Burlington
High
School
Burlington,
Kansas
Teacher:
Devra
Parker
A
Taxpayers
Dream
Come
True
or
a
Nation’s
Mistake:
Sunset
Legislation
By
Becca
Holman
12th
grade
In today’s society, every adult I have encountered has something to say about the taxes he or she has to pay. There seems to be taxes for just about everything. Income, sales, Social Security, and Medicare are only a few of the many taxes that one has to pay. On top of that, there are federal and state financial obligations. Giving the government this money pays for roads, schools, fire departments, and other programs that improve our society. However, what other agencies do people pay for that are not beneficial to the general public? Will Sunset legislations, a body that creates an evaluative process to determine whether an agency should be abolished, streamlined, consolidated, or reauthorized, be useful or will it create more havoc?
There are many advantages to this government committee. First, it could benefit taxpayers immensely. By selecting a group of trustworthy people with a popular set of rules to follow, the examination of federal and state agencies could save millions of well-earned dollars. In Texas alone, a board of people, chosen by the Texas Lieutenant Governor and Speaker of the House, eliminated a variety of programs that saved more than 784 million dollars. I know that I would be extremely thankful for the money I saved in taxes.
Not only can this be a benefit to the average citizen, but it will also be worthwhile for the agencies being inspected. Sunset legislation can identify problems within the different government agencies and allow for improvements. Yes, the committee would have the power to abolish the organization, but it could also see problems that the owners may not and provide an improvement strategy. This will help out the organization and, most likely, the community. The public should play, and does play, a big role in the process of Sunsetting. The citizens of a state vote on the people that they want to represent them in Congress. Having five members from the House of Representatives and five members from the Senate make up the assembly of people to evaluate agencies will ensure that the voters have the power to choose who is in charge of this legislation. Also, the commission is required to hold public hearings to presents the findings of an organization. This way the government cannot hide anything from the citizens and make “buddies” within an agency for a certain price.
As impressive as this system sounds, there are some disadvantages that people have discovered. Giving the government too much power was a big issue when creating the Constitution, and it seems to have carried over to the 21st century. The Congressmen of today are protesting Sunset legislation proposals by arguing that this is yet another unnecessary power given to the government. Reducing government agencies with more government legislations seems like the nation is going nowhere, just creating more commotion. On top of these remarks, a “back-door” for the government has been an excuse for the men and women who do not agree with Sunsetting. Because of all of the scandals within the federal and state regimes in the past, there will always be people who do not trust the government with new proposals like Sunset legislations and will always try to find hypothetical situations that could further embarrass the government.
Men like Thomas Bock, National Commander of The American Legion, think that Sunset commissions are poor public policy. Thomas Bock made his views known to Speaker of the House Dennis Hastert in an opposing, but respectful letter. Mr. Bock says, “The American Legion has grave concerns over the selection process of Commissioners, the lack of transparency and public involvement, and the lack of accountability. Quite frankly, the idea of growing government (creation of sunset commissions) to reduce government seems like poor public policy.” The National Commander goes on to make yet another good point by saying, “How is a determination made as to whether a ‘Sunset commission’ is accountable, efficient and effective? Is that a decision made by yet another ‘Sunset commission’?” I think Bock has the Speaker thinking, but there are definite ways to which Sunset legislation can work without the total opposition of Mr. Bock and many others.
I feel that Sunset legislation would be beneficial to everyone who is willing for change. Yes, I think there is a need for these committees because it saves taxpayers millions. However, there should be amendments made to the bills proposed. For instance, the public should be able to vote on the men and/or women that they want to represent them in committee. Also, the criteria used for evaluating an agency should be voted on as well. Voting on most of the standards for Sunset legislation will ensure that the people are accountable for the actions that this assembly will take. If this legislation is made to help the people, then the people should be able to define the word “help.” The organizations complaining of these Sunset commissions are, from what I see, scared of what might happen to them. Most, such as the National Advocacy Center of the Sisters of the Good Shepherd, are troubled by the fact that their programs would be automatically considered unnecessary because they do not bring in a preponderance of money. I agree that these programs should not be abolished because of how much money they make, but the committees should look at what they do for their communities and how much support they provide. Isn’t that what our country is all about anyway?
With all of the benefits offered in Sunset legislation, I agree that this is a taxpayers dream come true. There is a continuing debt of the nation and with all of the money going toward that, people are deserving of a tax break. With Congress passing these bills, the whole nation will be excited to see a brighter tomorrow. America could change for the better with the passing of Sunsets, and we can be assured that future generations will be safe and sound.
