If It Ain't Broke, Don't Fix It

I spent a part of my Thanksgiving in a conversation with my daughter discussing the steps involved with repairing a leaky toilet in their home.  (What, this isn't the normal holiday conversation you have with your kids?  Really?)  Now that you're riveted to your seats by what's about to come next .... 

 (12/5/13:  An updated version of this effort was just posted to the TFP Website.)

I could do this because I was fortunate enough to have a father who while I was growing up (OK, growing older) was able to instruct me in the basic 'Harry the handyman' skills involved with maintaining a home.  In fact, he went on to instruct me in an apprenticeship program that he had taught at R R Donnelley and Sons that included basic mechanical, electrical, and hydraulic / pneumatic principles when I began my career in the printing industry.  One of the first things he stressed in those lessons was that since maintaining any complex system would be difficult enough for even the most conscientious maintenance staff: 'if it ain't broke, don't fix it'.  This is apparently something that the Congress and the President either never learned, or forgot about when creating the 'Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act' or 'ACA'.  

Oh I know that politicians often like to simplify subjects that they either don't understand themselves or don't think that 'the voters' will, in order to sell us something (usually a bill of goods); but the simple truth of the matter is that when all of this began, the US had a level of health care that was the envy of the world. That's why other world leaders and that pesky '1%' with the cash often came to this country for treatment of their ailments. This is not to say that there weren't things that needed improvement, but most of that seemed to be greater "access" to this wonderful system through minor modifications of health insurance coverage.

While even those who had no insurance or couldn't pay had access to some level of medical care, they needed more. Those with pre-existing medical conditions also needed the ability to obtain or retain insurance (especially when changing jobs). Doctors needed tort reform to reduce the amount of defensive (and expensive) medical procedures being performed for no better reason than to protect themselves from frivolous malpractice lawsuits, without removing the patient's right to seek redress from poor practitioners. Patients and doctors alike needed protection from the crony-capitalism in an insurance industry riddled with restrictive choices mandated by individual state insurance regulators.

In its normal ham-fisted approach to almost every issue however, our federal legislators chose a 'throw the baby out with the bath water' approach, without considering the ramifications of another 'never-ending gobstopper omnibus' effort, as well as the laws of unintended consequences. Far too concerned about winning points for their respective parties that they could store up like nuts for the next election (like there aren't enough nuts around in every election), our legislators allowed themselves to be caught up in the momentum of a 'sweeping reform' which only seem to clean out sound judgment, and good law. Sadly now, the nation is left with a result that even many of those who originally voted for it are less than pleased with.

This is not to say that the ACA doesn't positively address some of the issues that it intended to. Those with pre-existing conditions now have the access to insurance that they deserve. Unfortunately, this came with the cost that far too many of those who had pre-existing insurance plans lost them. Many who needed access to health insurance will finally get it, but in spite of all the back-slapping after its passage, 30 million will remain without it. Instead of freeing up the insurance market between states to make it cheaper, the ACA instead further restricted it to four 'government-approved' plans that make it even more expensive (and, contrary to the law's title, less affordable). Perhaps worst of all is that politicians who touted the necessity of this sweeping change and the fairness of their effort granted themselves their staffs an exemption from the rules that they insist the rest of us follow.

Not surprisingly, those seeking electoral credit for their legislative efforts are instead contracting incurable levels displeasure, disapproval, and disrepute that may cost them the privilege of the jobs they sought to protect with its passage. Curiously, it's only the distraction of the temporary collapse of the HealthCare.gov website used for enrolling in this monstrosity that's offering any protection to these wayward legislators from the greater ruin and future recrimination that awaits them. Tragically (if not perhaps fatally), the CYA and CYP (Cover Your Party) nature of the entrenched politics involved precludes even the most honorable of members of either party from doing what they know in their hearts probably now needs to be done.

