I'm Just a Bill on Capital Hill...
Who is responsible for creating new laws? Congress, or government agencies with acronyms? That was supposed to be rhetorical question but unfortunately it's not. For decades Congress has been passing rough frameworks as law and leaving the details to government agencies. For example the EPA was forced to expanded their mandate to classify C02 as a pollutant. Yep, a gas that is essential for all life on the dry surface of planet Earth is now a pollutant. MASSACHUSETTS v. ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY.
During my lifetime I've seen random episodic erosion of our Democracy/Republic. I'm not talking about Trump, Jan 6th or the 2020 Summer of Love. I'm not talking about governor's and mayor's employing unconstitutional "emergency" powers to keep citizens from traveling, golfing or going to the beach for 15 days that became 24 months during the Covid "pandemic." I'm mostly talking about the Executive Branch of our government and a few cases of the Judicial Branch taking upon themselves powers they are not entitled to. In some cases they are knowingly flaunting established norms and law to obtain their desired outcome.
For example, it would seem even the Supreme Court doesn't have have the power to stop President Biden from spending billions forgiving student loans and essentially buying votes. America's form of government wasn't created from scratch. It's an amalgamation of the political theory of the time combined with government elements throughout history. At it's core all branches need to stay in their lanes for our country to work. Congress controls the purse and makes law. The Executive faithfully interprets and executes these laws and if Congress and the Executive disagree then the Judicial branch mediates.
The erosion of our form of government occurs when government agencies stop creating regulations but actually create law. Judges bend the law to meet political policies. Lately the office of the President of both parties are guilty of using Executive Orders to obtain desired outcomes regardless of the law, Congress or the Judiciary. The end doesn't justify the means and no nation can survive such fundamental attacks to it's basic structure. In our system power must be shared. The assumption that our nation can indefinitely continue down this path of self destruction isn't sustainable. "Perhaps you and I have lived too long with this miracle to properly be appreciative. Freedom is a fragile thing and it's never more than one generation away from extinction. It is not ours by way of inheritance; it must be fought for and defended constantly by each generation, for it comes only once to a people. And those in world history who have known freedom and then lost it have never known it again." Ronald Reagan, Jan 5th, 1967
