Forget the BBA, it's not necessary -- there already is wording in the Constitution about balancing the budget. It's in the Preamble's "preserve liberty to ourselves and our prosperity" clause.
Congress simply needs to pass a law reactivating the Preamble to Constitutional relevancy. Such a law doesn't require the amendment process, one just needs to define how the Preamble's various clauses are to be interpreted.
Currently, the Preamble is looked at as a 'dead' part of the Constitution -- this is because it's necessary to ignore it to implement a lot of the socialist/liberal agenda. FDRs courts pretty much stuck a stake through the heart of the Preamble (and therefore Constitution). Congress has pretty much just sat back and let it stay that way, in part because ignoring the Preamble gives them a lot more power to wield, and a lot more ways to screw up our nation.
The Preamble's basic purpose is to provide context and guidance to how the rest of the Constitution is to be implemented and interpreted. Go figure, liberal socialist big government folks find this 'inconvenient'.
For example, the Commerce Clause says Congress has the power "to provide the general welfare" has been used (and abused) to allow Congress to do pretty much anything it wants -- this is all fine and dandy with big government types of both parties.
The reality is the Preamble provides a context for how this power is supposed to be used -- to promote (not provide) the general welfare. While a bulldozer has the power to level your home, outside of exceptional circumstances, this would not be a generally proscribed use of the bulldozer's power. While Congress has the power to provide the general welfare, it's general guideline should be to promote (not provide) the general welfare.
One might also define that 'general welfare' means special interest handouts, regulations and protections are to be avoided if they don't promote the general welfare.
When it comes to budgeting, the Preamble's Liberty Clause provides reasonable enough guidance -- preserve liberty for ourselves and our posterity. Interpreted in a budget context, this might reasonably mean generational transfers of wealth are prohibited -- each generation should be expected to pay it's own way. Today's current generation's shouldn't steal future generations life energy to pay for contemporary generation's problems. Deficit spending is allowed, but not at the expense of future generation's liberty.
The Preamble has most of what is needed to correct much of the core moral and fiscal corruption that is taking our nation in the wrong direction. Dig the Preamble out from under the decades of decaying compost of judicial activism, polish that puppy off, get about reminding folks (and the Courts) of the Preamble's proper role of being on top of the Constitution. Then get busy evolving forward to a Constitution and limited government vision that our great nation was defined to live by.
The simple path to a Balanced Budget Process.
ReplyDeleteForget the BBA, it's not necessary -- there already is wording in the Constitution about balancing the budget. It's in the Preamble's "preserve liberty to ourselves and our prosperity" clause.
Congress simply needs to pass a law reactivating the Preamble to Constitutional relevancy. Such a law doesn't require the amendment process, one just needs to define how the Preamble's various clauses are to be interpreted.
Currently, the Preamble is looked at as a 'dead' part of the Constitution -- this is because it's necessary to ignore it to implement a lot of the socialist/liberal agenda. FDRs courts pretty much stuck a stake through the heart of the Preamble (and therefore Constitution). Congress has pretty much just sat back and let it stay that way, in part because ignoring the Preamble gives them a lot more power to wield, and a lot more ways to screw up our nation.
The Preamble's basic purpose is to provide context and guidance to how the rest of the Constitution is to be implemented and interpreted. Go figure, liberal socialist big government folks find this 'inconvenient'.
For example, the Commerce Clause says Congress has the power "to provide the general welfare" has been used (and abused) to allow Congress to do pretty much anything it wants -- this is all fine and dandy with big government types of both parties.
The reality is the Preamble provides a context for how this power is supposed to be used -- to promote (not provide) the general welfare. While a bulldozer has the power to level your home, outside of exceptional circumstances, this would not be a generally proscribed use of the bulldozer's power. While Congress has the power to provide the general welfare, it's general guideline should be to promote (not provide) the general welfare.
One might also define that 'general welfare' means special interest handouts, regulations and protections are to be avoided if they don't promote the general welfare.
When it comes to budgeting, the Preamble's Liberty Clause provides reasonable enough guidance -- preserve liberty for ourselves and our posterity. Interpreted in a budget context, this might reasonably mean generational transfers of wealth are prohibited -- each generation should be expected to pay it's own way. Today's current generation's shouldn't steal future generations life energy to pay for contemporary generation's problems. Deficit spending is allowed, but not at the expense of future generation's liberty.
The Preamble has most of what is needed to correct much of the core moral and fiscal corruption that is taking our nation in the wrong direction. Dig the Preamble out from under the decades of decaying compost of judicial activism, polish that puppy off, get about reminding folks (and the Courts) of the Preamble's proper role of being on top of the Constitution. Then get busy evolving forward to a Constitution and limited government vision that our great nation was defined to live by.