I'm all for central government getting their noses out of issues which can and should be handled at a local level, but there are some things which have to be handled centrally. I'm trying to imagine a US with a government as you describe and all I can see is chaos.
Think of American government (or rather what it’s supposed to be) as flipped upside down.
When our Founding Fathers initially revolted, it was to get away from the tyranny of Total Government – monarchy, taxation and governing without representation. We went from Anarchy to the Articles of Confederation (which were still too close to Anarchy –a byproduct of their fear of centralized, strong government) to finally the Constitution.
What they did was revolutionary: they flipped the central governing system on its head. Governmental power is supposed to flow as such, from most to least power over intrusion into the Peoples’ lives:
Local State Federal
So we're not talking anarchy - just power at a different level. Now naturally, local governments can’t cross State governments, and State governments can’t cross the Federal government.
The thing that the U.S. in general has forgotten is that the Federal government cannot cross the Constitution. The Constitution is not a legislative document, but a limiting document, delineating powers to each level and branch of governance down to the Individual. But the Constitution is “crossed” every day, and the Federal government gobbles up more power, assumed from the People and the States, with every new bill.
It’s all in our name: the United States of America. :)
(I don’t agree with the Libertarian model of infrastructure and military only, though.)
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Date: 2009-06-29 09:01 pm (UTC)Think of American government (or rather what it’s supposed to be) as flipped upside down.
When our Founding Fathers initially revolted, it was to get away from the tyranny of Total Government – monarchy, taxation and governing without representation. We went from Anarchy to the Articles of Confederation (which were still too close to Anarchy –a byproduct of their fear of centralized, strong government) to finally the Constitution.
What they did was revolutionary: they flipped the central governing system on its head. Governmental power is supposed to flow as such, from most to least power over intrusion into the Peoples’ lives:
Local
State
Federal
So we're not talking anarchy - just power at a different level. Now naturally, local governments can’t cross State governments, and State governments can’t cross the Federal government.
The thing that the U.S. in general has forgotten is that the Federal government cannot cross the Constitution. The Constitution is not a legislative document, but a limiting document, delineating powers to each level and branch of governance down to the Individual. But the Constitution is “crossed” every day, and the Federal government gobbles up more power, assumed from the People and the States, with every new bill.
It’s all in our name: the United States of America. :)
(I don’t agree with the Libertarian model of infrastructure and military only, though.)