State Governments over the years have acquiesced by giving authority to the Federal government the right to interfere in States business. The writers of the Constitution clearly never had this in mind when it was approved. The Federal Governments authority was clearly defined.
I decided to put thoughts to paper after listening to the Governor of Texas yesterday rail at the loss of authority and proposing creating a Commonwealth separate and apart from the USA. This of course will not happen but what I hope it will do is energize State elected officials to begin to fight back with the positive result of curbing the abuses.
The reason it happened is quite simple. Only the Federal Government can print money. Most States have constitutional provisions which demands balanced budgets. The Feds have used the power of the purse to demand adherence to their requirements. There are myriad of examples. In the current stimulus package the States must use the funds provided as dictated. This is why the Texas Governor and other Republican Governors are protesting. The problem with this protest is that they are making their protest political, trying to denigrate President Obama’s program to score points with the electorate. Just once wouldn’t it be nice, if the countries good as a whole was the driving force, not partisan politics. Oh well, don’t hold your breath. Politics it seems is the life force that is all important. Sorry, I digress from my subject.
Transportation is another. The Feds don’t just allocate funds based on population or other criteria. They provide a huge bureaucracy to oversee and control how the States spend the funds. No Child Left Behind is a huge multi billion dollar bureaucracy that requires tabulation of results from the time children enter the school system until they graduate or drop out. This one in particular offends me. All school districts across America are making painful decisions to lay off teachers because of shortfalls in tax revenues. (This would be the first program to be cut if it were up to me.) What good are records if students are being deprived of the instruction necessary to develop? The only reason it exists is because of the funds provided.
I could go on and on but to what use? The Governors, together with their Legislators, must join forces to stop it. It can be done. Think of the costs that could be saved.
Jack B. Walters
3961 N. Hillwood Circle
Tucson, AZ 85750
(520) 722-2958
April 16, 2009
jackbwalters@yahoo.com
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