Too Many Laws

In a recent column in The Dallas Morning News, Philip Howard put forth a unique idea, have federal and state laws expire after ten or fifteen years. He proposed that laws be repealed so they could be revisited instead of piling up like "sediment in a harbor."

Just think of how streamlined some aspects of government could be if laws determining how agencies are administrated were culled. IRS, anyone? That agency is so top-heavy with laws I wonder how it can even stand anymore.

Howard wrote, "Our political class assumes that, after a law is formed in the crucible of democracy, it should be honored as if it is one of the Ten Commandments, except it is more like one of 10 million."

Ten million laws. Whew. Who can even keep track of so many? Are some so obscure they haven't been read in decades? Where are they all stored?  Do new laws contradict old laws? Do we even know?

I like Howard's idea. He believes that "A healthy democracy must make fresh choices." Society changes and evolves, it doesn't remain in one place forever, but our laws do. Sometimes it is amusing to look at old laws that are still on the books in some states. We laugh at a law that prohibits spitting on the sidewalk, but nobody says, "Gee, maybe we don't need that law anymore."

And I'm guessing that at least half of those 10 million laws that govern us are as antiquated as that one.

The title of Howard's op-ed piece was "One nation under too many laws", and I agree. How about you?

Doing the Right Thing

One time when I was riding in the car with my father late at night, he stopped at a red light and waited until it turned green even though there was no traffic coming the other way. We were way out in the country and had not seen another car for an hour. I asked him why he didn't just go through the light, and he said "because I shouldn't."

Perhaps that was a little silly.  Who, besides me, was going to know that he stopped or didn't stop. But it was important to him to do the right thing, even when it may seem silly.  That was just part of his makeup. Do the right thing even when nobody is looking.

Personal responsibility.

In today's world it seems like there is less personal responsibility and more reliance on laws to protect our well-being.  Every time there is a catastrophe, we turn  to the government to fix it. Pass a law to regulate tobacco. Pass a law to regulate the amount of fat in food. Pass a law to make people wear seat belts. 

Wouldn't it be nice if people took more responsibility for their well-being, and the government could then focus on what government should be doing? What do you think?