It seems to me, nothing can prove the out of control growth of the bureaucratic regulatory apparatus of the Executive branch, than the fact that now the Legislative branch needs to pass legislation to stop regulation they find appalling. Congressman Peter Welch of Vermont is sponsoring a bill that would stop some new regulations, prohibiting cheese from being aged on wooden boards, or in wooden containers. As with most regulations this one is absurd, makes no sense from a scientific perspective, legal or even a sociological perspective, but it is an example of bureaucrats working diligently in the dark, regulating how we do everything and in every way. Their regulations are not subject to the will of the people, and are not Constitutional, but they have transferred tremendous power from the legislative branch to the Executive, undermining the intent of our Constitution’s foundational thesis, that of the separation of power, all for the dubious goal of efficiency in government. As we move further and further away from Constitutional rule, and into the chimeric bastardization of our government, we can expect our leaders, especially the Executive, to act more and more arbitrarily, until we have arbitrary government in all but name.
Constitutions are a concept that was invented as a way to limit the propensity of governments to become tyrannical. History shows that there has never been a government, no matter how well devised, that didn’t eventually become despotic. Rome was a republic for century upon century but eventually became a tyranny. That great republic began it’s death spiral the moment the people accepted arbitrary power in the hands of the Caesar, whether wielded by Marcus Aurelius or Nero, that power corrupted not only the man, and the Praetorian guard who protected him, but the society that became dependent on it as well. This is what Constitutions are supposed to prevent. If they are not followed however they loose the ability to limit and instead provide cover for a would be dictator.
Separation of power is the primary means the US Constitution, our Constitution, is supposed to prevent arbitrary rule. History shows that most of the time despotism comes from the Executive. Separation of powers is meant to prevent this propensity of rulers by limiting their absolute power and divesting that power in other segments of government, then pitting those segments, (and political factions), against each other, like using a fire line to stop a fire. Federalist Paper number ten explains this far better than I can. The power of a Constitution to reign in the avarice of a leader depends on it’s being adhered to.
The power to pass laws was given solely to the Legislative branch in the US Constitution. Our leaders have evolved the definition of the words in the Constitution to allow for a bureaucracy to take over most of the legislative functions of the Legislature. This has ostensibly been done to improve the efficiency of government to regulate the actions of it’s citizens. While it has allowed government to regulate far more efficiently… that regulation is anything but efficient. It drastically diminishes economic growth, personal freedom and US competitiveness, all for some pie in the sky notion of government efficiency. The truth is, the most efficient government is a tyranny, but is that where we want our government to go?
Keeping the thousands upon thousands of bureaucrats busy, as well as the hundreds government adds every year, presupposes that reams and reams of regulations must be written, else the need for the leviathan of the bureaucratic government goes away and the bureaucracy becomes redundant. Making those tens of thousands of high paying government jobs all go away. Bureaucrats, who are the modern equivalent of buggy whip weavers, cannot stand for their cushy, pensioned, well paid careers with government go away, and so they have a self interested need to keep the regulatory bandwagon rolling. The deleterious effect on society, our economy and even the destruction of Constitutional rule is irrelevant, and so our Legislature is taking up the all important question, whether cheese should be aged on wood as it has been for thousands of years.
Since the Legislative branch has given up so much of it’s power to the bureaucracy, it finds itself in the uncomfortable position where it has to pass legislation, to protect certain politically favored industries from the negative effects of regulation, in this case the cheese industry. When the legislative branch must pass a law to stop a regulation, it is proof positive that the kudzu of bureaucracy, has outgrown the garden. There was a Supreme Court ruling a few years ago that in effect said, since the Legislative branch had willingly ceded their power to the Executive’s bureaucracy, that bureaucracy has now the same power to pass regulations as if they were law, Constitutionally passed by the Legislature and signed by the Executive. That ruling, along with a host of other absurd rulings by the Supreme Court, has evolved our government away from Constitutional limits on the power of government as intended by the founders, to this bastardized inbred monstrosity we now live under. The real problem here, is the disdain and loathing our leaders hold for our Constitution, from the Executive through the Legislative and the Judiciary branches, all the way down to the lowly bureaucrat toiling away in his or her cubicle, for eight hours a day, making rules for the rest of us to live under, without scrutiny, or oversight… and without Constitutional authority.