A Constitutional Amendment Guaranteed To Rein In The Federal Loviathan

[AAAintheBeltway]

It's simple. Every ten years we have a state by state referendum on whether that state wishes to remain part of the union. Perhaps there would be a supermajority requirement. Nothing would be better designed to restrain impulses toward activist or extreme policies by either party. Go too far and suddenly you only have 45 states or whatever.

In fairness, there would have to be a mechanism to account for accrued but unpaid entitlements, eg social security, and outstanding federal debt. Maybe just zero them all out and call it even. In the event of secession under this Amendment, real property owned by the federal government would revert to state ownership.

How would you vote, if the referendum were being held today?

 

[CaptainObvious]

In theory, maybe. In reality, would never work. You'd have anarchy. How do you appease those in a particular state that voted the other way? Just tell them to move? Deal with it? I don't think so.

 

[AAAintheBeltway]

Quote from CaptainObvious:

In theory, maybe. In reality, would never work. You'd have anarchy. How do you appease those in a particular state that voted the other way? Just tell them to move? Deal with it? I don't think so.

Why should their feelings count for more than the majority or supermajority? What's so terrible about having to move to another state anyway, if they're so unhappy? It's not like they're being driven out at gunpoint.

 

[Ricter]

We should take care in shrinking and/or fragmenting the "leviathan" in a world with other leviathans which do not have similar aspirations. It's a fun dream, simpler times, small government, low taxes, town hall meetings and everyone goes to church on Sunday, and talks crops and weather afterwards. It's over.

 

[peilthetraveler]

I'm in California, so i would vote that we separate. Lets see how well the federal government does without Californias money. Heck...if we separated, we would be able to pay off all our debt and probably keep all our entitlements. After all, our economy is something like the 8th biggest in the world. We have a higher GDP than India if we were on our own and we only have 36 million people.

If California was on its own, we would have an extra 200 billion dollars per year in our budget...more than enough to pay off our budget shortfall. Heck...California could even take its share of the federal deficit (13%) and pay it off in about 10 years and still have an extra 50 billion per year to fund our own military

 

[Ricter]

Quote from peilthetraveler:

I'm in California, so i would vote that we separate. Lets see how well the federal government does without Californias money. Heck...if we separated, we would be able to pay off all our debt and probably keep all our entitlements. After all, our economy is something like the 8th biggest in the world. We have a higher GDP than India if we were on our own and we only have 36 million people.

If California was on its own, we would have an extra 200 billion dollars per year in our budget...more than enough to pay off our budget shortfall. Heck...California could even take its share of the federal deficit (13%) and pay it off in about 10 years and still have an extra 50 billion per year to fund our own military

So you'd be another Canada, basically. With nuclear weapons, though?

 

[unretired]

Interesting Idea [regardless of spelling errors]... if we were chess players ... maybe each state could borrow money from Russia then ... ?

 

[Mercor]

The states should vote to throw out the state of their choice.

 

[horseman]

Amendment to the U S Constitution.

The governor of any state may declare any act of congress or regulation of the executive branch null and void.

If a majority of governors so declare, the act or regulation shall in fact be null and void and unenforceable by any agency of the federal government.

 

[Ricter]

Quote from AAAintheBeltway:

Why should their feelings count for more than the majority or supermajority? What's so terrible about having to move to another state anyway, if they're so unhappy? It's not like they're being driven out at gunpoint.

Of course, they wouldn't be moving to another state, they'd have to emigrate, in the legal sense, right?