2007 November Elections

NOVEMBER BALLOT ISSUES

While reading my Voter’s Pamphlet for the November 2007 election, I became curious about a few things. I noticed there are four proposed amendments to the Washington State Constitution, one initiative, and one referendum. What is an amendment and what does it mean? What is an initiative and what is a referendum?
An amendment to the constitution is an additional rule that alters, changes, or improves an existing document and must be followed when any future decisions are considered by legislators or regulatory agencies in the state of Washington.
An initiative is a piece of legislation that comes from the people through the petition process. Enough people must have signed a petition indicating a concern about a particular issue in order for an initiative to be placed on the ballot.
A referendum is a piece of legislation passed by the legislators but referred to the people of Washington for their approval or disapproval.
Now that these questions were answered I downloaded and read the documents in question and this is my opinion of what I found.
Engrossed Substitute Senate Joint Resolution 8206 is a referendum that would mandate the establishment of a budget stabilization account but the moneys could be withdrawn for almost any reason subject to the approval of a favorable majority of the legislature. It seems they are trying to devise a plan to stop spending every last penny in the budget while still spending wherever they want. Social Security was supposed to be a safety net as well.
Senate Joint Resolution 8212 is a referendum that would give government the power to provide contract labor from the prison system to corporations, forcing law-abiding citizens to compete against a captive labor force. It seems to be a prison labor system similar to that in China, which has been criticized for severely undercutting the labor markets in the United States. The case could be made that this is slave labor, in violation of the Fourteenth Amendment of the federal Constitution. It opens the door to corruption as corporations vie for lucrative contracts. Do we need this?
Engrossed House Joint Resolution 4204 is a referendum that would mandate by law that a simple majority could raise tax levies for school districts. Why? If a school district is not performing well enough with what it has, why should 51% of the people be able to force 49% to pay for something they cannot in good conscience support? If there is not a clear majority of people approving money taken by force from them then we are no better off than we were under King George just before the American Revolution. This is what the Founding Fathers referred to as “the excesses of democracy” and why democracies tend to implode.
Substitute House Joint Resolution 4215 is a referendum that would allow the investment of higher education permanent funds in stocks and bonds as permitted and authorized by law. My first thought was—and if the stock market crashes? Is that any better than playing the odds in Las Vegas. Who would determine which corporations get the investment? Would it be the largest campaign contributor?
Initiative Measure 960 would require two-thirds legislative approval or voter approval for tax increases, legislative approval of fee increases, certain published information on tax-increasing bills, and advisory votes on taxes enacted without voter approval. This provides a check on those who think the public coffers are their personal bank account.
Referendum Measure 67 attempts to correct problems within the insurance industry by making it unlawful to unreasonably deny claims, to permit treble damages, and attorney fees to be paid by the defendant company. Sounds good? Read the fine print. Some health insurance carriers would be exempt. What’s up with that and who determines what is unreasonable?
Sandra Hodges, Quincy Valley resident put it like this—“ Looking at this as a whole I see that, given a chance, some segments of government would start a savings account (aka budget stabilization account) with money that isn’t theirs, from a budget they can’t balance, to do some undetermined project with. Next they would promise that they are getting tough on insurance companies while favoring those that donate to their campaign fund. Then they would appoint themselves stockbroker for my child’s college fund. They would make it easier to reach into my “Hip National Bank” to fund “Free Public Education” and, if that is not enough, create Gulags for newly defined criminals such as myself who get tired of this nonsense and voice my opinion too loudly. At least I would have a job!”
In a democratic republic as guaranteed us through the federal Constitution we are responsible for our government. If you don’t like it, change it. Whatever your decision is, vote.

CONSTITUTION DAY, Have You Heard About It?

17 September 2007 is Constitution Day. It is the 220th anniversary of the ratification of the United States Constitution. Hopefully, this will be commemorated in our schools and our children will be taught the basic principles of our founding document. How much do we remember? I will save the Preamble and the Bill of Rights for another day. So let’s begin at the very beginning…

The First Article - Each of us is born into the world as a sovereign, independent being with certain rights simply because we are. Ask any two-year old who is loudly asserting that independence. So this Article concerns itself with setting for the rules by which the independent person is represented in the law making body – the House of Representatives. Secondly, it recognizes that States are nothing more than a gathering of independent persons within in a geographically defined area and that this group has common interests and goals that must be represented and so a Senate is formed.
The Second Article – The interests of the individual and the interests of a State may sometimes be at odds with one another, so an Executive is needed to coordinate, suggest, organize, and represent the United States in its relationship with foreign nations. We call him “The President”.
The Third Article – Because Man is a fallible being subject to pride, greed, etc. Legislation might be passed that infringed upon the natural rights of other Men. So a system of judges was established so that any who feel such infringement might appeal to a neutral body which could then decide if a law violated or upheld a right. It has no power to create rights. It can only protect them.
The Fourth Article – Here we find the principles that govern relationships between the States and the rules for becoming a State.
The Fifth Article – Recognizing that the Founding Fathers might not have forseen all future possibilities, an Amendment process is established by which changes may be made to the existing document, with specific limitations.
The Sixth Article – This Article addresses the existing debt of the previous colonial period government, sets the Constitution as the Supreme Law of the Land, requires that Senators, Representatives, members of the State Legislatures, including all executive and judicial officers (both State and Federal) to be bound by an oath or Affirmation to support this Constitution, and that NO RELIGIOUS TEST be ever required to hold an office or public trust under the United States.
The Seventh Article – Establishes the ratification process.

The whole Constitution fits on one large parchment document in the National Archives. It takes up eighteen pages in my pocketbook edition. It is easy to read. It is only the minds of designing Persons that manipulates it into something it is not. It is the best balance between the Natural Rights of Individuals and the government force unleashed to protect those rights. It is not a mandate to solve all spiritual, social, economic, and political woes. It is not a mandate to police the world or subdue naughty nations just because we are bigger or wealthier than anyone else. It is a mandate to respect each person in his or her sphere of life without interfering with the life, liberty, or property of anyone else. Get a copy at the library or online. Read it and enjoy! In this long, extended election season, I have only heard one candidate who speaks of restoring Constitutional integrity to our government. Can you name him?