NLRB Tells Voters “Talk To The Hand”

Barak Obama may be paying lip service to the will of the voters after the resounding vote of no confidence in the November elections.  But his bureaucracy either isn’t listening or they just don’t care what the voters want. 

Last November the voters in Utah, South Carolina, South Dakota and Arizona overwhelmingly approved amendments to their state constitutions that in effect guaranty workers the right to a secret ballot for union organizing elections.  Arguably these measures were intended to nullify the proposed federal Card-Check law, deceptively named the Employee Free Choice Act which would remove that guaranty.  

In no uncertain terms, voters told the Federal Government that they preferred to make their own decisions with respect to activity within their own states.   These votes were not even close (sources SC, UT, SD, AZ):

South Carolina 86%

Utah  60%

South Dakota79%

Arizona 60%

 But democracy and federalism be damned, the National Labor Relations Board informed the states’ Attorneys General that they plan to sue the states to force them to submit to federal labor laws.  General Counsel Lafe Solomon argues that the U.S. Constitution’s  Supremacy Clause means that the federal labor law overrides state constitutions.  The Supremacy Clause may mean that legitimate federal law overrides state law.   However, that applies only to legitimate federal law.

 The authority to interfere in business agreements among consenting adults is not found in the enumerated powers that the U.S Constitution designates as the only powers allowed the Federal Government.  Proponents of broad federal regulation of business resort to tortured interpretations of the commerce and welfare clauses to justify the power of the Federal Government to do just about anything.  Of course this is the opposite of the Federal System of limited central government on which the U.S. Constitution is based.

In this case the Federal Government rushes to grant special privileges to labor unions who have faithfully supported big government in return for these special privileges.   I’m not against any group of workers’ right to organize.  But granting them any special legal privileges empowers special interests at the expense of the regular people.  It’s corruption pure and simple.

It’s these payoffs to special interests whether it’s the military-industrial complex, big-pharma, the trial lawyers, the teacher’s union, college students,  toxic mortgage holders, and many others, that have brought the country near bankruptcy.   The only way to stop it is to create meaningful competition among governments.  That is, make it easier to change jurisdictions, including tax jurisdictions.  It’s a lot easier to move to another town or another state than it is to move to another country.

I’m not suggesting that all the states are better than the Feds – some are much worse.  But currently most of the power and tax revenues accrue to the centralized Federal Government.  That defeats the free market competition among governments that the founding fathers intended as a protection of federalism.     Rapacious governments at all levels look for ways to pay for their extravagant payoffs to special interests .  Real competition among tax jurisdictions is the only way to keep in check the politicians and the special interests they serve.  That means much less power and much lower taxes at the federal level.  The states can then make taxing and spending decisions that are more in line with their voters’ preferences.

 That would be a step in the right direction. It isn’t the ultimate goal.  While the Tenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution protects State sovereignty – morally sovereignty resides in the individual.  Recognizing  that a human being is not morally born the subject of any other human being or group is the first step in creating a society where every human being is free to fulfill his/her full potential free of force and coercion by self-serving special interests .  Reducing the power of the Federal Government is just a first step toward improving the human condition.  That means putting the Federal Government back into its constitutionally defined box.  That’s what the nullification movement and the Tenth Amendment movement are about.

As the Federal Government continues to expand its control over every aspect of our lives and businesses challenges to federal regulation of health care, gun rights, drug laws and a dozen or so other topics have mounted. 

The fundamental issue is whether the Federal Government and specifically the Supreme Court, is the only entity that can judge the constitutional legitimacy of Federal Law.  The people who wrote the Constitution didn’t intend it that way (see my blog here).

The legal constitutional argument is one thing – the Federal Government should obey the law as defined by the Constitution.  But how should the Federal Government react when the will of a few hundred corrupt politicians and bureaucrats in Washington D.C. – people  who are dependent on union political contributions –  run roughshod over the will of hundreds of thousands of voters.  This is now more the norm than the exception.  The Federal Government acted against the will of the voters on the bailouts, health care, the wars and REAL ID.  Bills are almost never read by the legislators who force them on us and most of the rules we are told to live by are made by appointed bureaucrats with no constitutional authority at all.  To add insult to injury the political class isn’t subject to its own laws,  for example they have different health care, different retirement benefits, and special parking privileges.

We could wait until it’s too late. We could wait for a future in which many states and perhaps the Federal Government declare bankruptcy, the dollar and the economy go into  freefall,  only the political class can afford health care and we have new wars to take the public’s mind off the failure of government.  That’s exactly the path the Federal Government has us on now.

The alternative, the more civilized path, is to respect the will of the people as expressed by their state and local political institutions and by the individuals themselves.   Maybe that should be in the Constitution.  Hey – guess what – it is!  

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BTW – Rick Montes of the Tenth Amendment Center will speak at the Manhattan Libertarian Party Monthly Meeting on March 14, 2010. More info here.