So it's time for many to learn a hard lesson that apparently their fathers couldn't or didn't pass on to them. You don't fix a simple leaky toilet by ripping out the entire bathroom. You don't remodel a house by demolishing it and rezoning the neighborhood for commercial. In fact, with anything that needs repair, the first rule must always be: 

"If it ain't broke, don't fix it!"    

       

It's Not My Fault!

 This effort has already been accepted by and will be going up on the website of  the Toledo Free Press here, but I couldn't resist posting it here for no other reason than the ability to put in this YouTube video clip from "The Blues Brothers", a 1980 movie that was filmed nearby my old neighborhood in the Chicago area.


"No, I didn't. Honest... I ran out of gas. I... I had a flat tire. I didn't have enough money for cab fare. My tux didn't come back from the cleaners. An old friend came in from out of town. Someone stole my car. There was an earthquake. A terrible flood. Locust. It wasn't my fault. I swear to God!"
- 'Joliet' Jake Blues ("The Blues Brothers")

Enough news cycles have now passed that a mostly disconnected public has lost interest in the hype of the Government Shutdown and manufactured threat of the Default. If you doubt me, ask how many realize that since last Thursday when the agreement was signed, the limit was raised, and the floodgates were opened; that government debt jumped by the rather amazing amount of $500 billion.

Now some might consider this selective inattention on the part of the electorate astonishing, others are impressed by the government's apparent ability to stop time where spending was concerned right before we purportedly reached our previous limit instead. Still others might point to the dubious (and now clearly proven fraudulent) claim made back in September by the President (and shared by Neil Irwin of the Washington Post): "Because it's called raising the debt ceiling, I think a lot of Americans think it's raising our debt. It is not raising our debt. This does not add a dime to our debt." (Really?) What I find miraculous however, is the lack of blame that's been attached to anyone involved with the situation.

I'm not talking about Democrats (or the mainstream media) blaming the Tea Party Republicans in the House and Senate for the shutdown. That's little more than the expected and rather tired rhetoric used to gear up the fundraising efforts of the base running up to the 2014 election. Nor am I talking about Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, who years ago talked about the Republicans being "the party of no" but has recently taking up that mantle upon himself in refusing to look at anything from the House of which he disapproves. Then again, why should they be held accountable when no one either recently or currently in office (elected or appointed) appears to be responsible for anything that's happened in their areas of responsibility?

Four US citizens, including an Ambassador, were killed in Benghazi; and a year later, no one's to blame. In spite of previous attacks that occurred and the fact that the compound in Benghazi was known to be indefensible; nothing was done to correct it. In spite of the fact that we have fast-deployment teams stationed around the world, none of them were deployed (or even put on standby alert).  In spite of the fact that the safety of US sovereign territory and the diplomatic staff is the direct responsibility of the Departments of State and Defense, no one has been called out, held to blame, or in any way punished. Hillary Clinton (State) and Leon Panetta (Defense) were in fact lauded for the performance of their duties when they finally resigned, in spite of having this glaring failure of leadership occur on their watch.

NSA is clearly out of control with the electronic eavesdropping not only on unfriendly foreign governments and terrorists threats, but on friendly governments and citizens in this country as well. Only the most broad and unconstitutional interpretations of the Patriot Act permit anything close to such spying. Only the most naive and low-information citizens can believe that the massive data storage facilities currently being built in Utah will not be used to retain data that the government is Constitutionally not permitted to obtain without a specific warrant. Yet no consequences appear to the forthcoming for the Director of the NSA (Gen. Keith Alexander), or for the current or former Secretary of Defense (Chuck Hagel and Leon Panetta, respectively) ostensibly in charge of this illegal data collection and its center.

