Much has been made lately from the right about less Federal government in our lives. Less is best. Yesterday's Health Care Summit gave me some ideas which I have taken to heart. Personally, I am middle of the road, I choose my own fights and am not locked into to any specific ideology. I like to think I have a brain and can sort out what I think is right for myself. I do not considered myself brainwashed and I do entertain alternative points of view as long as there is a free expression of ideas based upon thought.
There are those folks out there who actually believe what they say without giving what they say any rational thought. One day, I was having a conversation with someone who every time he said the President's name, he followed it by the phrase, "the Muslim". Clearly there is no opportunity here to have a reasonable, let alone rational conversation with a person like this. There is a certain segment in our society that really believes the lies as some sort of truth. Every few days I receive emails from a gentleman who is loosely aligned with the 9th Cav Association I belong to. He has this penchant for attacking the health care plane as proposed by Congress. His latest tirade is about the loss of Social Security health benefits, which anyone who has half a brain knows is just not true. He relies on his own personal network of rightists to profess their truth, as they 'see' it. When I was in the Army, years ago you find this sort of person everywhere. Lifer's we called them. Now, I am not saying that they don't have some valid issues to expound upon, rather there is no way to have a rational conversation with them since they are 'believers' in their own right.
Tenther's and Birther's other Tea Baggers are much the same, you cannot possibly have a free exchange of ideas with them, either because they are truly ignorant or they don't like the idea of paying their fair share for the freedoms we all enjoy. No one likes the idea of deficit spending, unless you consider your car payment or house payment or credit card payment as a form of deficit spending, which they are. I personally have no credit cards, mortgage or car payment. I have no deficit spending, I live within my means. So for all those who complain about deficit spending, think about your personal situation before you go off on the government you wish to rail against.
Enough of my soapbox for now, the title of this blog is an idea for a solution that the Tea Baggers should embrace IF they are truly serious about their desire for change to less government.
For argument's sake...let us start from scratch with regards to Federal responsibilities. Much has been made of sharing the wealth of the rich states with the poor states. Fine, lets do this.
The role of the Federal government shall be limited to areas of national interest. Banking, Border Security, Military Operations, Monetary policy, International Trade and Tariffs, Interstate commerce and Constitutionally mandated individual civil protections. Everything else is left to the states.
Each state will pay to the Federal government a fee to cover the costs of operating the 'New Federal System'. The Federal government will no longer collect taxes from individuals or companies, the states will pay for the support of the Federal system, in cash.
Each state will be responsible for the welfare of their own citizens. Provide for their own basic services as required by state law. Each state will be responsible for everything under their positive control. No more Federal welfare, no more Social Security, No more Food Stamps, Disaster relief or highway funds, aviation funding, infrastructure funding will come from the state coffers. Virtually everything funded or subsidized by the Federal system today will now fall under state control. For example, if a hurricane strikes the Gulf coast, the states are on their own. If the states wish to lower their education standards, so be it. If the states have to build roads and bridges, they pay for it themselves. If there is a toxic site in their state, the fix it on their own dime. If there is some form of Social Security or Welfare or Food Stamp program, it's a state program and they pay for it, not the Feds. Not one dime will come from the Federal government again.
I guarantee there will be no deficit spending on the Federal level again since each state pays their own way to the Federal government to cover the constitutionally mandates.
Of course this all sounds silly because not one state would ever sign on to this sort of change. But this is exactly what the Tenther's want. This is what the Tea Baggers want.
Look, we can bitch and complain about the current system and for sure it's not perfect, but the solutions offered by the right will never be accepted by the mainstream.
Of course, there is the Canada solution, become a Confederation again. Yes, we were a Confederation for 13 years after the Revolution.
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