Guest Post: All I Really Need to Know I Learned on the Phil Donahue Show-How to Reach the Center-Lef
Editors: In order for the Compact for America initiative to succeed, Center-Right supporters need to reach out and persuade the Center-Left. There is no other choice if we are going to succeed in 38 states. This post by Loretta Hunnicutt, founder of the Arizona Daily Independent, provides a crucially important perspective on that process. * * * I know it is a bit sophomoric to Hayek readers, but it is important to realize that even well-educated, marginally bright people, who
Compact for a Balanced Budget Now or Never: Video of Legislative Testimony by CFA Visiting Scholar a
Courtesy of, and hat tip to, David Leeper of the Western Free Press. *** Read this one page overview of the Compact for a Balanced Budget to understand why the Compact for America approach represents "Article V 2.0." With a contribution of $1, $5, $10 or more, you can help us send Nick and other scholars to up to 10 states to spread the word about Compact for America! If you have not done so already, please visit the Compact for America website and load up on intellectual amm
The Compact for America Initiative: Restoring Relevancy to the States by CFA CEO Chip DeMoss
With special thanks to the National Center for Constitutional Studies and Professor Ralph A. Rossum of Claremont McKenna College for portions of commentary and text contained herein. With the ratification of the Constitution in 1788, our founding fathers established a new national government in the form of a “federal republic." “Federal” in that power is divided between the sovereign member states and a sovereign national government, and “republic” in that we are not ruled by
This Constitution Day Compact for a Balanced Budget! By Nick Dranias, J.D.
The Founders meant to establish a federal government of limited and enumerated powers. It was supposed to be an island of power in a sea of liberty. The states, being more responsive to the People and local conditions, were supposed to hold the greater bulk of governing powers. Sadly, on this Constitution Day, we must admit that the Founders’ Constitution is hanging by a thread. Although a deterioration in our culture is a significant cause of its frayed condition, the truth
Financial Collapse or Prosperity: The Choice is Yours! Excerpts from Dr. Byron Schlomach's Testimony
My name is Byron Schlomach. I am the Director of the Center for Economic Prosperity at the Goldwater Institute in Phoenix, Arizona. After earning my bachelors and doctorate degrees at Texas A&M University, I entered public policy work at the Texas Legislature and then served as Chief Economist at the Texas Public Policy Foundation before coming to the Goldwater Institute. I have worked in public policy for 20 years. Much of the transparency movement originated with my eff
Why Even Keynesians Should Support the Compact: Excerpts from Dr. Sven Larson's Testimony in Support
My name is Sven Larson. I am an economist and a senior fellow with the Wyoming Liberty Group, a think tank in Cheyenne, Wyoming. I am also a member of the Compact for America Advisory Council. I received my BA in economics and philosophy from the University of Stockholm, Sweden and my PhD in Economics from Roskilde University in Denmark. My research is primarily focused on the role of government in the economy and on the effects of fiscal policy and deficits on government
Fix the Debt, Stop the Bailouts
The Balanced Budget Amendment at the heart of the Compact for a Balanced Budget would finally stop the bailouts. This is because the Balanced Budget Amendment makes it politically possible for our Nation to adopt the Iceland approach to a financial collapse. Iceland is the only country that responded to the 2008 collapse by refusing to bail out its banks and financial centers. Initially, this cratered its economy. But little more than one year later, Iceland's economy was r
Eagle Forum concerns instrumental in the development of the Compact for America Initiative by CFA CE
For the past 30 years, the Eagle Forum organization has consistently and effectively argued against the use of Article V of U.S. Constitution by the states to propose amendments. The Eagle Forum objections, as outlined in their publication entitled “Twenty Questions about a Constitutional Convention,” address the vagueries associated with the planning and conduct of the convention, such as how delegates are to be selected, who determines the number of delegates to each state
A Compact for America to Rein In Government by Ilya Shapiro, J.D. (originally published by the Cato
By trading the possibility of new tax revenues for a constitutional debt limit and pro-growth structural tax reform, the Compact for a Balanced Budget could permanently and structurally bridge future fiscal cliffs with a principled compromise that’s been poll-tested to get at least 38 states on board. The Compact's Balanced Budget Amendment, in addition to fiscal soundness, allows for great flexibility when necessary: If a majority of state legislatures can be convinced that
In My Judgment - Why the Time is Right for Compact for America by Judge Harold R. DeMoss, Jr.
Summary There has been a dramatic decrease in the willingness of the average party official and office holder to recognize that there is some common ground that we ought to try to define and pursue, and to stay away from the extremes that both the right and the left contend are the only solutions we have for the problems that face our nation. There have been time and time again efforts to define a balanced budget amendment that could pass the two-thirds vote of Congress...an
