> “Second, it’s correct that steps have to be taken to restore the relationship among the three branches to what was intended when they were created, which in our time means breaking the power of the Supreme Court. I don’t know that the amendment process (Article V or otherwise) is the best way to do this.”
You were on the right track until the final sentence. The federal government in its present mode of operation and ethical state will never willingly give up power of any kind. The only means to reform our federal system is by means of an Article V Constitutional process by the states.
The states were the first to form the federal system and the first to place limits on it.
Unfortunately, since the 17 Amendment, the concentration of power in Washington DC has grown to the point that a limit on federal power is not even on the table for discussion.
I will share a little later a few illustrations how the federal power concentration can be reformed to a healthy ratio with the individual states.
But first ponder the consequences of a successful Article V states amendment process to fulfill the new President’s call for term limits in Washington. Ask yourself do you expect a movement by the states to stop at the water’s edge of term limits only?
Illustrations associated with an advent of a new historial era ‘THE AMERICAN REFORMATION’:
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AMENDMENT XXVIII (’State Sufferage’)
To restore effective suffrage of State Legislatures to Congress, the following amendment is proposed:
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Section 1.
A Senator in Congress shall be subject to recall by their respective state legislature or by voter referendum in their respective state.
Section 2.
Term limits for Senators in Congress shall be set by vote in their respective state legislatures but in no case shall be set less than twelve years nor more than eighteen years.
Section 3:
The seventeenth article of amendment to the Constitution of the United States is hereby repealed.
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AMENDMENT XXIX (‘Thirty-State Quash Authority’)
To redress the balance of powers between the federal government and the States, the following amendment is proposed:
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Section 1.
Upon a majority vote in three-fifths of state legislatures, specific federal statutes, federal court decisions and executive directives of any form shall be repealed and made void in any state, territory, or possession of the United States.
Section 2.
State legislatures in agreement with results derived from Section 1 of this amendment shall sign a state quash authority directive delineating the specific federal statutes, federal court decisions or federal executive directives affected, said directive addressed and delivered to the Congress of the United States becoming immediately effective as of the date of delivery.
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http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/news/3423235/posts?page=949#949
IMPORTANT NOTE: These illustrations are written in a manner that THE STATES ARE GIVEN RESPONSIBILITY AND AUTHORITY. Amendments should be written so that it is clear that the federal government has no mandate regarding the interpretation or selective enforcement or non-enforcement of these types of amendments.
For example, the flawed 10th Amendment leaves all powers not enumerated in the US Constitution to the States or to the People. However, there is no mechanism left to the states to check the federal government with the 10th Amendment save for the appointment of US Senators by state legislatures which was abolished under the 17th Amendment. As it is, the 10th Amendment jurisdiction is left to the federal judiciary without any voice or role for the States. The result of these compounded errors has yielded a highly centralized federal government whereby power is attained by an enormous federal government and funded by the Federal Reserve.
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/news/3461988/posts?page=18#18
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An illustration addressing the 16th Amendment:
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AMENDMENT XXX (‘Sunset and Repeal of the 16th Amendment’)
To facilitate Age-Of-Awareness Connectivity In Funding The Federal Government Of The United States:
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Section 1.
All forms of federal taxation in the United States, and unto the territories of its jurisdiction, that are derived under the authority of the sixteenth article of amendment to the Constitution of the United States shall be abolished and repealed by April 16, 2022.
Section 2.
As of April 16, 2022, the sixteenth article of amendment to the Constitution of the United States is hereby repealed.
Section 3:
Enforcement of federal tax liabilities shall cease as of January 1, 2025 with exceptions granted to active judicial proceedings initiated before January 1, 2025.
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By ‘Age Of Awareness’ means technologies of connectivity. These technologies did not exist in the 19th century nor st the time of the 1913 installation of the 16th Amendment. Had such suitable technology existed, the 16th Amendment would never have been installed. The 16th Amendment is in fact, a poorly designed instrument proffered by persons of poor judgment, lacking requisite information or awareness of purposes behind the original federal design. It is completely unsuitable in our Age of Awareness.
The 16th, 17th and 18th Amendments are all of the year 1913 and were all done in the era of Woodrow Wilson who either advocated for such amendments or failed to thwart their passage. The 18th was repealed but the 16th and 17th evolved slowly.
The 16th was particularly insidious as its original code was only 14 pages long and imposed a ‘Flat Tax’ rate of 7% on the wealthiest 2% of Americans and a rate of only 1% on the rest of Americans.
The ‘1%’ rate is still used to this day in attempts to impose a state income tax in states where no state income tax exists. The ‘1%’ rate appears innocent, non-threatening, innocuous. It is a backdoor quiet entry to grab power and control. Once inside the system it grows and creeps until it resembles what exists today. Therefore note, any INCOME TAX is a cancer because it is impossible to contain over time. It gives legislators a tool by which they can grab and solidify their own power (legislative angiogenesis).
There is a vastly superior alternative to the income tax. A consumption tax with impact floor is embodied in H.R. 25. Its superiority to any income tax scheme cannot be overstated.