As for spying on us, look no further than the IRS, destined to be the new watchdogs of our private healthcare information. The only thing lower than their approval ratings appear to be the ethics of their operating policies. It must be apparent to all but the sight-impaired that managers were either dictating policy or creating a pervasive atmosphere that sought to restrict the free speech rights of political foes of the President. Lois Lerner, an apparent key player in the illegal effort to obtain such information from these Tea Party Groups and an even more illegal effort to share it with the Federal Election Commission; was allowed to retire and begin collecting her pension however, after an almost smug claim to her own Constitutional right of a 5th Amendment privilege.  Ms. Lerner simply admitted her innocence before a Congressional Committee, and rode off into the sunset with her saddlebags full of cash. 
 
As for the current situation with the Affordable Care Act and its implementation, what can one say? Oh sure the website is an over-priced nightmare that cost too much. (The fact that there seems to be a margin of error of $200 million for what it cost, in spite of its epic failure, might be a giveaway as to future cost expectations.) But regardless of whether it's $400 million or $600 million for the failure that it's become, we still don't know what a working site will finally cost. Speaking of cost, we were told that premium costs would go down, but according to the Heritage Foundation, they've gone up in at least 45 of 50 states.  They have to in fact go up in fact, since unless you live in the heavily regulated states of NY or CA, the plan you were told you could keep by the President will not be one that you can in fact retain. It's all but impossible that an existing plan anywhere else will meet new (and still being written) ACA regulations, and that you will be required to take an approved and more expensive plan with higher rates and deductibles that does.  As for HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius, what can one say other than the President continues to have the greatest confidence in her (which is government speak for "you're doomed").

Is this incompetence or malice? I don't know and I don't care. What I do care about however, is that everyone elected or appointed to a position in DC lately seems to be pulling a 'Joliet Jake'. Managers and Department heads at the IRS, HHS, State, NSA, and Defense are retained, promoted, or allowed to retire with full pensions in spite of the illegal activity committed or the epic failures under their leadership. Incumbent legislators in the House and Senate who've consistently failed to produce a budget, run up the debt, and sloughed their regulatory responsibilities off to a faceless bureaucracy, are nevertheless re-elected with comfortable majorities. The Constitution that all these with power and privilege vow to protect and defend is no longer treated as the rule of law that limits and binds the government, but instead 'more of guideline' to be followed or ignored at personal whim.

More than any time in this country's history, Washington DC has become not only a 'logic-free zone', but a 'consequence-free territory' for those who live or work in it. 

Silly Bits VI

The Government appears to be about ready to shut down today.  Since this is one of the silliest things that the government does (a statement which goes much further than I'm sure the two major parties would be willing to concede), what better time to talk about some of the Silly Bits involved where this particular shutdown is concerned.

Shutdown, Schmutdown ... big deal.  After all, we've shut down the government some 17 times in recent history, and for all the common sense that seems to make, the damn thing keeps coming back to life like the evil lead in a Zombie Apocalypse movie.  Besides, all the really cool stuff in Washington DC like White House tours, the parks, and the museums were shut down already because of last year's Sequester. (Or so they've told us.)  

I for one am suspicious about these so-called shutdowns.  They tell us that this one will not threaten the checks of soldiers or the elderly on Social Security, but could eventually threaten the processing of claims for both; all so they can keep the special subsidies for a medical plan for members of Congress and theirs staffs who are making far more than the average citizen.  We'll no doubt keep writing checks for foreign aid (a post in itself that will have to wait for another day); all to keep from granting the same one year delay to individuals signing up for the ACA through legislation that were granted by Presidential fiat to employers. 

Besides, it's getting hard to worry about the bad things that will happen from this government shutdown when House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi already told us only last week that the government has cut everything it can already and can't cut more.  If that's the case, for all we know we might have been shut down already.   

Democrats want to blame Republicans for this potential shutdown, since it was their idea to shut down the government the last time in 1995.  Republicans in turn would like to blame Democrats, since it's Harry Reid and his party in the Senate that seem to have become the party of 'NO' lately in their refusal to compromise (or in many cases, even vote). A pox on both their Houses!

