-Caveat Lector- visit my web site at http://www.voicenet.com/~wbacon My ICQ# is 79071904 for a precise list of the powers of the Federal Government linkto: http://www.voicenet.com/~wbacon/Enumerated.html
---------- Forwarded message ---------- Date: Mon, 18 Feb 2002 21:22:53 EST From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Reply-To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subject: SNET: 17th Amendment - Bane to Campaign Reform............ -> SNETNEWS Mailing List Do away with 17th Amendment It's the best solution for campaign funding woes Junius Peake Three issues are in the forefront of American political debate: campaign finance reform; reducing the size of the federal government; and devolving power to the states and to the people. The original framers of the Constitution were smart enough to have figured out a way to meet all three of these objectives. However, in a spate of populism, the 17th Amendment to the Constitution, which changed the way senators were elected, was ratified, thus negating much of the brilliance which created a fair balance of powers between the federal and state branches of government. Originally, the United States senators were elected -- two per state -- by their state legislatures; the 17th Amendment transferred their election to statewide plebiscites. This reduced the power of the states, and created another legislative body having many of the characteristics of the House of Representatives. Repealing the 17th Amendment to the Constitution would have immediate benefits: It would eliminate the need for the huge Senate campaigns we have today; would make the role of state legislators far more important that it is today; and reduce the power and size of the federal government. The long-term effects of this change, much like the long-term effects of the 16th Amendment, which created the income tax (also ratified in 1913), have resulted in unintended consequences. The shift of political power from state legislatures to the electorate resulted in a concomitant increase in power by the House, which already had been granted sole authority to initiate all federal revenue legislation. With the ratification of the 17th Amendment, the Senate no longer represented the interests of the states, but rather those of their electorates. As a result, voters were less concerned about the qualifications of the members of their state legislatures. Instead, electing federal senators who would respond directly to their views became a major objective of the voters and their special interest groups. Recent published reports estimate that a minimum of $20,000 per day must be raised by each senator during his or her six-year term of office to wage a competitive campaign for re-election. The recent Feinstein-Huffington campaign in California is a classic example of how expensive the quest for membership in what has been called "the world's most exclusive club" can be. With the restoration of this part of the Constitution to its original design, states would once again become more equal partners with the federal government. Governors would be transformed from being hat-in-hand mendicants begging Cabinet-level federal bureaucrats for money into effective executives who could lead their states, in partnership with the federal government. Each citizen is far closer to his or her state's elected representatives than to Washington, politically and geographically. Senators elected by state legislatures would presumably be more responsive to their state's needs. As a result, U.S. senators would be better insulated from the almost daily pressures of voters' shifting interests, and, freed from constant fund -- raising chores, far better able to focus on the Nation's long -- term objectives. The Senate's constitutional role of being the nation's "saucer" in which the piping hot legislative broth drafted by the House is allowed to cool, will be restored. The sight of superannuated legislators with what appears to be almost lifelong tenure will be no more. It would be the rare legislature, indeed, that would re-elect a senator to term after term, especially with term limits for committee chairs. The founding fathers were far wiser than we sometimes believe. We should return the Senate to the states by repealing the 17th Amendment, just as we repealed the 18th (Prohibition). There is almost unanimous agreement that campaign finance reform is needed; the harder part, similar to the problem the mice had in Aesop's fable, Belling the Cat, is deciding who should do the job and how it should be done. This is not an original idea. This proposal was made and implemented by Washington, Jefferson, Hamilton, Madison and Adams, among others. It was successfully tested in the crucible of American politics for more than a century. It worked, and will work again. Junius W. Peake is the Monfort Distinguished Professor of Finance at the University of Northern Colorado and a member of The Denver Business Journal's board of editorial contributors. -> To unsubscribe send email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] ==^================================================================ This email was sent to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] EASY UNSUBSCRIBE click here: http://topica.com/u/?b1ddDh.b2FRTm Or send an email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] T O P I C A -- Register now to manage your mail! http://www.topica.com/partner/tag02/register ==^================================================================ <A HREF="http://www.ctrl.org/";>www.ctrl.org</A> DECLARATION & DISCLAIMER ========== CTRL is a discussion & informational exchange list. Proselytizing propagandic screeds are unwelcomed. Substance—not soap-boxing—please! 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