Old Hippie

For a long time there has been far too many laws on the books that should be erased. Just think about it. For over 200 years Congress has been meeting and crafting new law after new law. How many times have they gotten rid of an old law? Almost never. Typically whatever new law goes into effect will supersede any parts of old laws but the old laws remain in effect. They remain on the law books and there is no reason why we should keep them around once they are no longer useful. Who can possibly keep track of all the laws?

And Congress is only part of the problem. There are 50 states and countless cities and counties and regional law-making bodies that constantly enact new laws governing their constituents. Enough already! Stop the insanity! With 200+ plus years of laws wouldn't you think that practically everything that could be governed and regulated and outlawed and monitored has already been handled in some way or another?

I wish every single law-making entity in the United States would stop enacting new laws for at least one year. Government does not need to be managing every aspect of our lives on a daily basis as it tries to do. We have multiple laws at various levels of government that often times outright conflict with each other. So what do we do about those situations, eliminate one of the conflicting laws? No way! We write another law that puts greater weight to one of the existing laws. Simplification just isn't an option when government is involved.

Do we really need the government telling me who is allowed to practice massage therapy in my city? Or who is certified to give me a haircut? And heaven forbid, no apologies for the use of the word "heaven", if I open up my own restaurant and decide I want to have a smoking section for my patrons who care to puff while they eat. Hell, what if I want to have a "smoker's only" restaurant? Couldn't do it. Law says that's not allowed. Why the hell not? Let people choose to patronize who they want. Government has run amok and the shit is rolling downhill faster all the time.

Not long ago a child died shortly after riding on a ride at Disney World. One person among millions who had been on this ride suffered a bad fate. There were extenuating conditions with this child and not every death, illness or accident can be prevented. Sometimes, shit does happen. Immediately afterwards there is a Congressman screaming that we need to standardize the safety of amusement parks nationwide. How is that helping anything? Government does not need to monitor everything that goes on in the country. Big Brother is big enough already and we need to cut him down a bit instead.

I remember the creation of the Transportation Security Agency that was to monitor airport security throughout the country. A leading liberal, I think it was Dick Gebhardt, said "To professionalize you must federalize." That has to be one of the stupidest things I've ever heard a congressman say. Now, just a couple short years after "professionalizing" airport security, most airports have reversed this trend and are opting for private screeners instead. It turns out the government just doesn't do many things right, including airport baggage screening.

Haven't you had that thought yourself? What does the government do that it does better than any other organization or business? Think about that for awhile. Haven't you found yourself complaining about red tape or bureaucracy or nit-picky rules and requirements when you deal with a government agency? Everyone complains about the inadequacies of government efficiency. Government is not efficient. Never was and never will be. It's part of the nature of the beast. It moves slow and it changes course even slower.

Why then do we want the government to be involved with health care? I want them to stay away from health care. It's bad enough that we've come to depend upon our employers to provide personal health care. Why do we not want to have more control over those issues? We seem to prefer to leave negotiations and such relating to health care to an employer already? I certainly don't want to see a huge government medical bureaucracy making decisions over my medical state. I'm a big boy and I want to decide for myself.

Government does best, Federally at least, in dealing with national defense and the courts. That's their job. That should be their priority. They are already seriously lacking in oversight of our borders which weakens our defense. And the Supreme Court has issued some astoundingly idiotic rulings that defy common sense. So they should concentrate on defense and tighten up the borders and let the Constitution be their guide from the courtroom bench.

Yet legislators seem to always want to legislate. Even when they have moved to the big seat in front of the courtroom. There must be something magically powerful about being able to write and pass laws that other people have to follow. Sometimes we just need to be smarter and let a sleeping dog lie. Just because someone dies doesn't mean we need a new law.

I don't expect to see any government take the time to repeal old laws or to truly assess the need for them. It is too easy to ignore what has been done and simply create a new law and leave it to the courts to interpret as needed. There always seems to be a dire need for another new law. I kind of wish we could make a new law that says there shall be no more new laws made ever! How about one year?

Have you ever thought "there oughta be a law"? Well, there probably already is.

OH