Calvert Hall College High School
Baltimore, Maryland
Teacher: George Kropp
Change in Legislation
Greg Lastner
11th
When I first heard the term “Sunset Legislation” I had no idea what it meant. Did it concern legislating sunsets? I don’t mean to be silly, but I didn’t understand the term. So, for me and for those of you that don’t know, Sunset Legislation was an idea proposed by Thomas Jefferson. He [thought] that every nineteen years the powers-that-be should review laws/legislation. He proposed the term of nineteen years, because that was the length of generational gaps. People did not live as long back then and so, they had families earlier. [In those days} your mother may have been sixteen, seventeen, or eighteen when she gave birth to you. Much different then the generation gaps of today which are [closer] to twenty-five to thirty years. Jefferson wanted legislation to be reviewed to see if changes needed to be made to deal with [current] problems. [Reviews] would make sure every generation had laws that would deal with their problems. ... The recent acceleration of technology is an example of how legislation has not been able to keep up with the rapid changes.
I believe that Thomas Jefferson’s idea of Sunset Legislation could be very beneficial to our country, especially with our increasing national debt. The present generation should not be held responsible for the debt that was created by the generations before them. Now that I am growing up and in the next couple of years have to go out on my own, I completely agree with Jefferson’s point of view on this situation. I do not want to start out in a nation that is over eight trillion dollars in debt and doesn’t seem to be coming up with a solution anytime soon. Sunset Legislation [would mandate a] review [of] the laws and taxes that are in place now and try to find a solution to the debt problem. This [might even] result in limiting the powers of government officials who, for the most part, seem to care about how much money is in their own pockets rather than how much the nation is in debt.
If the nation is given a clean slate [periodically] it could result in economic prosperity. It would allow us to trade with many other nations and also allow us to continue our reign as the most powerful nation in the world. This would allow us to make great strides in several different fields such as medicine [and] space without having to worry about increasing our debt. [It] would also allow us to experiment with new ideas until we found a system that worked well for our society.
Another advantage of Sunset Legislation is that it will get rid of laws that pertained to people hundreds of years ago that [have little meaning] today. … If we update them for every generation we can make laws that pertain to the [current] needs of the people. The laws that we have in place today are not able to keep up with technology…. With our increasing technology this could present a huge problem in our society. People will be able to commit crimes and get away with it because our laws are not up to date which does not allow us to persecute wrong doers properly. Every year when some kind of new technology comes out there is a new way for [people] to cheat their way out of paying for it. Certain people use their intelligence to find ways to manipulate the system and many businesses lose millions of dollars through theft.
Sunset Legislation is a very good idea because it allows us to experiment with laws until we find a system that works for…. The system we have in place right now is not working very well. ...If we [enacted] Sunset Legislation...we could keep on changing the system until we found something that worked well for our country. Once this system stopped working to [our] benefit, we could use a system of trial and error in order to find another system that [will] work for us.
In conclusion, I feel this is just another example of how far ahead Thomas Jefferson could see. He didn’t just look at the present needs of his day and people. He looked to the future and knew that there would be changes and laws and legislation would need to keep up with those changes. Perhaps if the politicians we had today looked forward as Jefferson did we would not be in this much debt and we would have a bright looking future ahead of us.
Answers To Required Reading Questions
Q1- What was the average life span in Jefferson's age according to his letter
A1- The average life span according to Jefferson's letter was 55 years old.
Q2- Do some research and find out the size of the national debt you are about to inherit as tax payers. Don't forget the benefits promised in your name to the older generations under the guise of Social Security and Medicare.
A2- The national debt on April 26, 2007 was $8,836,179,070,888.51.
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."?
A3- I believe that Jefferson thought that it was not fair for future generations to take on the debt those previous generations created.
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.
Yes it is very feasible to undue contracts of the past. I would want to do this because it would give people a fresh start instead of starting off in a hole.
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".?¯
A4- I agree with Jefferson, that each generation is like a different country. Each generation is going to be interested in new things and new problems will be aroused with each new generation that will need to be addressed.
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."¯
A5- I believe that it was not included because they did not think that they would ever be in that great deal of debt. They had just started as a nation and did not know what to expect.
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."?
A6- I think this is a good idea because most laws are eventually going to become outdated and will no longer be used. By having laws for duration of time it allows the unused laws to be thrown away.
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.¯
A7- This statement means that no single person should have too much power. One person should not be able to have such a great effect on the rest of the people in the nation.
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?
A8- Thomas Jefferson would not approve of any of the undeclared wars that we have had.
Q9- Name ten of the twenty-six states that have enacted sunset legislation
A9- Arizona, Colorado, Indiana, Alabama, Maine, Minnesota, Maryland, Tennessee, Ohio, Utah.
Q10- What state abolished all state government? What do you think the voters got for their trouble?
A10- West Virginia is the state that abolished all state government. The voters got nothing for their trouble because the bill was vetoed.
Q11- What good do attempts at enacting Sunset legislation achieve even when the laws are not enacted?
A11- This allows government officials to rethink the political process and possibly allow them to make improvements and help with our debt situation.