A measure before the Montana legislature (LC 1551) would add Montana to the list of states calling for a Convention of the States to write and approve a Balanced Budget Amendment to the US Constitution. Once again, if the legislature approves the resolution, and two-thirds of the other states agree, we’ll put our faith in ink on paper to resolve our fiscal ills. If successful, watch the whole endeavor not change things a twit.
The principal problem with our federal government isn’t some structural defect in our Constitution. It’s the people that we elect. It would be true with or without the constitutional addition. Right now, littered throughout our federal behemoth are progressives who are dyed-in-the-wool evolutionists when it comes to words. Look at what they’ve done to the commerce clause and due process/equal protection provisions of the 14th Amendment. Limited and enumerated powers nearly became unlimited, with any enforceable restrictions hanging by the narrow thread of a black-robed jurist’s opinion. Ink on paper hasn’t stopped these people.
The fact of the matter is, if you want a better government, elect better people. Ink won’t correct for incompetent electoral choices.
Many jurisdictions have elected hordes of these linguistic gymnasts (progressives). When a convention is called, guess who’ll attend? It won’t be only people like you or me. Included will be people from AOC’s Twitter feed and all those from the many deep blue satraps. Any amendment will be massaged by this crowd’s fingers. Watch a balanced budget become a warrant to raise taxes. It’s the only reason that they’ll agree to the thing. Remember, a conservative’s goal is to restrain the federal government. Their ambition is to inflate it. The middle will be a license to increase taxes. In the end, we’ll be back to where we started. Depending on who is in power, we’ll still have either a bloated or restrained government. Nothing will have changed.
Structural gimmicks never work! California is a prime example. Reading parts of the California Constitution reads like a conservative’s dream. They’ve got a state balanced budget amendment, approved as Prop 58 in 2004 by a hefty 71% of the vote. It’s all just smoke and mirrors. Just reclassify legacy costs and debt out of the equation, along with a few other pricey tidbits, and a powerful progressive is home free. The highest taxed state became also the most fiscally incontinent.
They’ve got a “bi-partisan” redistricting commission that rubber stamps Democratic Party hegemony in the state for perpetuity. Prop 13 didn’t curtail the tax burden. They just inflated all the others. The state has terms limits written into their framework. It only replaced simple progressives with the zealous and foolish kind. Bad was made worse.
Conservatives won’t gain anything from adding more words to the Constitution. We’ll have wasted immense political capital on a wrong-headed endeavor, instead of increasing our presence in those blue enclaves to change their hue. Chasing mirages won’t change a thing. The facts on the ground remain the same. If you want a better government, elect better people.
RogerG