Posted on 03/01/2003 10:06:38 AM PST by forest
"What prudent merchant will hazard his fortunes in any new branch of commerce when he knows not that his plans may be rendered unlawful before they can be executed?" asked James Madison in 1787. His words ring very true again today.
Later, in The Federalist #44 he wrote: "The sober people of America are weary of the fluctuating policy which has directed the public councils. They have seen with regret and indignation that sudden changes and legislative interferences, in cases affecting personal rights, become jobs in the hands of enterprising and influential speculators, and snares to the more industrious and less informed part of the community. They have seen, too, that one legislative interference is but the first link of a long chain of repetitions, every subsequent interference being naturally produced by the effects of the preceding."
Madison was writing about the capricious legislative actions of Great Britain. But, if we rewrote that into modern English, most Americans would identify it as describing today's federal government.
A few years ago, Business Week reported that there are more than 100,000 new laws, rules and regulations enacted in the United States each year. Between 1976 and 1986, state legislatures alone made up 248,000 new laws. And, on average, each of these laws spurred at least ten new regulations.
And that's only the state governments. The federal government is even worse. At last count, we found over 11,585 pages of IRS regulations, 11,270 pages of regulations for Agriculture, 11,808 pages for the EPA, and 5,368 for Labor, to name just a few affecting our personal activities. A quick look in a public library showed 211 fat books containing 122,027 pages of Federal regulations directly affecting American citizens.
That's 122,027 pages of regulations alone, not laws passed by Congress. And, we're responsible for obeying every damn one of them! When you also factor in federal laws, this gets way, way out of hand.
The most important function of government is the protection of the people -- to protect the free exercise of our rights and liberties. Instead, legislators and regulatory agencies seem to be trying to classify every known human activity as either prohibited or mandatory.
Worse yet, any of these rules and regulations can be arbitrarily enforced on an unsuspecting citizen at any time. And, although they might be officially labeled rules and regulations by legislators, to the citizen they have the full force of law. After all, what happens if you break one of these little bureaucratic jewels? Agents with guns come after you and courts fine you and/or put you in prison, that's what!
Madison was right. An over regulated society is not conducive to business -- and hence, to building wealth within that society. These actions by the federal government are, in effect, stymieing the welfare of the country.
Is it any wonder so many American businesses, and American jobs, are moving to less regulated countries?
Over 100,000 new laws, rules and regulations are enacted in the United States each year. If we violate one, men with guns come to see us.
The most important function of government is the protection of the people -- to protect the free exercise of our rights and liberties. Instead, legislators and reg agencies seem to be classifying every known human activity as either prohibited or mandatory. Worse yet, any of these rules and regs can be enforced on unaware citizens.
Madison was right. An over regulated society is not conducive to business. Is it any wonder so many American businesses, and American jobs, are moving to less regulated countries?
The most important function of government is the protection of the people -- to protect the free exercise of our rights and liberties. Instead, legislators and reg agencies seem to be classifying every known human activity as either prohibited or mandatory. Worse yet, any of these rules and regs can be enforced on unaware citizens.
Isn't that GO 84? George Orwell's 1984?
How much chance do you give this amendment this time around, Doug?
I see plenty of businesses here in the USA. I started two this week. I am all for less regulation, but even with it, there's good reason to go into business. What's the alternative?
And this: every law must be read aloud, twice, on the floor of both houses of Congress, and both times there must be a confirmed quorum on the floor.
<http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/news/854625/posts>
Sorry 'bout that.
It's about Ron Paul's Liberty Amendment that limits the Fed Gov and trashes the UN and the IRS. It's about time.
But we need to Freep this one.
Forest
I believe that most of us have only one thing in common, and that is a general sense that America must regain her traditional sense of direction and purpose--rediscover her spiritual and moral strength in her heritage. What there is very little agreement on, unfortunately, is what are the most significant aspects of that heritage; and how you rediscover them. I would agree that there are too many wishful thinkers, among us; too many, who want so badly to believe the best about the politicians of today, that they manage never to compare them very closely with the men who built America.
But the ferment of ideas--even those contributed by those who are determined to put a hopeful spin on all sorts of things, which are really not hopeful signs--does provide a very valuable resource to young Americans surfing the web to find something better than they have been fed in the class room. You may not agree with many of the posts, but you have to realize that there is a better level of debate here than in America, generally, today.
William Flax Return Of The Gods Web Site
I hope the moderators won't remove your post because you need to be seen for what you are and everyone needs a chance to refute your ridiculous comments.
First, most of us are not cheerleaders for the "Status Quo" in any way. We want to see real reductions in the size, scope, cost, and reach of the federal government. We may not always agree with one another on where and when the cuts should be made, but we agree that there needs to be change. If we didn't want change, we'd be doing dozens of things other than arguing politics on the web.
I support the war against Iraq. Our nation has under attack by Muslim terrorists for about twenty years. "Jihad" means war in their languages, and their declarations of "jihad" are declarations of war. They have been prosecuting this war in the attack on Marines in Lebanon, in killing an old man on a ship, in bombing a plane over Scotland, in bombing embassies, in their first attempt on the WTC, in their attack on the USS Cole, and in many other actions. Iraq is clearly an ally of our enemies. If we are going to win the war, we must attack our enemies as hard as we can and keep attacking until they are all dead or surrender.
For the most part, I support our president because I believe that he is a good man. There are issues on which I strongly disagree with him, and I express that disagreement without hesitation. Ask Freepers like sinkspur and Miss Marple whether I've ever hesitated to criticize President Bush either before or after the election. Few people see me as a "Bush-bot" in any way. The people around him are intelligent people who have real accomplishments in their lives. You may not like them, but they are not idiots.
If you really believe that the United States is a Fascist/Socialist government, I hope that you someday have a chance to live under a true fascist/socialist government somewhere else so that you will understand the real difference.
I'm sorry that you find this website so terrible to visit. I'd be interested in hearing which websites you think are better.
WFTR
Bill
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