Balancing the Constitution against the Reality

A difficulty that very few of us as would be politicians and conservatives give little if any thought to is that of balancing the precepts of the Constitution of the United States against the reality of modern life in this country. 

For those of us who adhere to the Constitution there are very specific rules which we must abide by in order to make it work. Most particularly those rules that limit the authority of the government and of it size. Also the rules written and unwritten which govern the issuance of federal funding to state programs and organizations. 

In the economy of this day and age it becomes even more important that we as conservatives pay close attention to both the needs of the American People and the need to adhere to the Constitution. 

As a conservative I realize and recognize that it is essential that old programs be revamped in order to ultimately reduce the financial burden upon the tax payer. I also see the need for a massive reduction in the size of the government that already has grown beyond all reason and control. Yet at the same time I see a segment of the American population that through the circumstance of poverty, a social welfare program that is essentially a trap, and baby boomers finally coming to retirement age that are in dire need.  

One of the unfortunate facts that we must recognize is that starting with Franklin D. Roosevelt, Social Programs that were inherently unconstitutional were put into place and over the years the American population has become dependent upon them. So much so that if we were to adhere religiously to the Constitution and do away with them we would immediately create a national crisis of unprecedented magnitude. As a result we are forced to accept that these programs are now apart of the American lexicon and must be dealt with. 

While I contend that it is possible to adhere to the Constitution and meet the needs of the American people, I also believe that it is necessary to take a totalitarian approach to government spending and the revamping of the majority of social welfare programs.  

Social Security must be made to be self sustaining. Social Security funds must be removed from the General Fund back into its own funding system where it was originally and the government must be prevented from borrowing from it in order to fund other government programs. Currently the Federal Government cannot even pay the daily interest on the moneys already borrowed from the Social Security fund. 

Welfare programs might be revamped in the following manner; 

• A program that last for six years
• This program would provide the necessary means for anyone seeking assistance to survive with Food Stamps, Child daycare (for single parents) aide with energy assistance, Medicaid for all members of a single parent home and either subsidized government or low income housing.
• It would require that the recipient be drug free (with the exception of doctor prescribed medications) and would be subject to periodic testing
• It would require that the recipient have or obtain a GED within the first six months of entering the program.
• It would also require that the recipient either have a full time job (not less than 30 hours a week) or continue their education, or perform community service in an amount of time not to exceed 25 hours per week. It would also require that the recipient establish a bank account/savings account and if they are employed full time they deposit 10 percent of their weekly pay into the savings account. The money in this savings account cannot be withdrawn until such time as they leave the program.
• The program would provide funding for continuing education to the level of an Associates Degree or a Trade School.
• While income of the recipient is monitored the Assistance Program will not deduct or penalize by reduction of services the Assistance provided to the recipient.
• When the recipient reaches a certain income level and is able to provide for him or herself in a reasonable manner they will leave the program.
• A Two year grace period will be given to all recipients at the end of which the recipient will then make low affordable payments back into the system for a period not to exceed the amount of time they remained within the Assistance Program.
• Once they have left the program and become self sufficient they cannot re-inter the program under any circumstances and are forced to stand or fail on their own.

This of course is not a perfect solution and would require a great deal more thought and work to make it viable, but I believe it is a start in the right direction. 

There must be an immediate reduction in government, doing away with offices that by rights serve no real purpose other than to create more bureaucratic garbage. 

The Use of foreign aide and payments to governments that by rights would gladly plunge a knife into the backs of the American People the first chance they got must be stopped immediately. These payments are being laid onto the backs of the American Tax payer and amount to nothing more than bribes. American can no longer afford such reckless spending. The funds that are used in this manner can be turned around and used to reduce the national deficit or to help relieve the already oppressive tax burden forced onto the American public.

With regard to states, it is possible to adhere to the Constitution and at the same time make it possible for each state to take a more active role in creating solutions to their economic problems and conditions by removing useless federally mandated regulations that prevent them from exploiting their resources and destroying jobs. 

Currently the State of New Mexico stands on the cusp of being able to lead the nation and the world into the future. While some may look at me askance when I say this it is never the less true. I believe that it is time for ALL New Mexicans to start looking to the future and our innate ability to solve difficult problems and succeed where others have failed.