It Is Time for the “Sun to Set” By: Cheryl Criswell, Frankston, Texas In an environment where Government will not restrain itself, it becomes incumbent on “We the People” to stand and demand accountability from our Government. With a national debt approaching 17 trillion, we must have a way to stop the insanity that has become the things as they are in Washington. If ever there was a time for a Sunset Agency, now is the time. Normally, the thought of another government agency, would be reason for alarm. However, an agency to regulate the Government itself seems to be in order. We have reached an age where most policy is determined by emotion. In order to get the public to sway to a Politicians way of thinking, they will parade out a group of children or stand in front of a scene of tragedy. Spouting how they “care” more than the opponent. While I also care about the tragic things that happen all around our country on a daily basis, I do not believe those issues are always in need of government interference to stop or control. “Never waist a good crisis” is a common theme among politicians. I find it deplorable that our politicians will rush to the scene of a tragedy and give a big speech on his/her policy on the issue at hand. Most of the time, the politician showing up there only hinders the efforts underway to really help those in need. The decisions coming out of Washington are made to push the agenda of this group or that one, usually always made of an emotional standing on an issue and not a logical one. This leads us to enact policy and regulatory agencies that are wasteful in spending and inefficient in their ability to accomplish the task they were created for. Once a law or agency is created it will never go away, even if it is not functional. Then we have to look at the prospect of buyer’s remorse. Laws are passed with large support, only to find we did not fully understand the unintended consequences of the law. The chances of getting them changed, well, let just say “it would take an act of Congress.” Which is why we are so heavily in debt. Congress apparently feel they can only say they are working if they are passing laws. Sometimes the solution is to do nothing at all. Laws that effect our very fabric of life should not be rushed through, “You have to pass the bill to see what’s in it” Is not a phrase I would ever like to hear again from our Congress. No matter which side of the aisle you support. Laws are passed by both parties that eventual should come to an end. Sunsetting would be a solution for self-regulation of the Government. “Sunsetting”, being a process of automatically terminating government agencies or programs after a specified time frame unless specifically reauthorized. The agency would have to justify their existence and continuation. If after a predetermined period of time, if the program or agency is not fulfilling its purpose, it can quietly just go away. It would not have to be a battle on Capitol Hill, no more bringing the children out for the cameras, or commercials of Granny going over the cliff. America currently has so many laws on the books, that as citizens there is no way we could be aware of everyone one of them. This allows agencies to use obscure laws to justify their actions. With Sunsetting, obscure laws could be removed and if necessary replaced with more current applications. This would give congress the opportunity to reassess regulations that didn’t go quite as planned. Numerous States have adopted a “sunsetting” process, over 20 States across the Country. Texas being one of the most successful, due to the wide range of agencies that are subject to review by the Sunset Commission. With both sides of the aisle having buyer’s remorse over programs such as the Affordable Health Care Reform, now is the time to bring this issue back to the table. A Sunset Agency would take the pressure off Congress in dealing the heavy issues they all try to avoid.
Posted on: Sun, 15 Sep 2013 14:24:09 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015