Put ‘voodoo government’ in check
Re: “Bush was right about voodoo economics,” Other Views by Catherine Rampell, Friday:
As usual, Washington Post columnist Rampell and her progressive propaganda has it all wrong.
Tax cuts and increases have two parts: first, the legislative, and, second, the executive.
If it is a tax cut and there are annual deficits and a national debt, the logic is that there needs to be spending cuts, too. If there are not and the executive branch cannot use its powers to effect the reductions for there not to be an annual deficit, then the president should veto the bill.
If it is a tax increase and there is no need (only to support executive departments in the Constitution or in an amendment), then, again, the president should veto it.
There are 19 cabinet level departments and only 8 of them were enumerated in the Constitution or a subsequent amendment, so 11 of them should not be funded at all and their enabling and subsequent legislation completely repealed.
The part of government that is not working is not the one that increases or decreases tax rates, but the one not decreasing spending when tax cuts are made. And it is the legislative branch that is totally at fault for that.
If the annual deficits could be stopped and annual surpluses used to pay of the accumulated national debt, then we could repeal the 16th Amendment (income taxes) and put the support of the federal government back on voluntary user fees.
Then, to improve states rights, repeal the 17th (direct election of senators) Amendment so that its move toward socialism is reversed and strengthens the 10th Amendment.
If the branches of government would just do their jobs — using biennial budgets, the legislative branch giving the president the line item veto and hamstringing themselves with term limits and balanced budget amendments like all states, counties and municipalities have, things would be much better.
Also, reduce the legislative session to 140 days every two years, no retirement, no matching of 401(k)s and pay (at the minimum wage of their state) and only for when they are in the chamber voting. All the rest of their time in Washington, D.C., is at their expense in service to their constituents. That will put our “voodoo national government” in check!