When Moses–at the age of 80–descended cloud-covered Mount Sinai with the Ten Commandments in hand, I’m pretty sure he figured 10 laws, written by the very finger of God on two tablets of stone, were enough to govern a people. Little could he know, some three-thousand plus years later, public regulatory decrees etched in the Federal Register by itchy-fingered law makers (who too often see themselves as God) would exceed 24,000 annually, and well over a million since the 1970s!
Just consider how things have changed since the days of stone tablets.
According to Stansberry Research (SR) (introduced in last week’s column), “The Federal Register, the daily depository of all things regulatory, topped off at 97,110 pages on the last federal workday of 2016, by far an all-time record. In 1936, the number of pages in the Federal Register was about 2,600. Up until 2016, the 80,000-page mark shocked, having been passed just three times (in 2010, 2011 and 2015, all by Obama). In fact of the 10 highest-ever counts, Obama holds seven.
“It isn’t just in one particular area that all of this government intrusion into our lives is so offensive. What we are witnessing is the government slowly digging its fingers even deeper into our lives in a thousand different ways.”
Consider these findings:
Our Money–“We are being drained by the federal government, state governments and local governments in dozens upon dozens of different ways. To our various levels of government, our primary function is to serve as a revenue source.” (SR)
Our Businesses–“Most small businesses are literally being strangled by hordes of red tape.” (SR)
Our Health Care–“Doctors in America no longer have the freedom to treat patients however they see fit. Only ‘approved’ treatments are permissible, and now the federal government is telling doctors which of those ‘approved’ treatments are ‘cost-effective’ enough. As the new health care laws are fully implemented over the next decade, the American people are going to become truly horrified not only about how much their health insurance premiums are going up, but also about how much health freedom they have actually lost.” (SR)
And, speaking of horrified, recently, the European Court of Human Rights not only denied British toddler Alfie ongoing life support, they repeatedly refused to allow his parents to leave and pursue care abroad. Alfie’s father’s instinct is correct: “When the government gets to be the arbiter of life and death, those who are sick, aged, or disabled are liable to be done away with as unnecessary expenditures.”
Our Food–Author Geoffrey Pike, writing in a 2014 article titled, “How the Government Controls What You Eat,” suggests, “In our world today, we have to live with the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and crazy laws such as the Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA), which went into effect January 26, 2016.
“It is not surprising that the FSMA particularly hurts small farmers and food entrepreneurs. It is legislation that keeps out the little guy, while big business gets the government-granted privileges [note when this was passed].
“But that is far from the only thing. In an Institute for Justice’s report, it details the government’s war against raw milk [as evidenced in our own back yard].
“The report points out that it is not just the FDA, but also other departments such as the Department of Agriculture that continually harass people in the food business,“ concludes Pike.
Our Viewpoints–In 2016 U.S. Attorney General Loretta Lynch told the Senate Judiciary Committee that not only had she discussed internally the possibility of pursuing civil actions against so-called “climate change deniers,” but she had “referred it to the FBI to consider whether or not it meets the criteria for which we could take action.”
In 2018 – California state Sen. Richard Pan proposed “criminalizing all bloggers and independent journalists who dare question the official narratives on vaccines, medicine, politics and government.”
Also, this spring, the California Senate considered a bill that is a textbook example of “ideological intolerance” or “viewpoint discrimination” as it would make the sale of all goods–such as books– and services challenging “sexual orientation change efforts” an “unlawful business practice.”
And the United Nations–not to be left out–continues to pursue a radical agenda even at the cost of free exercise of religion, family integrity and parental rights.
Our Vocabulary–Authorities in New York City can now fine citizens up to $250,000 for the novel crime of “mis-gendering”–referring to people by any words other than their pronouns of choice.
“Careless, ideologically-addled legislators are forcing us to use words we did not freely choose. We have to draw a line in the sand. That’s why people are watching. It’s a vitally important issue. We cannot afford to get it wrong,” admonishes Jordan B. Peterson, professor of psychology at the University of Toronto and a clinical psychologist.
Our Religious Freedom–“All across America, religious institutions and individuals are being subjected to increasing restrictions on their free exercise of religion and freedom of speech. This rising disregard for religious liberty represents a marked break from the long-standing American tradition of accommodating religious practice and expression that predates the ratification of the Constitution.”–Jay Alan Sekulow, Chief Counsel at the American Center for Law & Justice.
And the list goes on . . .
“Every step we take towards making the State our Caretaker of our lives, by that much we move toward making the State our Master.” –Dwight Eisenhower.
“Arbitrary power is most easily established on the ruins of Liberty abused to licentiousness.” –George Washington
“When the will of man is raised above law it is always tyranny and despotism.” –Noah Webster
“A government regulating itself by what is wise and just for the many, uninfluenced by the local and selfish views of the few who direct their affairs, has not been seen, perhaps, on earth.”– Thomas Jefferson
“That government governs best that governs least.”–Thomas Jefferson
Former Cook County Commissioner Garry Gamble is writing this ongoing column about the various ways government works, as well as other topics.
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