Governments will inherently decay unless there are checks and balances in them. Even the Soviet Union had a “three legged stool” of the communist party, the KGB, and the red army. If one of the three became too powerful, the other two would team up and chop it down to size.
The US constitution with several balances of power. The one most people know is the executive, legislative, and judicial one. But right now the executive branch, and its immense bureaucracy, has become far too powerful. Congress has ceded too much legislative authority to the bureaucracy, and the judiciary has become a bully in its own right.
The real problem lies in a different balance of power, between the federal government, the individual States, and the people. Between the Civil War and the Civil Rights movements, the States lost most of their power. And their most important check, the ability to appoint US senators, was lost in 1913. This left them only the “unthinkable” right to call a constitutional convention.
The power of the people in the equation was also eroded with the use of federal largesse, buying votes to maintain ever growing federal power. So the people have been infringed upon most of all. At no time, short of a wartime military draft, was it intended that the federal government deal with the people directly. The individual States were our shield.
The States have been pushed so hard they are calling “enough” with these now majority of States 10th Amendment resolutions. But the federal government is unwilling, perhaps unable, to change itself. Its momentum has taken over.
With a grotesque economic collapse, though, the States may finally be forced to call a constitutional convention, which on reflection is not as traumatic as it sounds. For the convention remains in effect until it either ends its own mandate, or 3/4ths of the individual States agree to its changes.
Likely, such a convention would have to be held in sequester on a major military installation, prevented from contact with any number of villains who would seek to manipulate it. And even the soldiers of the army guarding it would each be re-sworn to uphold and defend the constitution.
Each State would send two delegates, chosen by the State, not by a popular vote, unless the State agreed to that.
The US government would be a caretaker government, and could not legally vote to tamper with or stop the convention.
Likely, the States would insert a balanced budget amendment, with strict limits on evasion. Much legal precedent would be swept aside, and judges could no longer order States to spend money. The size of the government would be radically reduced. All taxes and efforts at spending within a State would have to go through that State government. That is, the States would pay all federal taxes, outside of international duties and tariffs. Though a federal lottery might be permitted.
The estimated time of the convention would be one year.
I don’t know about lettting the state govts appoint the delegates. In too many cases, the state govts are a big part of the problem. If this were going to happen, there should at least be enough of a lead time for the people of the state to make any “adjustments” in their representatives before the delegation took place.
I see the checks and balances we have now to be in collusion with each other...There is no checks and balances anymore...
A state call for a Constitutional Convention is the next step, but I believe it would be fraught with corruption and back room deals before it even the frist call to order...
Something is obviously wrong up there, and we are just now crcacking the surface of a lot of deeper issues and problems, which no one we have in place now seems to be too concerned about...
That attitude needs to change...If we can start sending people home this year, and put an exclamation point on it in 2010, then we may be able to head this thing off at the pass...
I know, a terrible cliche’ ;-)
“Each State would send two delegates, chosen by the State, not by a popular vote, unless the State agreed to that.”
I don’t see a reason to trust the majority of the States to chose delegates who would work for a conclusion to such a convention that would be acceptable to most of the folks on this form.