Government bureaucrats vs. the Rule of Law

The power to regulate and to tax is wisely bestowed on only those who are elected by the people, who are thereby held accountable to the citizens who elected them.  There is genius in the simplicity of this feedback loop.

However, when the power to regulate is subsumed by bureaucrats, employees of the government, we no longer have the Rule of Law.  The Constitution is thereby subverted, and we are forced to endure rule by regulation; the clawing power of whim by federal, state, or local government employees; and subversion of our inalienable rights.  

The 1984 Chevron Deference codified rule by bureaucrat.  It became a powerful tool for control of private business by bureaucracy and the Administrative State.  Justices in the Supreme Court are going to look into Chevron.  Justice Gorsuch is a scholar on the topic.

The authors of the Constitution understood that government is power, nothing else.  It is a necessary power whose sole purpose should be to protect the liberty of the individual.  That power must be controlled by the Rule of Law, the Constitution.  

When the Rule of Law is subverted, as in Chevron, we have an all-powerful Administrative State doing the bidding of only one branch of the government, the presidency.  Chevron subverted the balance of power among administration (president), legislation (Congress), and interpretation (Supreme Court.)

This unelected power is the source of the malice we citizens feel today; it is an overpowering sense of dread that something is wrong.  Well, we’re not paranoid if they really are out to get us…

That said, we have the good fortune to live in a nation whose government is controlled by the Constitution and Bill of Rights.  Further, we are blessed with a Supreme Court that understands the subtle and powerful meaning of the Constitution.  Finally, we are blessed with good citizens whose only desire is to live free of tyranny, and who will stand up for their individual liberty and that of all other citizens.  

Those who forged the Declaration, Constitution, and amendments foresaw these tribulations and provided us with the chart to navigate stormy days.  All we have to do is read it, understand it, and hold our government accountable to it.

Jay is founder and CEO of a commercial bank.  He is a student of the Austrian School of Economics and a rabid capitalist.  He believes there is a direct connection linking individual right and responsibility, our Constitution, capitalism, and the intent of our Creator.

Image via Picryl.