The truth is that Government is on the verge of shutting down because both parties are too busy posturing for position for an election that's 13 months away to have done their job for the previous 12 months.  Both parties require some media face time, good sound bites, and a jumping off point for fund raising.  So instead of doing one of the few things that they are obligated to do under the Constitution to perform, they ignore their fiscal responsibilities (and common sense) and square off on partisan lines at the last minute in such a way that any decision made must be ill-considered at best and a knee-jerk reaction at worst.

I've got an idea!  How about instead of passing a Continuing Resolution, we have them instead pass a law to hold a special election this November for ALL of those currently in office in both houses (regardless of the status of their term).  How about we make a 'very special' election' and not allow incumbents to run in it?  If your party gamesmanship is so important to that you continuously place it above your oath of office, take the bullet for it and go find another place to work.  If you're unable to perform the simplest requirements of the job you have, step a aside and allow us to find someone who will.

According to Democrats and some in the media, Republicans in the both houses of the national legislature should stop messing with Obamacare (The Affordable Health Care Act) because its law.  What a preposterous notion!

It's the job of members of the Congress to challenge laws when and if necessary, and to fix those that need it even after they're passed.  They've been doing this since the inception of this branch of government and as a result, we've seen things as foolish as the 'Jim Crow' laws of this nation redressed.

Of course, still waiting in the wings is the Debt Ceiling and yet another possible stand off .  You remember the Debt Ceiling; it's the limit of the government's ability to borrow money.  Now however, the President is out there on the stump telling us that the nation's debt is going down faster than it has in years.  Am I the only one that sees the logical inconsistency in this?  

If the debt is going down, why have we once again run out of money to borrow?  How is it that what we were told were the 'draconian cuts' of the 2012 Sequester have not prevented this from happening as threatened (promised)?  If we are so quickly again reaching the national credit limit however, shouldn't we be doing even more to bring in line the government's spending with it's revenues (like delaying a very expensive new government program like Obamacare)?

By the way, where does the $85 billion of government debt that the Federal Reserve purchases in bonds every month figure into this concept?  Call it Quantitative Easing or just the monthly bond auction, this government escapade doesn't even show up on the balance sheet.  Likewise, no elected official has to approve it, since this is the Fed's money and not really the government. (Like there's a difference?) This ruinous fiscal policy already has already led to devaluation of the currency and will eventually lead to some fairly massive inflation.  Such devaluation may some good for some in the stock market and those looking at the national debt we're worried about, but it won't do much good for anyone who earns and purchases in US dollars.

During the 2012 election, Presidential candidate Ron Paul held up a silver dime when talking about the current price of gasoline.  He reminded the nation that because of the changing worth of the currency in 'real goods', the value of the metal in what was a ten cent coin when minted was still enough to buy a gallon of gas, even at today's prices.  

As to the idea of a federal government shutdown itself, it should probably be pointed out that the real problem may not be whether it should happen or not; but this:

How did we let this government become "too big to fail" in the first place and allow the potential of its temporary shutdown to matter.   

The federal government long ago exceeded the limitations placed on it in the the Constitution.  This rampant overreach is as much responsible for the potential train wreck than anything else we're facing today.  Perhaps if so much money and power were not relegated to this bug-infested swamp on the Potomac River, we'd be cheering rather than fearing its potential of its temporary demise.  
 

The Magical Misdirection Tour

There are a lot of people worried about whether we're going to be shooting off a few fireworks in Syria this weekend to celebrate the Labor Day Weekend.  Quite frankly, I am too; but probably not as much as most.  There's been enough fireworks in the Middle East over the last couple of years (actually the last couple thousand years, but whose counting), and in spite of the recent cost in lives and treasure for 'Arabian Adventures', things don't really appear to be getting any better there.  After all, this part of the world is very hot and has too little water (two things which tend to make people cranky), and it seems unlikely that either will change.  So let's move on ....

Wait, that's it.  You're willing to brush off everything going on in Syria, Egypt, Iraq, Iran, Afghanistan, and Pakistan with no more than a short paragraph!

Yep ...

