Erika Johnsen has this at the Townhall.com Tipsheet: "Guess Which State Leads the Way in the Number of New Laws Taking Effect in the New Year?"
Ideally, our laws would all boil down to:
1. Do not assault or murder.
2. Do not do not steal.
3. Do not damage what someone else owns against their will.
4. Do not be negligent in guardianship over dependents.
5. Do the time if you do the crime.
What am I forgetting?
California not only has an ever-growing and highly complex set of laws, but the state government backs a patchwork of special districts that, in addition to state laws and county and city ordinances, micromanage our business and personal lives... the Regional Water Quality Control Board, the Air Quality Managment District, the California Coastal Commission... on and on it goes. The California Air Resources Board is especially problematic.
Our state legislature should be officially part-time.
Also, why do we have a bicameral state legislature? Congress is bicameral because Senators were originally supposed to represent state interests (thich was changed by the 17th Amendment, which I'd like to see repealed), and the Representatives are supposed to directly represent the people. The Union is comprised of fifty individual states. California is not a union of semi-autonomous states, as Counties are essentially contructs of the state government. We should not only make the legislature officially part-time, but we should make it unicameral and and reduce the overall number of state legislators.
Ideally, our laws would all boil down to:
1. Do not assault or murder.
2. Do not do not steal.
3. Do not damage what someone else owns against their will.
4. Do not be negligent in guardianship over dependents.
5. Do the time if you do the crime.
What am I forgetting?
California not only has an ever-growing and highly complex set of laws, but the state government backs a patchwork of special districts that, in addition to state laws and county and city ordinances, micromanage our business and personal lives... the Regional Water Quality Control Board, the Air Quality Managment District, the California Coastal Commission... on and on it goes. The California Air Resources Board is especially problematic.
Our state legislature should be officially part-time.
Also, why do we have a bicameral state legislature? Congress is bicameral because Senators were originally supposed to represent state interests (thich was changed by the 17th Amendment, which I'd like to see repealed), and the Representatives are supposed to directly represent the people. The Union is comprised of fifty individual states. California is not a union of semi-autonomous states, as Counties are essentially contructs of the state government. We should not only make the legislature officially part-time, but we should make it unicameral and and reduce the overall number of state legislators.
If they had stuck with the 10 commandments, life would be so much simpler, no?
ReplyDeleteThe laws of the state don't even need to stick to all of the Ten Commandments. For example, I don't think adultery should be a criminal matter (though it might be good to restore the teeth in "alienation of affection" laws). And, of course, people are free to disbelieve in God and worship idols.
ReplyDeleteBut yes, some of the Commandments are necesarily expressed in law.