If You Could Be America’s Dictator for a Day

 

The American Constitution, with its distribution of government powers into different branches and levels, was designed to produce gridlock. And that’s generally a good thing; the harder the laws are to create, the less likely we are to get bad laws.

But every so often, we see or read about some injustice and think, “Boy, I wish I could just change this without needing to persuade thousands or millions of people to vote for me as a congressman or president respectively, persuade congressmen to vote for my legislation, or find the perfect case to persuade judges to change constitutional law.” In short, we’d just like to be dictator.

Here’s my list:

Overturn Wickard v. Filburn. This case interprets the interstate commerce clause to give Congress the power to regulate anything bought or sold, even if it doesn’t cross state lines. It is effectively the elastic waistband of the Constitution that allows Congress to insist that it still wears the same size pants it did back in 1790.

Overturn South Dakota v. Dole. This case allows the federal government to force states to pass laws that Congress wants but can’t pass itself under the Constitution. (I don’t have a strong opinion on the merits of the law in question, i.e. whether 18-20-year-olds can buy alcohol. Having married at 18, if I wanted booze I could get Chef Sly to buy it for me.)

Overturn Shelley v. Kraener. I’m not opposed to the outcome; covenants that forbid selling to a person of a different race are wrong — but the rationale that because contacts are adjudicated in courts the federal government has the right to dictate the terms of any contact? That’s a terrifying precedent. I can only assume that it hasn’t been used in a leftist power grab because leftists aren’t sufficiently educated in constitutional law.

Remove the unconstitutional in spirit cap on members of the House of Representatives. The system was designed to give large states more power and representation, but the current cap means denying them that. Give each state a number of congressional districts equal to multiples of the smallest state’s population. (The House would immediately gain about 200 members.) This would also help reduce gerrymandering.

Make all student loans forgivable in Chapter 7 bankruptcy. To discourage abuse, this would only be an option seven or more years after leaving school and would result in a permanent hold on one’s transcript. That is, a doctor or lawyer could discharge his debts, but would ineligible for his professional license. Moreover, any school where more than 5% of students took this option would be denied all federal funding, including student loans for its students.

Hospitals that take Medicaid and Medicare must publicize cost schedules for all procedures, including the government price, the cash price, and the price charged to the major health insurance providers.

Eliminate head of household tax rates and make the married tax brackets double those of single filers.

And on the admittedly petty side, there would be an extra tax on tobacco to provide cleaning services for the poor fools who decide to buy a house from smokers.

That’s my list; what’s yours?

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  1. Tex929rr Coolidge
    Tex929rr
    @Tex929rr

    Not a bad list. How about overturning the 17th amendment?

    • #1
  2. GLDIII Temporarily Essential Reagan
    GLDIII Temporarily Essential
    @GLDIII

    You have been thinking about this and were inspired by recent “if I was king for a day” posts…yes?

    • #2
  3. philo Member
    philo
    @philo

    Tex929rr (View Comment): Not a bad list. How about overturning the 17th amendment?

    In my day as dictator, erasing the 17th Amendment is done before I roll out of bed.  The EPA gets flushed shortly thereafter.

    • #3
  4. Amy Schley Coolidge
    Amy Schley
    @AmySchley

    Tex929rr (View Comment):

    Not a bad list. How about overturning the 17th amendment?

    I know this is a major push for right-wing constitutionalists, but the 17th just doesn’t bother me that much. The Founders assumed that state loyalty would always trump party loyalty, but that stopped being true before they were all dead. I’m not an expert on the subject (@jamesofengland or @sabrdance would be more knowledgeable here) but my understanding is that senators were putting party interests over state interests even before the 17th. 

    I agree that states qua states should be more powerful in our system, but I think empowering them to kick the feds out of what is more properly state business will accomplish that more than giving the state majority parties more power. 

    Moreover, our House of Representatives has also strayed from the Founders’ vision. Districts have been so gerrymandered that the only competitive election most reps have is their primary, which results in more and more extreme reps on both sides. Senators, by contrast, have to appeal to a majority of their state’s voters and therefore are much more representative of the state’s population. Notice that the most embarrassing members of both parties are reps in completely safe districts, e.g. Todd Akin before he ran for Missouri senator, or AOC in New York. So even if the Senate we have isn’t the Senate the Founders wanted, I don’t think it’s a big source of our political problems. 

    • #4
  5. Petty Boozswha Inactive
    Petty Boozswha
    @PettyBoozswha

    I’ve heard several pundits say if they could change one law it would be to eliminate income tax withholding, forcing people to write a check every month or quarter for the government services they expect.