Panzella Stands Up for New Yorkers and States Rights

STATEN ISLAND, NY, October 25, 2010  Danny Panzella, independent Libertarian candidate for the 63rd Assembly District, issued a formal challenge to his opponent, Democrat Michael Cusick, to join him in supporting a state sovereignty measure.

Speaking to groups of Staten Island residents this week, Mr. Panzella has been discussing the need for New York State to invoke its Tenth Amendment rights through a binding measure approved by both houses. The State Senate earlier this year introduced a similar resolution, which has been sent to the finance committee.

State sovereignty is arguably the single most important tenet of American government, yet hardly anyone ever talks about it. The Tenth Amendment is key to our Bill of Rights, and the liberty of the people. Unfortunately it has also been the most ignored part of our constitution for well over a century.”

 said Mr.Panzella, 33, of Manor Heights.

The Tenth Amendment instructs that  the powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people.  This means simply that the federal government is limited to only the powers granted under the United States Constitution. And in reality, there aren’t many. The state constitution echoes this sovereign sentiment in its civil rights law.

“New Yorkers are absolutely besieged by a two-front war in defense of liberty, and it’s right here at home. We find ourselves under the crushing weight of the Albany establishment’s mounting debt and insane borrow and spend schemes. The additional burden of a fiscally irresponsible federal government makes it doubly dangerous as we hurtle toward insolvency on both fronts.”

 Mr. Panzella said.
While our U.S Senators and Congresspersons fail to represent the constitutional interests of the people of New York, it is the sacred and urgent responsibility of every state legislator to speak out. In fact, all members of our state legislature have sworn an oath to uphold the Constitution of the United States, as well as the Constitution of New York State. I will uphold that oath to both the letter and spirit when I am elected, and will push for my assembly colleagues to follow suit.
Asked about the current sovereignty measure in the state senate, Mr. Panzella explained that the resolution does not go far enough in his opinion.

” It’s a great start, no question. I salute Senator Nozzolio and our own Senator Lanza. But we must do more than simply resolve to defend the Constitution, we need to craft legislation with real teeth. “

The candidate also reminded his audience not to interpret his stance as a partisan position, saying that this is not about left versus right, but right versus wrong.
We have seen federal administrations and congressional majorities from both major parties routinely circumvent the Constitution. This is done through parliamentary maneuvers, presidential directives, executive orders, and federal mandates. Can’t get it through congress? Simply issue an edict to some federal agency. And that’s the real danger here. Unelected bureaucrats and czars making major policy decisions without the checks and balances afforded by Congress.

Now it must fall to the state legislature to provide that oversight and approval. We are the last line of defense against what has become an oppressive, overreaching federal government. We need to have the ability, by law, to nullify or repeal those unfunded programs, unfair restrictions, and job-killing regulations, ones that the people of New York clearly do not want, and for which we cannot pay or we will all pay dearly with catastrophic consequences for our families’ futures.

Nullification Momentum Grows

Today’s Freedom’s Phoeinx had an item from the Tenth Amendment Center on an Arizona effort to nullify Cap and Trade.  According to the Article Arizona State Senators Allen, Gould and Grey are the primary sponsors for Senate Concurrent Resolution (SCR) 1050.

SCR 1050  ,known as “the Freedom to Breath Act”,  would make it illegal to enforce federal Cap and Trade Legislation.  Here is some language from SCR 1050

41-1294.  Authority over greenhouse gases Notwithstanding any federal law or regulation, this state, through the legislature, has exclusive authority to regulate anthropogenic emissions of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases and substances produced by mechanical or chemical processes, including agricultural operations and waste operations.

“Notwithstanding any federal law..”  now that’s positively inspiring.  I wonder if there is anyone in the New York State Legislature that even think about ever invoking the Tenth Amendment.  It gets better.

1.  The Tenth Amendment to the United States Constitution guarantees and reserves to the states and their people all powers not granted to the federal government elsewhere in the Constitution as they were understood at the time that the amendment was ratified on December 15, 1791, subject only to modification by duly ratified subsequent amendments to the United States Constitution.  The guaranty of those powers is a matter of compact between the state and people of Arizona and the United States as of the time that Arizona was admitted to statehood on February 14, 1912. 

2.  As a matter of compact between the state and people of Arizona and the United States as of the time that Arizona was admitted to statehood, the Tenth Amendment to the United States Constitution guarantees to the state and people of Arizona that Congress and the federal government will not exercise any purported power under article I, section 8 of the United States Constitution (the “Enumerated Powers”) except in accordance with its meaning and understanding at the time the United States Constitution was ratified on June 21, 1788, subject only to modification by duly ratified subsequent amendments to the United States Constitution.

Be still my heart.  The Act goes on to interpret the Tenth Amedment and other parts of the Constitution and it refers to the Compact between the state and the people of Arizona and the Unites States as the basis of the realtionship for any authority the federal government might have.  Check out Compact Theory  here.

The Tenth Amendment Center has this very nifty map that tracks the progress of Cap and Trade nullification legislation.  Arizona is the fourth state to introduce such legislation.