Our Congress is addicted to spending other people’s money, and appears uninterested in addressing its affliction. The federal debt is approaching $39 trillion, and is growing at a rate of $1 trillion every 150 days. To simply balance the budget would require a tax increase of $2,400 per month, every month, forever, for a family of four.
Soon, the interest on the federal debt will be growing faster than the GDP. At that point, America will be trapped in a fiscal death spiral. Businesses will close. Individual savings will be wiped out. Government safety nets will fail. The American dream will end because we chose to ignore the approaching crisis.
Governor Ron DeSantis recently visited the Idaho Legislature to propose a solution – use of Article V of the Constitution to pass a balanced budget amendment. The second clause of Article V allows the states to bypass Congress, by calling a convention to propose an amendment for ratification. In this case, the amendment would force the federal government to stop taking out loans, which our children will pay with treasure or misery.
The Idaho House of Representatives, voted by a narrow margin (36 to 34) to join other states calling for an Article V convention. Many of our elected public servants were reluctant to act, and voted “nay.”
One of those “nay” votes came from Representative Cornel Rasor of Sagle Idaho. A recent Idaho State Journal article, Divided Idaho House calls for constitutional convention. Critics warn of risk to U.S. Constitution, quotes Representative Rasor’s rationale for his opposition:
We do not have the kind of men and women who occupied this country 250 years ago and came together in a momentous time and created what we have today. I do not believe it could even be done again.
Apparently, Representative Rasor doesn’t have faith in the wisdom of Idahoans to confront the crisis of our day, so he chose inaction instead. But his choice was based on a misunderstanding of our founders.
Our history classes taught us to revere our founding fathers as larger than life super-humans. But there was nothing “super” about them. They were mere farmers, doctors, shop keepers, lawyers, and craftsmen. They were ordinary men who did the extraordinary, by simply stepping up, and confronting the crisis of their day.
They didn’t debate whether they were worthy of the challenge. They saw a need for action, and took it – while praying for God’s guidance. Clearly, they understood the Parable of the Talents (Matthew 25:14-30). The Master rewards decisive action, and scorns risk aversion.
When Benjamin Franklin was asked what type of government had been created during that hot Philadelphia summer he replied, “A republic, if you can keep it.” Franklin wasn’t predicting the demise of our republic, he was observing that the baton was being passed to the self-governed. Our founders created the greatest republic the world has ever known, and then it became our duty to preserve it. “If you can keep it,” is a challenge: Will you answer the call as we did, when the time comes?
The convention of states resolution still needs the approval of the Idaho Senate. 250 years ago, ordinary men risked their “lives, fortunes, and sacred honor” to create the United States of America. Will our Senators risk a simple vote to preserve it? We’ll find out in the coming weeks if Idaho joins other states answering the call, or fails Ben Franklin’s challenge.
Author Bio: John Green is a retired engineer and political refugee from Minnesota, now residing in Idaho. He spent his career designing complex defense systems, developing high performance organizations, and doing corporate strategic planning. He is a contributor to American Thinker, The American Spectator, and the American Free News Network. He can be reached at greenjeg@gmail.com.
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