Today marks our 5th annual State of the Government address. In our initial analysis, we made the following primary observations:
The State of the Government is too partisan.
The State of the Government is too influenced by money.
The State of the Government is too big.
The State of the Government is financially imbalanced.
The State of the Government is too far removed from the Constitution.
Allow me first a few brief notes on each state…
Government is too partisan. So first just the facts… House Republicans stymie the President’s major policy initiatives; Senate Democrats stymie the Republicans; the President utilizes Executive Orders to bypass Congress; and each of them complain about the other. So which came first: the House Republicans, Senate Democrats, the President, the chicken, or the egg? The point is that each always blames their partisan behavior on someone else.
Government is too influenced by money. Again, people blame someone else or a single judicial decision for this issue, focusing on the speck in another while ignoring the log in their own eye. Based on objective research, it’s my conclusion that the moral digression due to money increased exponentially during the Carter administration, when lobbyist restrictions were significantly eased.
Government is too big. Let’s make this metaphorically simple. Who watches their pennies more: a small business on a tight budget or a massive business with no budget? In 2014 the federal government is expected to spend near $4 trillion — and they have no budget holding them accountable. There is no way all those pennies are being spent efficiently… or probably, even counted.
Government is financially imbalanced. Whether monies are spent on war, Obamacare, or wars on Obamacare, the government continues to make no attempt to balance their budget. Any entity with this much deficit spending this long with no repayment plan would cease to exist. However, the elect keep kicking the financial can down the road paved by future generations.
Government is too far removed from the Constitution. “We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defence, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America.” Our founders desired a country that would be just, internally peaceful, and externally protected. Too many today, though, feel omnisciently justified dictating exactly how all should prosper, how our tranquility is insured, and what a union that’s perfect should be.
So where do we start? Where do we go in order to truly, respectfully find solution for a government that’s broken? Is it by the President enacting more Executive Orders, as some say he will pledge tonight? Or does that only make government more partisan, “more big,” and “more-you-get-my-point”? In an interactive November series, Intramuralist readers affirmed that solution begins with the following: term limits and money limits… limits! And next — and always — our leaders must embrace respect… for us… for one another… for varied opinion… in public and private… in all interactions… cameras on or off.
These past 5 years, the Intramuralist has concluded that while the State of the Government has digressed over several decades, until we responsibly address partisanship, special interests, size, spending, and straying from the Constitution, we will be challenged to admit the Union is strong. I don’t believe our Union is permanently broken. I do believe, though, that ordinary people need to be more involved.
Respectfully,
AR