the federal government to implement policies. When we commit to limit the federal government to its original intent we have to put down our hammers as well. You can be opposed to policy but we must accept what it means to be a free society. We also can fight battles in the states where we have more impact and if we choose, we can live in any state that most closely reflects our values. We first need to reduce the influence of the federal government.

The way we do that is to argue and fight for a constitutional republic by using the tenth amendment and putting all of our hammers aside.