Nanny, may I?

By Dave Buhlman

We are fast approaching the stage of the ultimate inversion: the stage where the government is free to do anything it pleases, while the citizens may act only by permission; which is the stage of the darkest periods of human history, the stage of rule by brute force." [Ayn Rand, The Nature of Government]

A list of ten is quite popular so I am going to list the ten items that need to be done to restore our Constitutional Republic with its rule of law and enshrined individual liberties. There is more that is needed to be done, of course, but these are a pretty good start to reduce government power.

1. With the interstate highway system complete, the federal government should cut its tax on gas and diesel from eighteen cents per gallon to 4 cents per gallon. This would give the individual fifty states the option of raising their tax on gas and diesel to fix roads that resemble those in post WWII Berlin, after the extensive bombing by the Allies. With the feds out of the picture each state would be free to do it their own way, to do what's best for their states. And at state borders, the states can coordinate repairs as they did before the feds controlled almost everything in the transportation world.

2. Since global free trade has been a disaster for millions of Americans, get the US out of NAFTA and GATT and end most favored nation status for Red China and other countries. And, to cut the problem at the root, get out of the United Nations, and get the United Nations out of the USA.

3. Close down all federal agencies whose existence violates the Constitutional restrictions on what the federal government is allowed to do. These would include the DOEd, the DOEn, EPA, OSHA, Homeland Security, the BATFE, and EEOC for starters. And get out of all treaties that were used as a basis for creating some of these agencies. What Washington, DC has done for years to pull an end run around Constitutional restrictions on the fedgov is to enter treaties that "require" federal involvement in certain issues within the states. The EPA is an example of one such agency. Note that the EPA regularly reviews the files of the state environmental agencies to assure that they're in compliance with EPA rules and procedures.

4. WWII has been over for 63 years so let's get out of NATO, pull all troops out of Europe, including Bosnia and Kosovo, and close all of the bases there. Pull all troops out of Japan and close the bases there too. Then we can look at pulling out of South Korea and the other hundred-odd countries where the US has bases and troops. Start a quick transition to end the undeclared wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and bring all of those troops home. If Islam still wants to oppose us, then start the retaliation by destroying the shrines that are sacred to them, and issue Letters of Marque and Reprisal, as described in the Constitution, to encourage/reward private entities for killing the Islamic leaders who still want to mix it up with us.

5. Repeal the Patriot Acts, the Military Commissions Act and end all other liberty-stealing efforts, including the Real ID. The 9-11 attacks by a small band of screwballs should not be used as an excuse by the government to eviscerate our Bill of Rights. If we allow that then we effectively allow Osama to determine what our system of government will be. Continue this repeal effort to repeal the many other unnecessary laws both on the federal and state levels.

6. Have the US Treasury introduce a gold and silver backed currency to compete with the federal reserve notes (dollars) to bring stability to our money system, make our financial futures much more predictable, and greatly reduce the debt load..

7. Using an actuarial model available from the fedgov, start allowing younger Americans to quit the social security system and Medicare. Then end all government involvement in the medical system, transitioning out of the Medicaid system. The trouble began when the fedgov passed the first HMO requirements bill in the 1970s, so let's start to end that trouble. Hillary is now talking about garnishing the wages of anyone who won't join her socialized health care system so this is another scary example of how far the power-mad freaks will go to get their way, while whining endlessly that it's "for the children".

8. Declare victory in the War on Drugs and end it. As it was intended to do, the main effect of the War on Drugs is to enhance federal police powers at the expense of individual rights. Let each state decide on drug issues as is required by the Ninth and Tenth Amendments to the Constitution. This was another treaty-created intrusion of the federal government into the powers the states and the people have under the Constitution.

9. As was recently done to good effect by the state of Arizona, the fedgov should increase fines on companies that employ illegal immigrants to the point where these companies would be threatened with having to close their doors. With this threat, the companies won't hire illegals, and these lawbreakers will deport themselves. Let these folks then work to straighten out their own governments south of the border.

10. With all of the savings associated with the above, end the income tax on wages. The wages a person earns are part of his need to exist and survive, similar to the air he breathes, and thus are quite different from income earned on investments and on hiring others and making a profit on their work, for example. Let the IRS continue to collect taxes in accordance with the Constitution and the IRS code and stop threatening ordinary Americans with their awesome powers to take property and put wage earners in jail.

The above is a good start to return our country to sanity, and to a system that benefits citizens by allowing them to thrive without the burden of a central government that is operating way outside of its Constitutional boundaries. If we don't start to back the fedgov off, we will soon be asking for its permission to travel freely and attend non-approved religious services.

Dave Buhlman is a former New Hampshire State Representative, published author, and supporter of our return to the Constitutional Republic.