You see, we are living during the 'Magical Misdirection Tour', and it's time we stopped being taken in by the latest bit of political sleight of hand we're witnessing.  Congress is about to come back from their summer vacation to face once more a dismal and epic failure to pass even a single part of next year's fiscal budget.  Instead of apologizing for the failure to do their job however, what we'll hear instead is a lot of high minded discussion (see bloviating) about the terror or necessity of 'shutting down government' in order to facilitate future partisan point-scoring in the year leading up to a mid-term election.

If we fail to applaud to this bit of played out pretense, the second act of the looming debt ceiling awaits just beyond.  Yes, the same legislative body that brought you the 'House Banking Scandal of 1992' (Remember.  This was where members of the House were allowed to overdraw their personal checking accounts without penalty) will once again need to take up the unfortunate situation that borrowing on the national account is about to exceed its limit.  Recognizing the dire 'damsel on the train tracks' nature of this situation and the need to resolve it before the nation supposedly defaults on its debt, both major political parties will seek to ... make it about re-election next year.

The President meanwhile, had been focusing his attention on the cost of a higher education and the burden of borrowing money to finance it.  Of course the fact that such costs have gone up by over 250 percent in the last thirty years has nothing to do with the government providing low interest, unsecured loans to pay for it, regardless of whether the degree obtained in the process would provide an income which allows the student to pay the loan back.  Instead the President would like the government to 'evaluate' schools, and find forgiveness for loans taken out by students who go to work for non-profit organizations or the government itself. (There's a level of hypocrisy here that needs to be delved into, but not today.)

Oh and let's not forget that the Administration once again has its laser-like attention focused on jobs in this country.  (How many times have we heard this one before?)  Apparently, being the President whose biggest effect on employment thus far has been to turn more full time employment into part time employment through the Affordable Healthcare Act is not enough.  The Commander-in-Chief has yet to make any concrete proposals on how to get good, high paying jobs back into this stagnant economy, but perhaps its not too late to jump on board the $15.00 per hour for fast food workers movement.  Force them to unionize like federal workers and this could have the double benefit of paying back supporting unions by way of dues.

So let's assess where we are.  We're told that the growth in the national debt is slowing in one hand, but we have to raise the debt ceiling in the other.  We're told that we can trust the government to watch over us when the NSA is spying on some of us and the IRS is conspiring against others. We're told that we need to re-elect experienced politicians to lead in Washington when those in place for over 20 years cannot perform even the most basic functions of getting an annual budget passed or produce readable legislation.  Suddenly however, just when the anger really starts to get going over all the crap being shoveled on us in this country by our nation's capital the most important thing in the world is suddenly (wait for it) ... 

SYRIA!

Wait.  Hasn't this civil war has been going on for over a year?  So why does jumping into now sound like a good idea?  Does it make any real difference to a Syrian population that the rest of the world has mostly abandoned whether the lives of the over 100,000 already killed were ended by bombs, bullets, or poison gas?  Why is this alleged gas attack different from the previous one that the President said would be the 'red line', but wasn't?  Wouldn't shooting a few cruise missiles, dropping some bombs from air strikes, or making some drone attacks likely kill even more and cause even more destruction?  Then again ...


Could all of this political theater be little more than a distraction from the phony scandals in Washington?  Could their timing be any more perfect for this Administration?  Is there a better bit of misdirection than showing pictures of poisoned women and kids that didn't matter a couple of weeks ago and haven't mattered for the last couple years (not to mention parking some warships in the Eastern Mediterranean) to keep us from noticing the insidious poison of the ruling elite infecting this country from Washington DC?

Well played Federal Government.  The media now speaks of nothing but about our strategy (such as it is) for dealing with Syria, so the American public will no doubt fall once more for the charlatan's tricks.  Fast and Furious?  Benghazi? The IRS and the NSA? The Debt Ceiling and the Budget?  Immigration or Tax reform, who cares?  The list goes on and on, but they're all old news now that we've got some fresh meat to feed the public.  What was crucial to this nation's survival just days ago is about to become little more than the footnote to a growing list of things we've lost sight of.  Welcome to the continuation of the Magical Misdirection Tour of 2013. Enjoy the show.

