The Second Continental Congress approved the Declaration of Independence 240 years ago, making July 4, 1776 the most momentous day in our nation’s history. Their declaration was not something the founders merely thought was a good idea, it was born out of the necessity for freedom.
The Declaration lists 27 ways in which the distant, centralized government of King George III had failed to respect the interests of colonial Americans. The first few complaints address the king’s refusal to allow the colonies to govern themselves. “He has refused his Assent to Laws, the most wholesome and necessary for the public good,” the first grievance reads.
The Declaration goes on to complain about other interferences lacking colonial approval. British troops in the colonies weren’t held accountable in court for their abuses. One grievance accuses the king of “protecting [troops], by a mock Trial, from punishment for any Murders which they should commit on the Inhabitants of these States.” The next two complaints said the king had, without their consent, both taxed them and cut off colonial trade with the rest of the world.
Sadly, our current federal government has gradually centralized power in a distant capital in a way the founders would abhor, although it has not been “transporting large Armies of foreign Mercenaries to complete the works of death,” or various of the other grievances leveled against George III. Still others, however, echo down the ages, such as that the ruler had “erected a multitude of New Offices, and sent hither swarms of Officers to harass our people, and eat out their substance.” President Obama’s executive orders and regulatory guidance, anyone?
Despite efforts by Congress to devolve powers, the federal government continues its attempts to micromanage education. This issue does not appear at all among the Constitution’s enumerated federal powers, but Obama wants to dictate everything from funding levels to bathroom policies. The Department of Labor’s new rule on overtime pay is one of numerous ways that the government comes between employer and employee. Good luck trying to work, even at a lemonade stand, without the federal government’s permission. The EPA thinks it’s fair to intervene in one of the most traditional relationships, between a farmer and his land, and to that end issued a June 2015 rule that gives it the power to regulate puddles on farmland.
More power gets centralized into Washington, D.C., every year. According to the Regulatory Studies Center at George Washington University, the Code of Federal Regulations is more than 175,000 pages long. That’s about eight times as many pages as in 1960.
Worse, the volume of taxpayer funds that support this slow erosion of citizens’ rights has risen quickly in the last 50 years. The federal budgetary cost of regulatory activity has risen from $3.5 billion per year in 1960 to $61 billion in today’s dollars.
Pew Research Center polling shows that only one in five members of the public trusts the federal government to “do what is right” most of the time, an indictment of our centralized power system. At one point in the 1960s, nearly four in five trusted it.
The federal government must begin the process of devolving appropriate powers to state and local governments, as the 10th Amendment prescribes. Governments that are closer to communities and more in tune with their needs. Where possible, all levels of government should simply get out of the way and trust individuals to make their own choices once again. The federal government should focus on what it can do better than 50 separate states. That means better national security and international relations, and less interference in education, welfare, healthcare and other issues that don’t need or benefit from Washington’s intrusions.
Americans have always loathed the idea of people coming from far away to “help” their community. It’s something President Reagan understood when he joked “The nine most terrifying words in the English language are, ‘I’m from the government and I’m here to help.'” Each Independence Day marks a good moment to renew efforts to make government help a bit less.
Jason Russell is a commentary writer for the Washington Examiner.
