Pass a bill -- any bill!
The Capitol Hill fight between the House and Senate (actually, I should say "among" the House, Senate, and White House) over the various immigration bills currently under consideration is a perfect illustration of why I say a do-nothing government would be better than the one we have.
On issue after issue, legislators feel that their job is to pass something, anything that will convince voters that they've "addressed" a particular issue. What we end up with is a law code the size of a Manhattan phone book, that still does not do much to improve the state of our society.
The Houston Chronicle notes that "Republicans are feeling the political heat to finish an immigration bill before the November election." Not wanting to be left out, the Democrats and the White House are also feeling some heat on the same issue. Pick up the paper, and Congressman after Congressman, and Senator after Senator, keeps saying, "My constituents are telling me that we need to pass a bill before we go home."
The problem is that all of these bills stink. I have yet to see a proposal that will actually accomplish anything, in terms of changing the status quo on illegal immigration. A new fence won't do it -- people who want to get in will still find ways in. They'll cut holes in, climb over, burrow under, or pay people to take them around any fence we build along the Mexican border. A convoluted process to allow illegal immigrants to gain citizenship won't accomplish much, either -- as I've argued before, I think most employers and workers won't participate unless you can show them a clear benefit from doing so. Telling illegal workers to go home? That's so ridiculous as to need no discussion.
But this is typical of how Congress operates these days. (And by "Congress," I mean essentially any governing body -- state legislatures, county boards of supervisors, and city councils are not exempt from my condemnation, nor are individual officials.) They see a problem, they pass a bill. The bill doesn't fix the problem, so they pass another one. And another, and another, ad infinitum.
What few seem to grasp -- and talk about your blinding flashes of the obvious -- is that we cannot govern our way to perfection. The world is imperfect. Many times, legislative attempts to make it better only increase the cost -- of living, of doing business, of everything -- while not fixing the problem they were intended to fix.
This is why I voted a mostly-Libertarian ticket in the last election. It's not really that I'm that much of a free-market, laissez-faire person in principle -- it's more that the quality of our government, its competence, has reached such a low level that on many issues, it would be better to do nothing and let society muddle through. Really -- "I'm from Washington, and I'm here to help" is not what we need to hear right now. Legislators, don't touch anything -- you'll just break it.
Urb's Blog
On issue after issue, legislators feel that their job is to pass something, anything that will convince voters that they've "addressed" a particular issue. What we end up with is a law code the size of a Manhattan phone book, that still does not do much to improve the state of our society.
The Houston Chronicle notes that "Republicans are feeling the political heat to finish an immigration bill before the November election." Not wanting to be left out, the Democrats and the White House are also feeling some heat on the same issue. Pick up the paper, and Congressman after Congressman, and Senator after Senator, keeps saying, "My constituents are telling me that we need to pass a bill before we go home."
The problem is that all of these bills stink. I have yet to see a proposal that will actually accomplish anything, in terms of changing the status quo on illegal immigration. A new fence won't do it -- people who want to get in will still find ways in. They'll cut holes in, climb over, burrow under, or pay people to take them around any fence we build along the Mexican border. A convoluted process to allow illegal immigrants to gain citizenship won't accomplish much, either -- as I've argued before, I think most employers and workers won't participate unless you can show them a clear benefit from doing so. Telling illegal workers to go home? That's so ridiculous as to need no discussion.
But this is typical of how Congress operates these days. (And by "Congress," I mean essentially any governing body -- state legislatures, county boards of supervisors, and city councils are not exempt from my condemnation, nor are individual officials.) They see a problem, they pass a bill. The bill doesn't fix the problem, so they pass another one. And another, and another, ad infinitum.
What few seem to grasp -- and talk about your blinding flashes of the obvious -- is that we cannot govern our way to perfection. The world is imperfect. Many times, legislative attempts to make it better only increase the cost -- of living, of doing business, of everything -- while not fixing the problem they were intended to fix.
This is why I voted a mostly-Libertarian ticket in the last election. It's not really that I'm that much of a free-market, laissez-faire person in principle -- it's more that the quality of our government, its competence, has reached such a low level that on many issues, it would be better to do nothing and let society muddle through. Really -- "I'm from Washington, and I'm here to help" is not what we need to hear right now. Legislators, don't touch anything -- you'll just break it.
Urb's Blog
posted by Urbie at 7:41 AM
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