Vacation - My Favorite Time of Year

This time of year brings back many fond memories for me.  Like many children who grew up in the Dark Ages, when video games included such exciting titles as 'Pong' and ... 'Pong', many future nerds were forced by their parents to spend some part of summer vacation time outside, unwittingly exposing their bodies to the deadly UV rays coming from the sun (as opposed to the deadly rays of energy that we were told were coming from primitive television sets at the time).  Apparently there was some addictive property to such UV exposure however, since before we knew it we were not only willing to be ripped from our pre-cable interior existence and our complacent suburban lives, but soon found ourselves actually looking forward to being deported to the even more primitive living conditions which our parents called 'Vacations'.

For my family (and a group of my cousins), these summer migrations became the annual "Great Northern Pilgrimage"  (please note that the word 'White' was not used in the title, since the Canadian border was never crossed).  Early versions of these Lewis and Clark cross country (or more accurately Ford 'Town and Country') expeditions began with simple border crossings from Illinois to Wisconsin for a return each year to nature (along with the lumberjack championships in Hayward), but eventually even the lure of day long fishing and learning to log roll began to pale as expansion of the Interstate system allowed civilization to encroach on these escapes.  Overcrowding soon caused the clan to continue north and west, moving across the Minnesota border many miles, before ending up in an area north of Brainerd called Fifty Lakes.  Here there was little exposure to newspapers, none to television, and the only real concerns were whether the fish were biting or the bear outside of the bait store might be interested in a bottle of orange pop if we made a trip to it for more worms. 

Though unfortunately those days are far behind me, this time of year remains my favorite; not because I'm on vacation, but because both Congress and the President are.  After one last gutless bit of misconduct in sparing themselves from the onerous obligations of the Affordable Care Act (Obamacare), The Teleprompter Kid and Gang Who Couldn't Shoot Straight (at least with the American Public) road off into the sunset for some well-deserved time off.  Interestingly enough, this summer escape for Congress dates back to the founding of this country and the fact that our nation's capital was built on a bug-infested swamp suitable for only for the habitation of blood-sucking parasites in the days before air conditioning was invented.  (A tradition which has apparently changed little over the intervening years.)  

The President is now temporarily off of his stump speech tour of promoting the recovery of the middle class by vacationing on an island where the truly rich go to escape the plebeian company of the semi-rich and upper middle class (Martha's Vineyard).  There, having traveled with his staff of cooks and servants (and a special fight for the first pet), he'll be able to rest, relax, and form a clearer understanding of the hardships of a growing class of people who remain unemployed or underemployed, while renting a multi-million house ($6.7 to be exact) from a Democratic donor and enjoying rounds of golf at private country clubs.  

Congress meanwhile, is taking a five week break from its partisan bickering to purportedly return to their constituencies and re-establish contact with the 'little people' who sent them to Washington in the first place.  (Besides, all the lobbyists on K Street left town.)  The fact that most of those that they're likely to see are at local events are those contributing to the future campaigns of these professional incumbents is probably only a coincidence (if not a political necessity).  There may be a town hall meeting or two where the unwashed can show up, but they're likely to be held in Senatorial districts not up for re-election or safe Congressional districts.

This year, a lot of people are very angry with the President and Congress for abandoning their posts, since they've done such a lousy job of doing their job that not one Appropriations Bill from the nation's annual budget has been passed a mere six weeks before the fiscal year is set come to an end.  They're concerned over the rumored political strategies from both sides of the aisle threatening to turn the process once again into a series of contentious 'Continuing Resolutions' that allow their elected representatives to write even worse legislation than usual, while ostensibly resolving their petty political squabbles.  And while this last minute annual budget mess is going on, many can't help but likewise notice that the debt ceiling again needs to be raised, and that the only thing keeping the US from defaulting on its debts are some bookkeeping tricks performed by the Treasury Department that would get you thrown into jail if you tried them.  Some might find the presence of such dual national financial crises a curious time for those in charge to leave.  Not I however ...