    • #5
  6. Bryan G. Stephens Thatcher
    Bryan G. Stephens
    @BryanGStephens

    I struggle with this. 

    The first thing I would do is rule that my rule was longer than a day. I know me too well. 

    • #6
  7. Saint Augustine Member
    Saint Augustine
    @SaintAugustine

    GLDIII Temporarily Essential (View Comment):

    You have been thinking about this and were inspired by recent “if I was king for a day” posts…yes?

    Recent, eh?

    I was thinking of my old one: http://ricochet.com/261412/archives/dictator-for-a-week/.

    • #7
  8. Gary Robbins Member
    Gary Robbins
    @GaryRobbins

    I would decrease the vote needed for a veto override to 3/5 from 2/3.

    I would enact a law that no one who has entered illegally can ever become a citizen, but could, at most become a permanent resident.

    Extend citizenship to most Dreamers, but not allow them to “sponsor” their parents for citizenship.

    Change immigration from “family based reunification” to “merit” focus.

    I would eliminate “no-fault” divorce.

    I would replace Jackson on the $20 bill, and replace him with another Dem.  I would replace Grant on the $50 bill with Reagan.

    I would go back in time 400 years and prohibit the importation of slaves.

    I would invite Canada to merge with the U.S.

    I would reapportion Congress based upon the number of citizens, and not just people in the state.  With the number of illegal persons in California not being counted, California would lose 5-6 of its 53 Representatives.

    • #8
  9. Gary Robbins Member
    Gary Robbins
    @GaryRobbins

    Petty Boozswha (View Comment):

    I’ve heard several pundits say if they could change one law it would be to eliminate income tax withholding, forcing people to write a check every month or quarter for the government services they expect.

    Yes!

    • #9
  10. Saint Augustine Member
    Saint Augustine
    @SaintAugustine

    One-line repeal of Obamacare, for one thing.

    Michael Paulsen and Gary Lawson are on the Supreme Court before my second cup of tea.

    I nicely ask Paul Ryan to reform our entitlement programs to deal with the debt.  He has till afternoon teatime.

    I order the building of a large stretch of border wall.  I also call up Mark Krikorian and ask him for some other ideas involving immigration reform.

    • #10
  11. Randy Webster Inactive
    Randy Webster
    @RandyWebster

    Amy Schley: but the rationale that because contacts are adjudicated in courts the federal government has the right to dictate the terms of any contact?

    I hated that outcome.

    • #11
  12. Gary Robbins Member
    Gary Robbins
    @GaryRobbins

    Abolish the DH in baseball.

    Repeal the portion of the 1965 Voting Rights Act that mandates majority minority districts, and then create a mathematical formula for redistricting.  Districts would be created in a couple of seconds after the census information is loaded into the computer.  

    Have the Electoral College voters be selected by congressional district, with the final two being selected state wide.

    Abolish “plurality wins all delegates” rules.

    • #12
  13. TBA Coolidge
    TBA
    @RobtGilsdorf

    Bryan G. Stephens (View Comment):

    I struggle with this.

    The first thing I would do is rule that my rule was longer than a day. I know me too well.

    Me too. Because the people would need me. 

    • #13
  14. Locke On Member
    Locke On
    @LockeOn

    Good list in the OP!

    Also endorsements for Petty’s (non)withholding initiative, and Gary’s:

    Change immigration from “family based reunification” to “merit” focus.

    One of the things Canada gets right, let’s take a lesson from our neighbor.

    However, all the illegals are heading home by tea time, we’re mobilizing the entire AF and civilian transport fleet.  Sometimes you just have to rip the band-aid off and (to mix eras) provide a lesson pour encourager les autres.  There’s only so many sob stories the DNC media can run at a time, so it’s time for a dense pack attack (yet another metaphor).

    Also on the agenda:

    Henceforth, all executive agency regulations above a given $ impact (assessed by Congressional office) must be affirmatively passed by Congress to take effect.

    10% across the board pay cut for DC based bureaucrats, and henceforth their pay will be held at 10% below comparable private positions.

    We will implement Glenn Reynold’s anti-revolving-door tax starting tomorrow.

    Agencies without Defense or Security in their name are going to lose all their door kickers and arsenals.  If they need enforcement, let them convince the locals or the FBI or Federal marshals.

    We’re going to have another Church committee, and a top to bottom reorg of the Intelligence Community.  If the FISA court survives, there’s going to some tough laws on practices like using ‘5 eyes’ to surveil Americans, and convenient  (planned) ‘incidental collection’.

