Consent of the Governed

   The coronavirus might remind us that almost every piece of legislation passed by Congress is virus-ridden.   A typical example is the recent CARES Act.   The intent of this $2 trillion bill was to help workers whose companies were “temporarily” shut down, allegedly to “flatten the curve” and keep medical facilities from being overwhelmed.   Indeed, CARES did send a $1200 check to virtually every worker or householder (courtesy of the government printing presses) – but your consent wasn’t asked for because the way our republic works, we transfer our right to consent or dissent to our elected representatives.   But like so many things in life, irresponsible, incompetent, and/or evil people find ways to poison an otherwise respected and efficient practice of representative government. 
 

   The original CARES bill included a parade of “green wish list” items, but even after those were stripped out, many viruses still infected the final bill.   Here are a few examples:
 

• $324 million for foreign diplomacy programs
 

• $75 million for the National Endowment for the Humanities
 

• $75 million for the National Endowment for the Arts
 

• $25 million for House of Representatives salaries and expenses
 

• $25 million for the Kennedy Center for Performing Arts in DC
 

   Did any of these viruses have your consent?   As noted above, the great majority of bills passed by Congress contain all kinds of viruses.   They’re collectively called “pork” and are virtually always irrelevant to the main focus of the legislation.   In essence, most legislators would tell you not to sweat it.   After all, it’s only a few million here and a few million there – and besides, it’s the way things are done.   But at the end of a fiscal year, all those viruses can add up to tens of billions of dollars, at least.   Have you ever given your consent to “the way things are done?”   Would you give it now?   And how about all the viruses, including many virulent “green” ones, in the proposed $3 trillion stimulus bill (inaptly named the HEROES Act and passed by the House as of this writing)?   As one rational pundit put it: “…relief legislation should be clean, not green.”
 

   These days, it seems like most government players act in defiance of what would surely be the dissent of the governed – i.e., they act unconstitutionally.   The US Constitution provides that the responsibility of the executive branch of government is to carry out (i.e., execute) laws passed by legislative bodies elected by the people.   Virtually all state constitutions are patterned after that great document.   In recent years, however, we’ve been seeing executive orders promulgated by presidents, governors and even mayors that are presented as “the law.”    For example, during this COVID-19 crisis, governors have issued shelter-in-place orders, closed churches, and closed businesses they arbitrarily deem non-essential (but not abortion mills).   These “orders” have been given the force of law and even specify fines and jail time for violations.   Did we — in any way — consent?   Or did we just quietly acquiesce?   
 

   Then, there’s the matter of rampant government waste.   For example, the federal bureaucracy is bloated beyond reason.   Not only is there much duplication with state bureaucracies, but each federal agency itself is bloated with people who are paid, on average, a third more than comparable jobs in the private sector – and they’ve collected their full checks throughout the COVID-19 business closures.   I thought WE were the bosses.   (For many more examples of government fraud and waste, search online for sites like Taxpayers for Common Sense, Citizens Against Government Waste; Rand Paul’s “The Waste Report”; etc.)
 

   It’s a known fact that federal budgets only grow; they never shrink.   Not only that, but the programs they foist upon us are seldom measured for results – and the few that are measured are continued even when they’re shown to be failures.   As Ronald Reagan once quipped: “A government program is the nearest thing on earth to eternal life.”   Did you consent to all the boondoggles and wasteful spending of your money?   
 

   But it’s late in the game, folks.   Right now, the overarching question for “we the people” is how can those who pay the freight in this country get a chance to voice their non-consent to the current arrogance, incompetence, waste, and fraud that takes place daily at the federal and other levels of government?   What effective avenues or mechanisms, if any, do taxpayers have to combat this ongoing malfeasance?
 

   Conventional wisdom typically comes up with something like: “Vote on election day and vote the bums out.”   But that’s no longer reliable, not only because of all the lobbying dollars behind incumbents but also because of increasing election fraud.   All right then, how about contacting your congressman or legislator and making your dissatisfaction known?   Well, how has that worked for you any time you’ve done it?   Some of you might be able to paper a room with FORM LETTERS that thank you for your “valued” opinion – with lots of added boilerplate stressing the importance of citizens participating in democracy …yada…yada…yada.   Letters or calls from Joe Taxpayer change virtually nothing.
 

   One remedy many politicians have promised to pursue but have never delivered on is term limits.   For example, members of the House could be limited to ONE 3-year term; senators to ONE 4-year term; and presidents to ONE 6-year term.   Supreme Court and other lifetime judgeships could also be scaled back.   No doubt you recall candidates running for Congress who have promised to push for term limits.   They’re always the challengers, never the incumbents, but if they happen to win the election, the subject of term limits gets lost – especially after they experience the perks and ever-ballooning salaries they collect when they take office.   Besides, experienced incumbents advise them that proposing term limit legislation is NOT “the way things are done.”
 

   With a one-term limit, a congressman, senator, president, legislator, governor, or mayor would never stand for re-election – so besides not being worth very much time and money to typical lobbyists, they could more easily resist the demand to “do something” when in fact “doing something” would likely worsen a problem.   One of our best presidents, Calvin Coolidge, advised: “It is much more important to kill bad bills than to pass good ones…You can display no greater wisdom than by resisting proposals for needless legislation.”   Anyway, don’t hold your breath until we get term limits.   
 

   There’s no question that in politics, money talks.   Indeed, we are, in fact, economic prisoners of the government, not only through certain entitlements but also because of compulsory tax withholding.   Otherwise, if we could hold back on taxes via a national referendum (for example, with escrow accounts), a two-thirds majority might be able to reign in a runaway government by temporarily “starving the beast” and forcing it not only to clean up its act but even to downsize.   It would be a way of forcing the wrong people to do the right things.  
 

   “Dream on,” you say – and you’re right.   But don’t give up.   Instead, pray daily for the survival of our freedoms.   Start by giving thanks to the Lord, and then pray for wisdom regarding the specific outcomes you seek.   Pray also that the Lord works to give our earthly opponents His wisdom and even a change of heart.
 

   Finally, if you ever start thinking that the government bureaucrats have your best interests at heart after all, keep these words of patriot Daniel Webster in mind:
 

   “It is hardly too strong to say that the Constitution was made to guard the people against the dangers of good intentions.   There are men in all ages who mean to govern well, but they mean to govern.   They promise to be good masters, but they mean to be masters.”
 

   Needless to say, good masters can easily turn into harsh ones – and without our consent.

Email comments to: NKuk@PioneerCable.net