24 Aug Draining the Washington Swamp

“Corruption starts at the top.” – The Lonely Realist

Washington, D.C. was built on a swamp…, which is not the reason why its denizens are called “swamp-dwellers.” Washington owes that epithet to its elected legislators, the corrupt unethical dishonest members of Congress who are “in the pocket” of special interests. As The Economist recently reported, America’s interventionist government is besieged by lobbyists who appeal to Congressmembers reveling in their power, stature and influence and caring “more about personal than national interests.” It is Congress, after all, that is responsible for bartering away America’s future by accumulating an enormous national debt – currently >$35 trillion. It is Congress that has enacted impenetrable tax laws filled with loopholes and entitlements that make it impossible to repay that debt. It is Congress that, by failing to draft clear laws, has delegated their interpretation to an Executive Branch staffed with bureaucrats charged with managing an administrative state. Congress therefore has ignored its Constitutional obligation to balance the budget, extract an evenhanded tax levy, appropriately size America’s bureaucracy, and limit the power of overzealous Presidents. And, all the while, Congressmembers have been enjoying massive benefits that include high salaries, unparalleled connections, limited working days, spectacular working conditions, a huge expense account, all-expenses-paid “fact-finding” trips, sizable staffs, exceptional medical, dental and retirement benefits, virtually no insider trading limitations, fully-covered legal expenses, the ability for virtually unlimited moonlighting, free flights to and from members’ home States, and family death gratuities…, among other things. No wonder that members of Congress do whatever it takes make every effort to hold onto their jobs…, and it is no surprise that special interests spend lavishly to ensure that those they elect to protect and enhance their positions continue to do so.

The Constitution provides for a balance of power among the three Branches of America’s government: the executive (the President); the legislative (Congress); and the judiciary (ultimately, the Supreme Court). Each Branch has the primary responsibility for a different set of specified tasks…, and each is intended to coordinate with the others to ensure that the actions taken by one Branch do not overstep the bounds set in the Constitution. There is nothing in the Constitution, however, that prevents a Branch from failing to fulfill its responsibilities and thereby tacitly entrusting its authority to the other Branches. The consequences of failure are supposed to be faced at the voting booth. However, with gerrymandered voting districts, most Congressmembers today are insulated from defending their performance on Election Day.

Article 1 of the Constitution enumerates the powers delegated to Congress, including the power to tax, to spend, and to borrow. Congress has exercised its power to tax by enacting the Internal Revenue Code, a document that, among other things, embeds the preferences of a broad range of special interests constituencies. The taxes imposed by the IRC provide the revenue that allows Congress to budget and spend on those programs it determines are in the best interests of Congress America. That’s because Congress has the exclusive authority to tax and spend. Unfortunately, Congress hasn’t enacted tax laws that bring in enough revenue to fund the programs it has chosen to spend money on. The result has been enormous Federal budget deficits and what today amounts to an unrepayable national debt.

Why has Congress decided to tax too little and spend too much? The goal of those elected to Congress has been to get re-elected…, and that’s been the reality for both parties and under several Presidents. This has led not only to enormous budget deficits, but also to a disdain for America’s law-makers, its laws and the law-making process, and the Federal agents and agencies entrusted to enforce the law.

To say that the system is broken is to state the obvious. It’s been shattered by Congressional self-interest (a sentiment recently echoed by Senator Joe Manchin). It’s Congress’s responsibility to repair itself. No other American institution can do so. The malfunctioning of America’s government is not the fault of the President or the Judiciary. Stop blaming the functionaries, the Federal agents and agencies – they’ve been empowered by Congressional negligence. It’s not the fault of current or past Presidents either – they’ve been exercising the broad powers ceded by Congressional inaction. And don’t blame America’s duped voters who have few choices in their Congressmembers. It is, indeed, Congress’s fault.

In order to exercise executive authority, a President must rely on laws enacted by Congress. Except in times of war, the Constitution gives Presidents little power to do anything other than enforce those laws. A President cannot legitimately take actions that are inconsistent with or in defiance of those laws. The partisan politicization of everything legislative – together with the corrosive Congressional re-election game – weakens lawmaking and the balance of power in America…, and of democracy itself. Budgets – the sole purview of Congress – are bedeviled by partisanship, lobbyists, and the self-interest of Congressmembers. Laws enacted without sufficient clarity or adequate funding cannot be rationally enforced by the Executive Branch…, and that’s true whether the President is a Republican or a Democrat. Prior TLRs have addressed America’s overly-complicated tax system and the purposeful underfunding of the IRS, both of which are Congress’s fault. The same situation exists with respect to far too many of America’s other laws.

TLR previously addressed a range of measures that would mitigate the Congressional Swamp Problem, including term limits, the elimination of Congressmembers’ ability to trade on inside information, legislating away gerrymandering, and encouraging those who most care about America’s future to seek elected office…, all of which periodically are fruitlessly frivolously proposed by glib members of Congress who are trying to woo voters. It’s America’s democracy that’s at risk…, and it will be Congress’s fault if the system fails…, as it is in the process of doing today.

ON ELECTION DAY, VOTE AGAINST INGRAINED INCUMBENCY!

TLR Index

Prior TLR commentaries can be found here.

Finally (from a good friend)