ThisIsCommonSense.org

We’re a nation of laws, not men. Before the American Revolution, men were ruled by other men. Mankind’s struggle for freedom has been a battle to place all men under the law so that no one could rule others. That’s why in America, presidents unlike kings can’t pass laws by decree.

Or can they? Presidents can issue executive orders to tell the executive branch agencies the bureaucracy how to implement the laws passed by Congress. In theory, these executive orders cannot establish new laws. But many fear in reality that’s exactly what’s happening. The President is pursuing an ‘executive order strategy.’ Interior Secretary Bruce Babbitt admits, “We’ve switched the rules of the game. We’re not trying to do anything legislatively.” Presidential advisor Paul Begala smugly told The New York Times , “Stroke of the pen. Law of the Land. Kinda cool.” No, it’s not cool. One man changing the law unilaterally isn’t conducive to freedom.

The crusty old politicians in Congress, looking always to their personal political well being, ignore the president usurping their constitutional powers. But Representative Jack Metcalf of Washington is fighting to protect the rule of law. He’s introduced legislation to stop executive orders from masquerading as laws thus restoring the separation of powers our founders established. Metcalf is not a career politician angling for a safe slot in Washington. He’s limited himself to three terms. Thus the Constitution matters more to him than playing Washington politics. Now that’s cool.

This is Common Sense.  I’m Paul Jacob.

To prove their relevance to us, career politicians try to address whatever problems are on the minds of voters. But in doing so, the Washington politicians only show how irrelevant they really are.

Parents care about education; it’s a top issue. So before Congress adjourned for the year, they passed legislation to fund 100,000 new teachers. Boy, how nice of them! What good guys!

But wait a second, the federal government doesn’t run a single school. They don’t directly hire a single classroom teacher. So why on earth should we parents and taxpayers send our money all the way to Washington? The federal government only returns a small part of it to our local communities.

Why not simply cut federal taxes and let us set our own educational priorities locally? Simple.

Once our tax money flows to Washington, the professional politicians want to keep it. Our tax dollars are the source of their power. Career congressmen aren’t about to give back any of their power. Only term-​limited representatives, who have shunned longtime careers as powerbrokers, have the courage to champion the taxpayers over the political elite. Heaven knows there are a lot more direct ways to squander our tax dollars, but Congress wants the power that comes from control.

To really solve our problems, we need to get the career politicians in Congress out of the way and make decisions back home where we live.

This is Common Sense. I’m Paul Jacob.

My wife and I had children because we wanted to hold those bundles of joy, to hear that pitter-​patter of little feet, to tackle the challenges of a teenager. Well, not so much the last, but we’ll deal with it.

We certainly didn’t take federal tax policy into account. No one should be making decisions about marriage and family on the basis of the tax code. And politicians shouldn’t have the power to alter our plans, our families.

But that’s what they seek to do when they manipulate the tax code. Get ready voters are about to be hit with all kinds of special tax proposals. Proposals to reward marriage, punish marriage, reward having children, punish having children, reward us for staying home with our kids and reward us for sticking our kids in day care.

Where will it end? And is it really any business of the federal government?

Career politicians in Washington think so. They want your vote so they offer to alter the tax code to your advantage. The next moment they suggest changes for another group’s interest. The winners? Politicians who confiscate ever more influence over our most personal and important decisions.

When it comes to marriage, having children and caring for them, people should choose from what’s in their hearts and NOT what government will take, or not take, out of their pockets. Politicians should cut taxes across the board instead of trying to manipulate our behavior as if we were lab rats. Career politicians in Washington need to know that when it comes to our families, we do it for love, not money. Our kids are too important.

This is Common Sense. I’m Paul Jacob.

“Houston, we’ve got a problem … ” A line made famous by the movie Apollo 13.

But taxpayers in Houston, the nation’s fourth largest city, have got no problems at all after recent elections put a majority on the city council pledged not to raise taxes. Taxpayers for Accountability is trumpeting the results of the recent election and crediting a reform made several years ago in Houston: term limits.

The group says, “Thanks to term limits, [taxpayers] now have the majority power to defeat future tax increases.” Of course, politicians have been known to say one thing and then do another especially if it’s in their career interest. But term limits take away the temptation to trade what’s right for what is expedient career-​wise. Political careers aren’t allowed.

The new anti-​tax majority includes council members who have lived and worked under term limits for several years. They’ve kept their word on taxes. The National Taxpayers Union found the same was true for congressmen who limit themselves voluntarily. According to an NTU report, “Lawmakers who keep their pledge to limit their own terms appear to keep other promises as well-​lower spending and less government.”

Making certain our elected officials have only public service in mind, and not a lengthy career as a pampered, pensioned, well-​perked politician, means a new level of frugality, accountability and honesty. That’s sure to put a bounce in any taxpayer’s step … as if he were walking on the moon.

This is Common Sense. I’m Paul Jacob.

You don’t have to be a Ph.D. in the economics of anti-​trust law to see the irony of the federal government’s legal attack on Microsoft. Here we have Microsoft, the leading company in the most productive, competitive and innovative sector of our society, under siege from the least productive and most monopolized element in society the federal government.

Let’s look at the picture before us. The computer industry, which our government argues is being threatened by the alleged monopoly practices of Microsoft, is putting new computers on our desks with ever more effective programs. We can now balance our checkbook, go shopping, design intricate publications and e‑mail our parents the new picture of their grandkid all on our personal computer. And with many more features and power, the prices keep going down.

Now what about the federal government? First, its Board of Directors, the Congress, has monopolized the political process. In the last election 98.5 percent of incumbents were reelected, most without any meaningful competition. For those who had served more than 2 terms, the reelection rate was 100 percent. That’s beyond anything remotely possible in the productive private sector. And more important, when is the last time you saw real innovation in the federal government a problem solved or a true cut in the amount of your tax bill?

Monopolies are known to raise prices and diminish quality. That doesn’t match the record of Microsoft or the computer industry. The real monopoly isn’t Mr. Gates and Microsoft; it’s the career politicians in Washington.

This is Common Sense. I’m Paul Jacob.

I like to talk and some people tell me I’m pretty good at it. I even like to argue different points of view. I’m something of a debater.

But there comes a time when the debate has to end a time to act. In the wake of serious violence at public schools in recent months, it wasn’t too surprising that school officials in Decatur, Illinois acted swiftly when students started a brawl at a football game. The students were expelled.

What is surprising, is that the school officials are taking the flak while the out-​of-​control students are being portrayed as victims. Jesse Jackson actually defended the students’ actions saying they didn’t use weapons.

So violence is only wrong if you use a gun? It’s okay to bash people with your fists? It’s true enough that many schools have been overreacting. In Decatur the expulsion was originally 2 years. Maybe that goes a little too far. Now they’ve chopped the penalty down to one year.

But one cannot commit arbitrary violence and then expect official reaction to always be perfectly proportionate. Understand where parents and schools are coming from with these zero-​tolerance policies. Does having a tolerant society mean we tolerate violence?

Unfortunately that’s too often the message as self-​proclaimed experts and politicians endlessly debate the issue. We can’t wait for some kind of educational utopia. As parents, we don’t have that luxury. Our kids must be safe right now if not in public schools, then in private schools or taught at home. Our kids are too important.

This is Common Sense. I’m Paul Jacob.