This is Viewpoints for Tuesday, August 15, 2017

Never a cup full

It is certainly wonderful Jason Aldean has given his time to raise funds for the new children’s hospital and I enjoy his music. St. Jude Hospital has done the same by giving away expansive homes across the nation. What these charity venues should understand is what these children will have to live with in their future, which is climate disruptions from unwise use of fossil fuels.

It has been reported popular bands on tour drag around 10 or more diesel tractor trailers with them. And the power used for the shows must be equally disturbing. But among the articles in trending publications like Rolling Stone about how bad the climate situation is, I have never seen articles about how the entertainers confront the issue.These days bands cannot rely of album sells alone to become superstars, but they can promote the wise use of energy on tour by scaling down their shows as responsible citizens and investing wisely in equipment and logistic management.

St. Jude could give away smaller efficient homes in sustainable communities, not a highly taxed properties in a consumer driven location. Entertainers and hospitals alike should realize they must not only save lives but also leave a livable planet for these children when promoting good deeds. The fact that consumers are not as likely to give to charity without some possible reward also speaks to our need to become more generous to humans and the natural world.

Read what they wrote

A recent writer to The Telegraph asserts that the U.S. Constitution is a “living” document that must be continually “re-interpreted” and that “We have a national cadre of professionals who are well trained in jurisprudence and are continually deciding what the framers Intended.” I say bull excrement! I’m not the sharpest knife in the drawer but I know that words mean things. I can read the Constitution for myself and don’t require some busybody with too much time on their hands to tell me what I can understand for myself.

This writer was surely absent when the good Lord was passing out common sense and must have slept through U.S. history classes. All this nonsense about a “living” Constitution rears its ugly head any time a left winger tries to justify his progressive agenda. His assertion that you have to be a Rhodes Scholar or the equivalent to understand what the Constitution means is absurd. Sure, times have changed, but so what. The language used in the Constitution pretty much means the same as it did 200 years ago. The writer doesn’t have to be able to read the minds of people who have been dead for over 200 years. All he has to do, if he has a decent knowledge of English, is read what they wrote.

Understanding the Constitution

Apparently, Ross Hardy does not understand the Constitution. He asks regarding the statement that “health care is not a right.” “What’s the basis for that claim? The fact that it isn’t enumerated in the Constitution?” The answer is “yes.” Under his reasoning legal services could be considered a “right,” so could accounting, engineering and other services. Where does it end?

Allow me to explain to him how the Constitution was written. At the time, the country was operating under the “Articles of Confederation.” Things were not working well, so a “Constitutional Convention” was convened to write a new document. The framers (who were fearful of a strong central government) knew certain services were necessarily performed by a federal government in order to make nation run properly. So they sat down and figured out what things were necessary, but were impossible or impractical for the states to perform individually. These, they wrote down (in Article 1, Section 8) as services to be performed by the federal government (no less and absolutely no more).

For example, it would not be practical for a nation to have 13 different armies to defend itself, so the power to form an army and navy was given to the government and called “Common Defense.” In addition, it would not be practical to have 13 different currencies, 13 different states making separate treaties, etc. These powers were “lumped” under the term, “General Welfare.” They also decided there were certain things that they did not want the government to do and they wrote those things down in Article 1, Section 9. This left a large gap of “other services” that were retained by the states and the people (10th Amendment).

Health care falls in this gap.

While our founders said that our rights were “unalienable” they did not say they were infinite. That’s why the “Bill of Rights” was added to the Constitution. (Note that health care is not mentioned.) You could make a argument that the state government should provide health care, but, it would have to be done in the proper manner.

If you believe in the concept of “equal justice under law,” then all judges would have to rule the same on the same case, The only way this can happen is if all judges look at the law as it is written. i.e., “It says what it means and means what it says.” This holds true especially for the Constitution. If it needs change (which I believe it does) then let’s do it, but in the proper manner (as specified in the Constitution). You cannot simply ignore it just because you don’t like some part of it.

The answer

The answer to Allyn Snyder question; “What more do we have to do to make them understand?,” is simple. Stop re-electing professional politicians who promise much but accomplish little. Instead of fixing the problems with Obamacare, the GOP wanted the adulation of repeal and replace. Therefore, Obamacare is still in effect. The GOP wants comprehensive tax reform. Will it be a Republican stand alone effort like repeal and replace? Will they replace the tax code with its thousand loop holes? What will we get? Will the corporate tax rate be reduced to 15 percent? Will there be three new individual tax brackets? Will the individual tax rates be retroactive to Jan. 1 2017?

The tax cuts will not pay for themselves. Therefore, Congress will have to borrow and reduce spending.

Congress has to increase the debt limit by Sept. 29, so it has to pass the 2018 budget by Sept. 30. Will Congress take a six week vacation in August and September?

Congress should offer corporations a one time 10 percent tax to repatriate the trillions of dollars they have in off shore accounts. The tax revenue could be used for infrastructure. Replace the tax code with a 15 percent flat tax with no deductions. Cut waste. There are hundreds of opportunities.