We Need Fewer Bad Laws, Not More Good Ones

Henry Waxman authored a bunch of laws.

Always Writing Laws.

"I love to legislate" is his mantra.

This country does not need more laws, but fewer laws and more respect at the local level.

The California legislature authors an average of six hundred laws every year.

Is all that legislating really necessary?

Alexander Hamilton, the first Secretary of the Treasury, noted that the government should prevent bad laws, not just pass good laws. Lao-Tze wrote that the more laws are written, the more criminals there will be. In the United States, lawsuits abound because of the abundance of laws which micromanage everything from how to store a gun in one's car to microchipping one's pets, to ordering that everyone must purchase health insurance, or else.

Congressman Henry Waxman, or any other member of Congress, for that  matter, should not pride himself on the number of laws that he writes, but rather limit the number of laws written in the first place.

The Framers of the Constitution were likely more concerned about ambitious people like Congressman Waxman than more brutish or even war-like types like President Andrew Jackson.

While Jackson was ready to draw his pistol if someone wanted to fight or sleight his wife, Congressman Waxman wants to draw out his pen and write more laws to regulate, legislate, and frustrate our daily lives.

Congressman Waxman authored legislation which requires the Tobacco industry to put warning labels on their cigarette packages.

He also drafted laws which would prevent Tobacco companies from using advertisement to target young people/

Yes, he also drafted legislation to prevent people from smoking on airplanes.

Frankly, consumer demand would have forced these changes. Enough airline patrons could have signalled to American Airlines, or any conglomerate, and tell them that they would take their business elsewhere, unless they banned smoking on their airplanes.

These things do not take an act of Congress.

Waxman "led the fight" on AIDS research, but what does a member of Congress have to offer that individual researchers and health professionals cannot offer?

His investment in promoting AIDS awareness highlights a latent arrogant assumption among legislators, such as Congressman Henry Waxman. Just because they have passed a law, they readily assume that they have "done something" about a problem, when in fact they have merely authorized the President or administrative agencies to do more bureaucratic shuffling, while expanding the legal codices for trial lawyers to file more lawsuits.

How about repealing a few?

We need fewer laws in this country, not more laws, whether good or bad. Human beings do not need "Big Government" looking over their shoulder, provided that they have many things which are greater, better, more stable, more able to lead and guide their way in this world.

Congressman Waxman loves to legislate.  I wish that he loved to repeal laws, too.