I find that any departure of the nation's perpetrators at any time provides some necessary time off for the rest of us (and the more often, the merrier).  Without glacially-paced Congressional hearings and discussions of speculative Congressional strategies, I sleep safe at night knowing the nightly news will be far more boring.  With the President off the stump speech circuit (at taxpayer expense) and on vacation (at taxpayer expense), even the cable news show pundits seem far less bitter in their rants.  With both parties off doing fund-raising at home instead of writing comprehensive (incomprehensible) 2,000 page legislation in DC, their miserable minions in the daily newspapers report on cheery weather trends and state fair attendance instead.  Without the constant polling data telling me that no one believes it's getting any better out there, we're allowed to complacently accept our roles as a low information voters, and the world is far more at peace.  Oh sure the problems are still there, but it's not like our elected leaders were making a real effort at resolving them before they left (rather than attempting to make political points); and at least they will be made no worse for a couple weeks while the inmates take a break from running the asylum.  We can all relax while the Harry Reids and the John McCains take time off that they don't deserve ... to give us some that we desperately do. 

No, those days of my youth are over, and it's unlikely that I will be making a 'Great North Pilgrimage' any time soon. There will be no fishing involved for me this year, and bringing that bear a Nehi or Orange Crush these days (if he's even still alive) is far more likely to get me a nasty phone call from New York Mayor Bloomberg (if not a visit from the ASPCA).  But that's Okay with me; for even in these changing times, vacation is still my favorite time of year.

TFP Column: Congress Is Indeed Exceptional

This week's TFP effort takes a look at the exceptional nature of our national legislature.  And no, this probably doesn't mean what you think it does.  That being the case, you'll have to read "Congress Is Indeed Exceptional" to find out what I did mean.

Meanwhile, the TFP Star edition is already out this week with a lot of information on the weekend opening of "Iron Man 3".  If that isn't enough to tempt you onto the TFP website, you're only days away from the weekend edition of Toledo's largest circulation Sunday newspaper, a paper that's been voted the best weekly paper in the state for the last four years. 

Of course that could be nothing other than the Toledo Free Press.

Beyond "The Law of Averages"

I did a piece for the Toledo Free Press just a couple of weeks ago called "The Law of Averages".  In it I outlined a number of the different kinds of laws that members of a city council, a state legislature, or Congress can vote on. I thought that I had adequately covered the subject, but I was wrong.  Not normally prone to such admissions (except under torture), it's very hard and rather unusual for me to so quickly find fault with myself (see 'Signs of Ragnarok').  

In truly glaring fashion however, not only were there a couple legislative potentials that I missed, but my failures to definitively inform my readers have been rather glaringly pointed out in the news over the last week.  I have therefore decided (in true Catholic fashion) to confess my sins by citing my examples of this inadequacy, ask for forgiveness from you, and perform an act of contrition (yet to be determined).

Interestingly enough, two of the three examples of the failure I am about to cite do not involve the legislature at any level, but instead the Executive branch of government.  For while it's true that legislatures hold the power to create laws and Mayors, Governors, and Presidents hold a veto power.  Even that veto power can be overridden by a super-majority of law makers.  What cannot be overridden however is the executive branch at these levels simply telling those in change of a law enforcement to 'ignore' the law or regulation in question.

Take for example, the President's recent immigration initiative, which does not even rise to the level of an 'Executive Order', but merely an easing of enforcement of existing law.  And while many can say that this looks suspiciously like "The Dream Act", that was supported by the President, proposed as legislation, and which never passed both Houses of Congress; it's not.  

