Exploding Propaganda Series (Part 7 of 7): Section 7's Self-Enforcement Provision
The Compact for a Balanced Budget advances a specific Balanced Budget Amendment that you can read today, and which four states have already contractually committed to ratify. Read it here. Section 7 of the Compact's BBA states that the Amendment is self-enforcing. Strangely, even this provision has drawn the fire of the opposition. The term is included because there is case law that says constitutional provisions are not necessarily effective or enforceable unless enforced by
Exploding Propaganda Series (Part 6 of 7): Section 5's Tax Limit
The Compact for a Balanced Budget advances a specific Balanced Budget Amendment that you can read today, and which four states have already contractually committed to ratify. Read it here. Section 5 of the Compact's Balanced Budget Amendment imposes a default rule of requiring two-thirds of each House of Congress to pass any new or increased income or sales tax (including a VAT). It expressly or implicitly excepts from this default rule: 1) revenue increases from a new consum
Exploding Propaganda Series (Post 5 of 7): Section 4's Enforcement Provisions
Section 4 of the Compact's BBA establishes the enforcement mechanism for the debt limit it establishes. It requires the President to specify what spending will not take place when we reach a red zone of borrowing capacity--98% used. It empowers Congress to override the President's "impoundments" in 30 days with equal or greater amounts. To encourage accountability for the Country's Chief Executive, the Amendment specifies that the President's failure to enforce the debt limit
Exploding Propaganda Series (Part 4 of 7): Section 3's "External Discipline" Requireme
The Compact for a Balanced Budget advances a specific Balanced Budget Amendment that you can read today, and which four states have already contractually committed to ratify. Read it here.
Section 3 of the Compact's Balanced Budget Amendment fleshes out the process by which the states approve increases in the constitutional debt limit set by section 2. The opposition typically criticizes the mechanics of the state approval process for increases in the constitutional debt li
Exploding Propaganda Series (Part 3 of 7): Section 2's Constitutional Debt Limit
The Compact for a Balanced Budget advances a specific Balanced Budget Amendment that you can read today, and which four states have already contractually committed to ratify. Read it here.
Section 2 of the Compact's Balanced Budget Amendment limits the federal government's borrowing capacity, initially, to no more than 105% of the outstanding full faith and credit debt owed by the federal government on ratification of the amendment. So if $20 trillion in debt were outstandi
Exploding Propaganda Series (Part 2 of 7): Section 1's Pay-As-You-Go Spending Limit
The Compact for a Balanced Budget advances a specific Balanced Budget Amendment that you can read today, and which four states have already contractually committed to ratify. Read it here.
Nevertheless, the opposition does not think the Amendment does enough. They usually start by attacking Section 1 of the seven section Amendment. They criticize it they do not think it is a big deal that the section limits federal spending at all times to cash from taxation (and non-borr
Exploding Propaganda Series (Part 1 of 7): The Problem with Enforcing the Constitution As It Is
The opposition to the state-originated constitutional amendment movement often starts off by saying, the "Constitution is not the problem, elected officials are." The truth is that both are the problem. But it is important to be especially honest about the flaws in the Constitution as it currently exists. The Constitution as it currently exists allows for limitless spending, limitless taxation of any kind (reinforced by the 16th Amendment and as interpreted by the Roberts Cou