    • #14
  15. RushBabe49 Thatcher
    RushBabe49
    @RushBabe49

    I would only need three.

    One, eliminate the Executive Order that allowed government unions.  Disband every single union of government employees, immediately.  That would allow any government employee to be let go at any time.  And fire every government employee with a title that has “diversity” or “Deputy Assistant” in the job title.

    Two, eliminate any executive agency law enforcement power.  Laws may be enacted ONLY by Congress, and enforced only by congressional sanction. No more “administrative law judges”.  No more “agency military”.

    Three, enact term limits for Congress.  Three terms for House members, two terms for Senators.  And make it illegal for legislators in the House and Senate to exempt themselves from any law they enact. All laws affect every US citizen equally.

    • #15
  16. Miffed White Male Member
    Miffed White Male
    @MiffedWhiteMale

    70% tax rate for anyone who votes for a democrat.

    Any regulation issued by any executive branch department must be voted on by Congress before it takes effect.

    All bills going through Congress must be a single subject.  No bill shall be more than 10 pages.

      

     

    • #16
  17. TBA Coolidge
    TBA
    @RobtGilsdorf

    All bills must include a statement of intent ‘spirit of the law sentence’. 

    • #17
  18. Vance Richards Inactive
    Vance Richards
    @VanceRichards

    I can’t be the only one who would raid the treasury for my own personal benefit? Probably just the only one willing to admit it.

    • #18
  19. Gary Robbins Member
    Gary Robbins
    @GaryRobbins

    No-Fault removal of a President by a 2/3 vote of no confidence.  This would require multiple Vice Presidents to prevent shenanigans, however the Presidental Candidate could designate members of the Senate and House as the “Second, Third and Fourth Vice Presidents.

    Have the District of Columbia vote for members of the House and Senate as part of Maryland.  (This would allow a second Reagan to be able to carry all 50 states!)

    • #19
  20. Hank Rhody, Meddling Cowpoke Contributor
    Hank Rhody, Meddling Cowpoke
    @HankRhody

    TBA (View Comment):

    Bryan G. Stephens (View Comment):

    I struggle with this.

    The first thing I would do is rule that my rule was longer than a day. I know me too well.

    Me too. Because the people would need me.

    Not to be a wise guy about the question, but I think I’d do the opposite. Amy’s list starts with Wickard v. Filburn. She’s not wrong about it, but the fact that a free people is leashed by a court decision decades irrelevant for everything except precedent indicates that there’s more that’s wrong here than an undue deference to that precedent. A free people doesn’t need a dictator to set things right. And a slave population? Any benevolent dictator is merely holding back the inevitable. As such I think I’d try to break the laws that put me in that position, because inevitably they’re going to do more harm to the people than whatever good I’d accomplish.

    But yeah, there’s absolutely no reason for medical billing to be the limitless quagmire it is now.

    • #20
  21. Full Size Tabby Member
    Full Size Tabby
    @FullSizeTabby

    I’d need study time before my Dictator Day to determine which agencies, but on my Dictator Day I’d eliminate several government agencies and lay off the employees thereof (I know the EPA and the Department of Education would be on the list). I’d also probably significantly cut the staff of most other agencies. I’d need to do some advance homework so I could impose some mechanisms to reduce the likelihood the agencies would grow back.

    I’d require Congressional votes of approval on all agency regulations so that each member of Congress can be held accountable for everything the government does to a constituent, and can’t duck responsibility by pointing to the agency. (This one’s almost feasible except that Congress won’t impose that on themselves.)

    And I’d carry out the desire of @amyschley to overturn Wickard v. Filburn.

    I’d set a requirement that any court decision that purports to interpret the US Constitution must explain in detail how the educated people of 1790 (or the date of the Amendment if an Amendment is involved) would have understood the provision. 

    • #21
  22. Sweezle Inactive
    Sweezle
    @Sweezle

    Abolish birthright citizenship, abolish public-sector unions and create term limits for House & Senate members. 

     

    • #22
  23. Saint Augustine Member
    Saint Augustine
    @SaintAugustine

    What are the parameters here?

    Do I have the full power of the federal government for one day, but still answer to the Constitution?

    • #23
  24. philo Member
    philo
    @philo

    Amy Schley (View Comment): …senators were putting party interests over state interests even before the 17th. 

    But I doubt they were spending as much of the states’ money (i.e. unfunded mandates) back then.

    • #24
  25. TBA Coolidge
    TBA
    @RobtGilsdorf

    Full Size Tabby (View Comment):

    I’d need study time before my Dictator Day to determine which agencies, but on my Dictator Day I’d eliminate several government agencies and lay off the employees thereof (I know the EPA and the Department of Education would be on the list). I’d also probably significantly cut the staff of most other agencies. I’d need to do some advance homework so I could impose some mechanisms to reduce the likelihood the agencies would grow back.

