“I consider the foundation of the Constitution as laid on this ground that ‘all powers not delegated to the United States, by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the states, are reserved to the states or to the people.’ To take a single step beyond the boundaries thus specially drawn around the powers of Congress, is to take possession of a boundless field of power, no longer susceptible of any definition.” —Thomas Jefferson (Opinion on the Constitutionality of a National Bank, 15 February 1791)

In last month’s blogs we discussed how our government is legitimate when it has the consent of the governed. It is we the people who consent to government. We do this by electing representatives to represent us in Washington DC. The Congress passes laws that are then sent to the corresponding executive branch agency to implement the law. In the process the unelected bureaucrats within the agency make additional rules and regulations that enable them to implement the law. Many times these changes to the initial law changed the original bill that was passed and should go back to Congress for another vote because of these changes. However, this does not happen.

With each law that is passed the administrative agencies increase in size and scope. This is how our government has grown so large that Congress is not even aware of all the rules and regulations made that actually do more than the original legislation intended. Therefore, it is even more important for Congress to provide more oversight. We discussed oversight at great length in December and January. If you remember from those blogs Congress has put in place a number of ways to oversee these agencies but sadly do not have the will or the time to actually use these tools.

In addition to growth of government through bureaucracy the courts have played a major role in advancing a big government agenda. Federal judges are appointed for life or for as long as they have “good behavior”. Congress has oversight here and can impeach judges that overstep their constitutional duty but this is rarely used. Therefore over the years judges have become more inclined to legislate from the bench, which is unconstitutional because Congress is the branch tasked with writing and passing legislation. Now we have a chief executive who thinks he can write legislation!

All of this started in the early 1900s with President Woodrow Wilson who believed he knew better than the framers of the Constitution. He sought to advance the idea for an administrative state where the legislative branch would not have to vote on every piece of legislation. His theory was that unelected experts would be able to make decisions based on objective science instead of politics. As president he began to implement his theory and over the years other presidents have continued to try to move our country more in that direction.

Unfortunately, this theory is not compatible with Natural Law and completely ignores human nature. Instead of creating an objective, more efficient government it has created a self-serving over bloated government that is highly inefficient. In 1928 the Supreme Court upheld the idea that the legislative branch can delegate its legislative duties to executive agencies based on the fact that the Constitution doesn’t say it can’t. The case in question, J.W. Hampton, Jr. & Co. v. United States, set a precedent for future court cases and started us down the road of allowing the government to do anything it wants unless the Constitution says otherwise. That decision totally ignored the Framers view that government doesn’t have the power to do anything unless the people grant it that power as expressed in the Constitution!

Starting with this court case and proceeding forward this abuse of power has been granted by the courts over and over creating an all-powerful federal government that feels it can do just about anything. In other words, our current government doesn’t feel obligated to the people or have a need for our consent to the laws they pass. That is why it is so important that we continue to remind them over and over that our government is based on “We the people” and not we the governing elite! Let your voice be heard loud and clear and often. Short-term memory is a sickness in Washington, DC.

Next Week: The Constitution and Our Rights

Dinner Table Discussion Question: Discuss the need to understand the original intent of the founders and framers of the Constitution. Look at Article I of the Constitution to see the list of duties of the Legislative Branch.