The empire loves unfunded mandates. The Constitution does not give Congress the authority to use such measures, but they are not about to let that piece of paper stop them. The Kennedy Brothers (James Ronald Kennedy and Walter Donald Kennedy-the good Kennedy brothers.) wrote a wonderful chapter in Why Not Freedom! on the topic. In the latest Texas installment of the abuse of power, the Port of Houston Authority is going to use their tax payer generated funds to pay the fees foisted upon them by the federal authorities through an unfunded mandate.Port of Houston to pay fees. The story is of interest for several reasons.
1) It illustrates the Congress’ abuse of power through unfunded mandates.
2) It shows the shell game of using taxpayer money collected from locals to pay what was passed at the Federal level. In reality, the congress had no right in imposing the fees anyway.
3) All the fees do is feed the bureaucracy. It makes the monster bigger. When you have a large alligator in your yard and you are scared of alligators, quit feeding the thing.
The double talk at the meeting is astounding. The port lobbies the people for a container terminal. Numerous television ads proclaim loudly how it will bring the jobs and the benefits of a container terminal. But when people complain, what do they say?…The Port Authority does not have any containers.." To me that sounds like someone stepped in a meadow muffin of large proportion.
A State sovereignty amendment would prevent such unfunded mandates from occurring. In a Southern nation, the people would have recourse to prevent spending the $300,000 in unnecessary funds. Over time, such ludicrous expenses will drain the lifeblood out of a community. The bureaucrats need to realize it is not their money to play with.
Free Dixie, Not Iraq!
J Murrah
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