This 'policy' cannot be considered a law in any way, shape, or form; but is instead the nation's chief executive telling agencies under his authority to perform selective enforcement of laws legitimately passed by the national legislature.  These dictates will continue to hold force until the current or next chief executive sees fit to change them or Congress takes them up in session.  Some might consider such backdoor legislation arbitrary and extra-Constitutional; but unless enough legislators grow sufficient spine to challenge such practices, they hold as much force as any other legitimate legislation.

The second example of non-legislature legislation is the "Executive Order".  This is fact a legitimate ability of the chief executive at some levels of government.  The US President can, for example, issue Executive Orders which become law if unchallenged by the Congress within 30 days of the time they are issued (see the previous paragraph about spinal growth).  

Most of these Executive Orders are fairly innocuous and do little more than remove day-to-day details from Congressional consideration; with for example President Obama issuing one on May 21, 2012 'Providing an Order of Succession with the Department of Agriculture'.  (One can only imagine the chaos that might ensue if the Secretary of Agriculture were assassinated, and no one knew who should assume his authority.)   Others might be seen as a bit more overreaching, such as the establishment of the 'Global Development Council' on February 9, 2012 creating a special council on international trade; or the 'Adjustment of Certain Rates of Pay' order on December 19,2011 which allows the President to set pay scales for certain executive, legislative, and judicial positions.  But again, at least Congress has the right (if not often the will) to challenge Executive Orders and to pass laws they find more appropriate in their place.

(For those of you wondering who the President was who issued the most Executive orders, I can tell you that Reagan issued 380, Clinton 363, and George W Bush 291.  The big winner, not unexpectedly, is Franklin Delano Roosevelt; who from 1933 to 1945 issued an almost astounding 3,728.)

Now the final way to put laws into effect that I've been talking about are the 'regulations' put into effect by agencies full of un-elected bureaucrats.  It's true that agencies are normally created and budgeted in the legislature, but far more often than not, these Frankenstein monsters take on a life of their own, break free of their bonds, and proceed to rampage the countryside. 

This week the CATO Institute issued a Policy Analysis on a particularly egregious abuse of legislative authority contained the the Patient Protection and Affordable Healthcare Act of 2010 (probably from a part of the bill that they didn't read even after they passed it, right Nancy).  In this policy analysis, CATO tells us of the "Independent Payment Advisory Board".

Now when a law is normally proposed, it's submitted in one House of Congress or the other (sometimes almost simultaneously); but it must be passed by both and submitted for the signature of the President in order to become law.  Even after such a signature is given, such laws can be reviewed and challenged in the judicial system, and struck down if they are found to exceed the authority of the government or in other ways be Unconstitutional.  Not so with those passed by IPAB.  According to CATO,

"Blocking an IPAB “proposal” requires at a minimum that the House and the Senate and the president agree on a substitute. The Board’s edicts therefore can become law without congressional action, congressional approval, meaningful congressional oversight, or being subject to a presidential veto. Citizens will have no power to challenge IPAB’s edicts in court.

Worse, PPACA forbids Congress from repealing IPAB outside of a seven-month window in the year 2017, and even then requires a three-fifths majority in both chambers… "

So, at least according to CATO, what the creation of this bureaucratic monstrosity means is that,

IPAB’s unelected members will have effectively unfettered power to impose taxes and ration care for all Americans, whether the government pays their medical bills or not. In some circumstances, just one political party or even one individual would have full command of IPAB’s lawmaking powers. IPAB truly is independent, but in the worst sense of the word. It wields power independent of Congress, independent of the president, independent of the judiciary, and independent of the will of the people.

Before such a bureaucracy truly comes into power and forbids anyone from saying anything against them, let me point out that the 'Law of Averages' dictates that Bureaucrats with that kind of power will abuse it (and us) sooner rather than later.  

You know, it's just possible that in pointing all of this out to you before it jumps up and bites you in the ass, I have in fact performed a true act of contrition.  So just in case this qualifies, "Mea culpa, mea culpa, mea maxima culpa".