OPINION:
Democrats are raising alarm about what they call a “constitutional crisis.” If there is one, they should know because they are to blame for it. Since President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s days, the party has been violating the boundaries and restrictions on government outlined in our founding document.
The Founding Fathers wanted government to be limited so people could achieve their highest aspirations through hard work and talent.
Much of life has boundaries and rules that, when violated, bring consequences. Think of speed limits, boundaries in sports, and even rules for playing cards and board games. Medication warnings disclose what can happen if directions are violated and possible side effects are ignored.
Only when it comes to government are constitutional limits violated with little concern from most politicians. One consequence that is finally receiving serious attention is the national debt. As The Wall Street Journal has reported, servicing the debt costs more than the Defense Department budget. This is unsustainable, and as The Journal notes — and as I wrote five years ago in a book titled “America’s Expiration Date” — past nations have expired under the weight of massive debt.
Looking to the past for wisdom in dealing with debt and so much else is ignored by many modern politicians in both parties. The founders and the presidents who listened to their wise words conducted government responsibly and promoted the general welfare. It takes only a few seconds on Google to assess the wisdom of presidents who embraced their principles. Below are three examples that show what they believed to be the consequences of big government and the scourge of debt.
Thomas Jefferson: “A wise and frugal government, which shall restrain men from injuring one another, which shall leave them otherwise free to regulate their own pursuits of industry and improvement, and shall not take from the mouth of labor the bread it has earned. This is the sum of good government.”
Notice the inversion. Labor and what it produces for the person who earns from it must be protected and encouraged. The government is to be restrained from causing injury to the person or business that profits from such industry. Today, the attitude seems that the government should be a major beneficiary of one’s labor and risk-taking. Consider the top federal tax rate of 37% and additional state, local and other taxes that go to government coffers.
Jefferson succinctly said, “The course of history shows that as government grows, liberty decreases.”
We are not the first to roam the earth. Others who came before have figured out things so we don’t have to, but too many act as if the past can teach us nothing.
Our 30th president, Calvin Coolidge, was wiser than many historians credit him. A century ago, Coolidge said: “Unless the people, through unified action, arise and take charge of their government, they will find that their government has taken charge of them. Independence and liberty will be gone, and the general public will find itself in servitude to an aggregation of organized and selfish interest.”
Need I say more? President Trump and Elon Musk seem to be listening. Will Congress?
• Readers may email Cal Thomas at tcaeditors@tribpub.com. Look for Cal Thomas’ latest book, “A Watchman in the Night: What I’ve Seen Over 50 Years Reporting on America” (HumanixBooks).
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