    I’d require Congressional votes of approval on all agency regulations so that each member of Congress can be held accountable for everything the government does to a constituent, and can’t duck responsibility by pointing to the agency. (This one’s almost feasible except that Congress won’t impose that on themselves.)

    And I’d carry out the desire of @amyschley to overturn Wickard v. Filburn.

    I’d set a requirement that any court decision that purports to interpret the US Constitution must explain in detail how the educated people of 1790 (or the date of the Amendment if an Amendment is involved) would have understood the provision.

    They could be retrained for construction work and they could choose whether to build a border wall or the giant pyramid I will eventually be buried in. 

    • #25
  26. Gary Robbins Member
    Gary Robbins
    @GaryRobbins

    Sweezle (View Comment):

    Abolish birthright citizenship,

    Prospectively only

    abolish public-sector unions and create term limits for House & Senate members.

     

     

    • #26
  27. TBA Coolidge
    TBA
    @RobtGilsdorf

    Saint Augustine (View Comment):

    What are the parameters here?

    Do I have the full power of the federal government for one day, but still answer to the Constitution?

    Since the liklihood of your getting either is the same I’d say go for broke. 

    • #27
  28. Django Member
    Django
    @Django

    Have a strict requirement that Congress can’t pass a new law without repealing an old one. Or maybe two old ones. 

    • #28
  29. Percival Thatcher
    Percival
    @Percival

    I want to go the day after Gary, so I can fix all the stuff he breaks.

    • #29
  30. Amy Schley Coolidge
    Amy Schley
    @AmySchley

    Ideas suggested I like:

    Petty Boozswha (View Comment):

    I’ve heard several pundits say if they could change one law it would be to eliminate income tax withholding, forcing people to write a check every month or quarter for the government services they expect.

    All for this.

    Gary Robbins (View Comment):
    I would enact a law that no one who has entered illegally can ever become a citizen, but could, at most become a permanent resident.

    This is one I should have added (writing posts on a phone is a pain.) My immigration solution:

    1. Improve border protection.
    2. Massively step up in-country enforcement. I’m talking disincorporating businesses that aren’t using e-Verify and raiding Malibu beach houses and Home Depot parking lots. Frequent checkpoints all around the country to check for valid license, registration, and insurance paperwork.
    3. I’m willing to amnesty current illegals. It’s our own damn fault for letting them get and build lives here, and at this point, we’d be trying to forcibly move more people than the Nazis did. It just ain’t happening. But the amnesty rules are: the amnesty window is 90 days. Don’t get your paperwork in by then, deported. You must pay your back taxes at every level plus a $5K fine, per person in the family. Can’t afford it? Deported. You must pass a background check both here and in your home country. Any criminal offenses bigger than a traffic ticket? Deported. You will never be eligible for citizenship; you can only get a green card for permanent residency.
    4. Massively increase the budget for the immigration services so that applications can be handled timely and professionally. You put in your application and get an answer within six weeks, yes or no. If you’re good enough to get in but the quota for the year is filled, you get a take-to-the-bank guarantee that you will be able to immigrate in X year. And this will have to go with the next point …
    5. Completely rearrange our priorities on immigration. We need fewer temporary workers (like 2-1Bs) but more opportunities for folks to become permanent residents and citizens.  We shouldn’t have a multiyear waiting list for educated and wealthy folks wanting to get into the US — we need all the suckers taxpayers we can get to support our failing entitlements.

    Gary Robbins (View Comment):

    Repeal the portion of the 1965 Voting Rights Act that mandates majority minority districts, and then create a mathematical formula for redistricting. Districts would be created in a couple of seconds after the census information is loaded into the computer.

    Have the Electoral College voters be selected by congressional district, with the final two being selected state wide.

    I do like both of these, particularly when coupled with increasing the size of the House to properly represent larger states.

    Locke On (View Comment):

    We will implement Glenn Reynold’s anti-revolving-door tax starting tomorrow.

    Agencies without Defense or Security in their name are going to lose all their door kickers and arsenals. If they need enforcement, let them convince the locals or the FBI or Federal marshals.

    Amen.

    Sweezle (View Comment):
    Abolish birthright citizenship, abolish public-sector unions and create term limits for House & Senate members. 

    With you on the first two. We don’t need term limits; we need citizens who give enough of a damn to not keep voting the same fools into office. 

    • #30
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