{"id":25,"date":"2007-11-21T13:56:20","date_gmt":"2007-11-21T13:56:20","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/69.195.103.127\/lockesmith\/2007\/11\/21\/if-wishes-were-windmills-we%e2%80%99d-all-be-don-quixote\/"},"modified":"2007-11-21T13:56:20","modified_gmt":"2007-11-21T13:56:20","slug":"if-wishes-were-windmills-we%e2%80%99d-all-be-don-quixote","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/forum.belmont.edu\/lockesmith\/2007\/11\/21\/if-wishes-were-windmills-we%e2%80%99d-all-be-don-quixote\/","title":{"rendered":"If Wishes Were Windmills, We\u2019d All be Don Quixote"},"content":{"rendered":"

First, let me apologize for my extended absence. The last few weeks have been particularly busy in my professional calendar, and I fear it left no time for the joy of blogging. If it\u2019s any consolation, I\u2019ve missed the opportunity to think and write on a regular basis. I guess you could call it a \u201cblogger\u2019s high,\u201d and I\u2019ve certainly been in withdrawal. It should be no surprise\u2014the love of thinking systematically and communicating thoughts to others is what drew me to this line of work in the first place. And I brought you these flowers\u2026
\nIn the stolen moments in my recent schedule, I have had a few ideas I\u2019d like to share. I\u2019d like to propose at least two reforms to our government. Of course, I\u2019d really like to repeal the 16th and 17th Amendments (Ben Bryan has come up with a particularly apropos sobriquet for them, but I\u2019ll let him introduce it). But short of that, here are two ideas.
\nFirst, let\u2019s make Congress subject to a limited form of tort law. A tort<\/em>, of course, is a legal wrong, something done to another for which one owes them compensation to make them whole. (Torte<\/em>, on the other hand, is a delightful afternoon treat with tea or coffee.) Obviously, it can\u2019t be regular, run-of-the-mill tort law. The entire purpose of forming a government is for it to be able to harm some of us (or our rights) when necessary. The problem comes with government doing it when it isn\u2019t necessary. So I propose that we define a new type of tort, one which only legislatures may commit (and which legislatures would have to define by statute, so I\u2019m obviously tilting at windmills).<\/p>\n


\nThe tort is precisely the concern expressed above\u2014government stepping over its proper boundaries. When a legislature passes a law that is later held to have been ultra vires (beyond their powers) or contrary to the relevant constitution, those upon whose rights they infringed should be able to sue for compensatory damages, and the court should be free to impose punitive damages to discourage the behavior in the future.
\nI can hear the legislator objecting now: \u201cBut that will have a chilling effect on our ability to pass laws, to try to find solutions to problems!\u201d Precisely! You make it sound as if that were something objectionable. Where is the downside to forcing a legislature to think about the consequences of its laws, rather than letting them throw laws up to see if they stick? To discouraging them, even at the margin, from passing a law if it\u2019s not necessary? Let\u2019s harness the power of frivolous lawsuits to the public\u2019s benefit\u2014call it the \u201cinvisible ambulance chaser.\u201d
\nSecond, let\u2019s amend the 27th Amendment. Currently, it states that no increase in compensation for Senators or Representatives can take effect until an election of representatives has intervened. I propose that we not allow the salaries of elected officials to rise from their first salary at that level (local, state, federal). Incumbents know that they face only a slim chance of not receiving the raise for which they vote, so although Madison\u2019s youngest amendment has the right idea in terms of structuring incentives, the terms of elected officials have become too secure to provide the same carrot.
\nThis will certainly encourage a great deal more turnover in elected officials. I can\u2019t imagine Robert Byrd finding it as worth his while to pester us for the same salary he had lo, these many years ago. Of course, legislators would just as certainly find a way around this\u2014suddenly, the public would be footing much more of their bills in terms of services, rather than salary. But I think we can word the change so as to prevent that (for example, by forbidding compensation other than salary). Will current representatives pass massive salary increases for the people who replace them? I find it difficult to believe that they would increase it by more than they found reasonable for their survival. Perhaps parties would come to coordinate the passage of raises and elections of officers, but at the very least, we would see some newer blood more often. And save a little money at the expense of those wasting ours.
\nBut then again, maybe I\u2019m just cranky because I haven\u2019t had my turkey yet\u2026<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

First, let me apologize for my extended absence. The last few weeks have been particularly busy in my professional calendar, and I fear it left no time for the joy of blogging. If it\u2019s any consolation, I\u2019ve missed the opportunity … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-25","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-nathan"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/forum.belmont.edu\/lockesmith\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/25","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/forum.belmont.edu\/lockesmith\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/forum.belmont.edu\/lockesmith\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/forum.belmont.edu\/lockesmith\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/forum.belmont.edu\/lockesmith\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=25"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/forum.belmont.edu\/lockesmith\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/25\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/forum.belmont.edu\/lockesmith\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=25"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/forum.belmont.edu\/lockesmith\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=25"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/forum.belmont.edu\/lockesmith\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=25"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}