Answers To Questions Prompted By The Required Reading
Q1- What was the average life span in Jefferson’s age according to his letter?
The average life span was 55 years old.
Q2- Do some research and find out the size of the national debt you are about to inherit as taxpayers. Don’t forget the benefits promised in your name to the older generations under the guise of Social Security and Medicare.
The current national debt is close to eight and a half trillion dollars. It is too bad that we chose to borrow and spend an enormous amount of money that we knew we could not pay back in a short amount of time. Now taxpayers are paying for not only the original money borrowed, but the interest as well. Paying for the debt and older generations, under Social Security and Medicare, seems too much to handle.
Q3-What do you think of Jefferson’s assertion that “…no generation can contract debts greater than may be paid during the course of it's own existence.”
It is unreal in today’s society. It could have been done when we first started out as a nation, but now we have such a larger debt that we have said “forget it” and it seems as if we do not care about the future. When the future generation comes, they will have to pay for the carelessness of us and our forefathers.
Is it feasible to undue the social contracts in your children or grandchildren’s life times? Would you want to even if you could? Why or why not.
I
do
not
think
so
because
social
contracts
are
almost
like
signing
an
actual
contract
and
a
person
cannot
break
an
agreement
that
he
or
she
has
signed.
No,
I
do
not
think
I
would
want
to.
After
giving
my
word
to
someone,
I
always
try
my
hardest
to
keep
it.
Q4- Do you agree, as Jefferson maintained, that “[debt] between society and society, or generation and generation, there is no municipal obligation, no umpire but the law of nature. We seem not to have perceived that, by the law of nature, one generation is to another as one independent nation to another.”
No, I do not agree with Jefferson here. There are people in this world who need help and if we have the ability to help another person, community, or country than we should do so. If people solely depended on themselves, than relationships would rarely be developed.
Q5-
In
view
of
Jefferson’s
words
that
follow,
why
do
you
think
a
sunset
provision
on
generational
debt
wasn’t
included
in
the
U.S.
Constitution?
“But with respect to future debts, would it not be wise and just for that nation to declare, in the constitution they are forming, that neither the legislature, nor the nation itself, can validly contract more debt than they may pay within their own age, or within the term of 19. years? And that all future contracts will be deemed void as to what shall remain unpaid at the end of 19. years from their date? This would put the lenders, and the borrowers also, on their guard.”
The Framers tried to think of every possible situation that could happen in the future, and one of those situations could have been that, as a nation, we may need to borrow large amounts of money someday to continue being a nation. They made the Constitution as a permanent set of rules to cause as little problems as necessary.
Q6- What do you say to Jefferson’s assertion that “a law of limited duration is much more manageable than one which needs a repeal.” ?
I agree with this statement because putting a time limit and testing a law before it becomes permanent it much easier than making a law permanent and then trying to remove it if it does not work.
Q7- “We have already given in example one effectual check to the Dog of war by transferring the power of letting him loose from the Executive to the Legislative body, from those who are to spend to those who are to pay.”
I think this is talking about our checks and balances system. More specifically, it is saying that we have given the “power of the purse” to the Legislative branch of government, rather than allowing the Executive body handle the nation’s money.
Q8- In light of the excerpt from his letter above, what do you think Thomas Jefferson would make of our nation’s recent history of fighting undeclared wars?
Thomas Jefferson probably would not agree with our nation’s decisions to get involved with undeclared wars. He thinks people should have the responsibility to take care of themselves. For example, when we entered Korea and Vietnam, Mr. Jefferson would not have agreed to help the southern people of these countries from being taken over.
Q9- Name ten of the twenty-six states that have enacted sunset legislation.
Ten of the twenty-six states that have passed sunset legislation are the following: Texas, Colorado, Arkansas, Florida, Maryland, Tennessee, Ohio, Utah, Vermont, and California.
Q10- What state abolished all state government? What do you think the voters got for their trouble?
West Virginia abolished all state government. However, the Governor at the time vetoed the bill, which means that the voters received nothing for their time and effort.
Q11- What good do attempts at enacting Sunset legislation achieve even when the laws are not enacted?
These Sunset laws are now made known to more people because of the attempts to pass them. And making these laws known can allow them to gain support from the public and possibly increase the chance of ratification.