I am a Republican. I am not, however, one of those gay-hating, pro-life Republicans; I identify as Republican because I like small government, I think capitalism is the economic way to go and I believe in hard work and taking responsibilities for my own actions.
There is much I’d like to see change in government, as I’m sure most people would, but the way I would like to see it change the most is for the people to stand and take our government back.
Government was never meant to rule over us, but rule with our permission, and if we don’t like it, we have the power to change it.
All of this is laid out in the second paragraph of the Declaration of Independence:
“Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, — That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it…”
Constitutional Accuracy
One of the main problems we have in this country is misunderstanding the Declaration. This misunderstanding stems from a lack of education.
Most people misquote the Declaration and Constitution — when they think they are quoting it. Many adults never read these two documents. I know I never read either of them between the ages of eight, when I had to read them for school, and 18, when I realized how important they were. This is one problem that could be solved through our school system.
The lack of understanding of the Constitution became self-evident when the government shutdown in 2013. Many people who were very loud with their opinions blamed the shutdown on the Republicans in Congress. This blame was true, but what very few people seemed to understand was not passing every law and bill that comes through Congress is the job of the House of Representatives.
Article 1, Section 7 of the Constitution clearly states this: “All Bills for raising Revenue shall originate in the House of Representatives; but the Senate may propose or concur with Amendments as on other Bills.”
This system was put in place to allow for discourse so people of opposing sides could reach an agreement. If no agreement can be made, no bill can pass.
Another problem comes from misunderstanding Article 1, Section 1 of the Constitution, where it states: “All legislative Powers herein granted shall be vested in a Congress of the United States, which shall consist of a Senate and House of Representatives.”
Nowhere in this document did Thomas Jefferson or the other authors of the Constitution say the president has all legislative powers. The Founding Fathers set up a system of checks and balances so one branch of government, or person, would not be able to gain too much power. This misunderstanding, again, could easily be remedied with better education on these two important documents.
For me, the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution are so important to this country and to me as a constituent that I carry around a pocket version of both in my purse. I do this so I can read and reference them when I need to and do so with accuracy.
Government Parenting
I would also love to see the government stop acting like a parent. I am perfectly capable of making my own decisions, good or bad. But, for this to happen, the majority of the people have to want the same thing. I’m not talking about the military — that is one thing the government is supposed to provide — I am talking about the regulations and taxes I have to pay for them.
From what I’ve seen, this is an issue because people can no longer be bothered to take responsibility for their own lives and safety. This is why it’s been federally mandated that a cup of hot coffee must have a warning that the contents are hot, or a package of peanuts that it contains nuts.
I also see parents who don’t want to take responsibility for their children. Instead of parenting they send their kids off to school with behavioral issues, and the school is somehow supposed to parent these children — though, in a way, the government says to.
My new favorite piece of legislation to hate is student loan forgiveness. As a student, I should be all for this, right? Wrong.
Question: From where does the government get its money?
Answer: Taxpayers.
So, if that’s the case, where would the government get the money to cover the cost of the lost student loan revenues? That’s right: the taxpayers.
Now I’m not downplaying the difficulties of finding a job after college. I’m not there, but it has already sent me into a few quarter-life crises. What I am saying is, paying off your debt without a $50,000-job, is totally doable. I’ve seen it done.
What I’ve also seen, though not at Webster, are students who sign up for classes, get the government to pay for it all and then drop when their refund checks come in and they get all that money back. Every semester, these leeches would do this, and every semester they’d come back with a different sports car because they wrecked the one from last semester.
As a taxpayer I have no issue helping students who work hard and actually want to learn and further their education. But I have every issue with giving some leech a new car every six months and then telling them they don’t have to pay for it.
That’s what student loan forgiveness would do. It may help the few people who really need it, but it will mostly help the person who sloughed off in college, who is still working at Burger King because they never actually went to class and don’t have a degree.
I believe this because I believe people need to take responsibility for their own actions. If someone wants to skip class, not get a degree and then have a mountain of debt to pay off with no feasible way to do so, that is their right. It is not, however, my right or responsibility to pay off their debt for them.
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