The following was written by Jim Barrett, a volunteer for Convention of States California.
If you look at the title of this essay you ask yourself, “what reality?”
The answer is quite simple. There are problems in Washington, D.C., which are begging for solutions. One does not have to live through the recent Kavanaugh debacle to understand this fact, though the hearing helped to cement the dysfunctional aspects of Washington politics in everyone’s mind.
This also brought an awareness of other issues that need to be addressed and corrected in the future--that is, while this country still has a future.
What are the most pressing issues and how do we fix them? While there are many symptoms, there are just a few diseases.
One that is most glaring, is that our legislators think they own their positions. They run, and return to office year after year. In doing so they quickly lose touch with the people they were elected to represent.
Instead of concerning themselves with ways to improve the lives of Californians, they focus on how to improve their own lives. The Founders never intended “career politicians,” but rather they expected people to serve and then return to their previous lives and occupations.
The fix: Article V of the Constitution.
There is a debt crisis in the United States.
The federal government acknowledges a national debt hovering around 22 trillion dollars. That is a staggering number, but the actual amount is closer to 100 trillion dollars when unfunded liabilities are taken into account.
This unsustainable number will eventually bankrupt this country, and when that happens, well... You think we have problems now? You haven't seen nothin’ yet!
The fix: Article V of the Constitution.
The Founders expected that the power of the federal government would be strictly limited by that of the states. That is a fundamental tenant of our republic.
However, that has gone awry as the feds have usurped more and more power, essentially relegating the power of the states to a secondary stature. They accomplish this by several means, but one of the most pervasive is through the federal grant process.
California routinely accepts federal grants, which always come with strings attached which invariably enhance the power of the feds and limit the power of the state.
The fix: Article V of the Constitution.
What then is Article V of the Constitution? In a nutshell, it is an important protection that our Founders wrote into the Constitution. In their wisdom, they anticipated the crisis that we are currently experiencing.
Article V allows for a Convention of States to convene in order to resolve specific problems, such as those highlighted above. In order to convene this convention, 34 of the 50 states must pass resolutions. As of today, 12 states have done so.
While California has not yet signed on, there is hope. In August 2013, when this movement began to take shape, a mere 29 citizens signed a petition supporting the Convention of States.
Just five short years later, nearly 75,000 Californians have signed the petition. While this is a significant increase, just as impressive is the fact that thousands of volunteers currently spend their valuable time working toward the reality of a Convention of States resolution in California.
As Kimberly Hogan, volunteer and State Director of the Convention of States California has said, “Californians have seen the song and dance of Congress and Washington, D.C., and they have had enough. It doesn’t matter your political stripe. Californians are sick and tired of the charade, and want the important decisions returned home.”
And the answer to curtail this dysfunctional federal government?
Article V of the Constitution.
