Across the country there is a growing backlash to the economic crisis unfolding due to response to COVID-19.
Various groups have formed to question the legality of the actions of the various state governors in unilaterally shutting down their state’s economies.
The Reopen NC group is one such group and has grown to nearly 70,000 supporters in a short span of time. They have already held one rally at the state capital with more planned, and they are pursuing legal options as well.
North Carolina Governor Roy Cooper has extended the “stay at home order” until May 8 with no definitive plan announced on how and when the economy will be opened up.
Meanwhile, it can be argued that the costs of the shutdown in the economy is outweighing the benefits. Closing down the economy and limiting travel and mass gatherings were likely needed back in February, but they were only meant to slow the spread of the virus--not eliminate the risk entirely.
The restrictions were meant to help prevent overwhelming the hospitals with patients. Where is the evidence that hospitals are currently being overwhelmed? In fact, even the USNS Comfort deployed to New York City has left its post. According to this article, it treated only 179 patients.
Whether you agree or disagree that we need to start opening the economy, the real issue is whether Governor Cooper is abusing his power.
The Convention of States issued a recent call to action to encourage residents in North Carolina to contact their state legislators and ask them to address the governor’s actions when they go into session on April 28. The voice of the people must be heard.
How has Cooper abused his power? His very first action was to shut down restaurants. Even Lieutenant Governor Dan Forest questioned the legality of his actions. Cooper ignored the objections of the Council of State, the 10-member council that needed to endorse his actions.
If you are concerned with government overreach at the state level, then you should also be concerned with how the federal government continues to grow in size, abusing their power every day.
The federal government is spending trillions of dollars in response to COVID-19. All this spending will only add to the existing $24 trillion national debt.
We are currently at a debt/GDP ratio of over 100 percent. That has not been the case since World War II. Career politicians in both parties pander to a large percentage of the public convinced that big government can solve all their problems.
But doesn’t the 10th Amendment protect us from federal overreach? The problem is that the 10th Amendment establishes a principle but not a process to protect the reserved powers from federal overreach (see this article).
Liberal courts over the last 100 years have been more than happy to interpret the General Welfare Clause, the Interstate Commerce Clause, and the Due Process Clause so broadly that it has allowed a massive expansion of the federal government.
The only way to restrain the growth of the federal government is by supporting and becoming engaged with the Convention of States project. 
Convention of States is a non-partisan effort founded on the basic premise that the federal government is out of control, and career politicians of both parties are responsible. They are drunk on power.
The COS Project is an ambitious plan to use Article V of the Constitution to call a Convention of States to propose amendments that Congress will never propose on their own. Those amendments would fall into three categories: term limits on federal officials, fiscal restraints, and restrictions on the power and scope of the federal government.
Our Founders knew this day would come and provided us the means in Article V to reset the power structure between the federal government and the states.
The process requires two-thirds (34) of the states to pass a resolution in their state legislatures calling on Congress to call a Convention of States per Article V. The resolution currently in the North Carolina House is H390. Fifteen states have done so but not North Carolina.
We need your help. Please go online and sign the petition. Please volunteer to help. Complaining will not fix the problem. You must take action, before it is too late. If not you, who will do it? That is what our Founders expected of us all.
Jeff Groh resides in western North Carolina and is a small business owner. He is also a Regional Captain for the Convention of States Project, a non-partisan effort to rein in the expanding role of the federal government. Want to contact him? Email jgroh@newproductvisions.com or connect with Jeff on LinkedIn or Facebook.
