The Constitution of the United States - Essay Example

Full The American Enlightenment and the Current Situation (A Comparative Analysis) 04 March (estimated word count = 2,618) I. Introduction (A brief backgrounder): The United States of America was founded on the principles laid down by its fathers, who were determined not to let tyranny rule over them again, and in future generations. In this obsession with avoiding a dictatorial one-man rule under a previous colonial experience of a British monarchy, the founding fathers adopted a separation of powers concept, based on the three co-equal branches of government, so that no single person will be able to control all the levers of government at any one time. Their general idea was to make it extremely difficult, if not impossible, for a politician to again impose his will on the populace. This, in essence, was a stunning and radical idea; the previous political atmosphere before the American Revolution was that state and sovereign authority was derived solely from the monarch. The American framers of the Constitution made sure that political authority should emanate from the people, through the holding of regular, free, and fair elections in the form of representative democracy in which those who weld political power has to seek a new mandate each time by election. Some historians suspect the idea of a separation of powers came from a suggestion made by Alexis de Tocqueville, a foremost French observer of the American experiment in the new representative democracy in which sovereign will resides in the people, although the idea is not new. It had been extensively discussed earlier by John Locke in his “Two Treatises of Government” at around 1689; even the Greeks under Aristotle also took up the doctrine of the separation of powers in his treatise entitled “Politics” circa fourth century B. C. E. (before the current era) and subsequently also in ancient republican Rome based on the same principle of checks and balances to prevent abuse of power by any one man or group or cabal. a. The original intentions of the Founding Fathers of the American Constitution had been distorted, such that this noble concept of separation of powers had become the source of policy deadlock in the American government. Instead of helping in the task of governance, it had instead become the main cause of gridlock we see today in the form of bitter partisanship. America today is faced with a host of problems which require urgent solutions, such as the budget deficits, illegal immigration, the war on terror, environmental concerns, peak oil (that oil is now running out and alternative renewable energy sources must be found, and fast) and persistently big trade deficits as well, but cooperation from the main political parties is very hard to obtain, as politicians have different views and opinions on what needs to be done. The situation in Washington today is acrimonious and antagonistic, with each side blaming each other for the impasse, while the problems fester on with no compromise solution in sight. The atmosphere has been polluted with extreme partisanship, with major reforms still pending. The policy reform debate can be characterized or described as destructive and negative. b. The focus of this paper is on one aspect of the policy debates on needed reforms, in particular tax reform. The government has gotten too big, with so much waste, such that its expenses cannot be reasonably expected to be supported by continued increases in tax rates. A careful analysis will reveal the tax laws in the United States of America had gotten so twisted and complex, with so many loopholes that the original intent of taxation was lost. It must be remembered taxation is one of the three inherent powers of any government, the other two being police power and the power of eminent domain (to expropriate private land for public use upon just compensation to the owner/s). However, the tax system is to be simplified. c. The approach to this paper is to re-examine the proposed tax reforms in the light of the principles embodied in the American Constitution, as originally envisioned by the Fathers when they framed the Constitution during the time of the American Enlightenment Period. II. Discussion (A comparative analysis): The main objective of this paper is to compare the current tax system situation today with the original principles embodied in the Constitution, with their noble intentions of giving to the people the power of sovereignty and the kind of government they rightfully deserve. Its focus will be on discussion of the ideas of the American Enlightenment which helped shape this nation in its early years of existence and throughout most of its two centuries in being but which had somehow been twisted to serve only narrow interests of certain groups of people. It had lost its manifest purpose of making the government equitable, fair, and just to citizens. It is partly due to the perception that the present tax system favors the rich and the powerful. The aim of tax reform proposals is to correct this bias towards the elites and make the burden of taxation be shared more equally or more fairly, in other words, to make it more progressive. a. Social contract – Thomas Hobbes (1588-1679) argued forcefully a social contract in which individuals give up their rights in favor of a government for their protection. It is the unstated notion to surrender some liberties in exchange for communal security. Government is therefore expected to protect the people but in order to do this, it has to have some means of doing so. This is achieved by the power of taxation to defray the expenses of governance but a government is likewise expected to impose taxes in a fair and equitable manner, and perhaps more importantly, spend the tax revenues wisely for the benefit of everybody. The present tax system today is very wasteful, and is no longer equitable, as the rich has availed of loopholes to evade the payment of proper taxes while the poor pay more taxes in proportion to income. b. Classical liberalism – this is a political philosophy which advocates less intrusion by government into the private lives of citizens, but today, taxes are everywhere. There is no escape from taxes, from federal tax to state tax to ad valorem tax, and value-added tax (sales tax). It is the natural right of all citizens to demand lower taxes and an equitable tax system. c. Elitism – the tax structure today has been skewed in favor of the few, rich individuals, because despite claims the system is progressive taxation, these rich people can escape paying the right tax through legal loopholes in the tax laws (which is called as tax avoidance, which is not punishable by law, unlike tax evasion, which is a criminal offense). In other words, the tax system has favored the rich and the powerful, defeating the purpose of taxation, which is to apply it to every taxpayer in an equal manner. Tax avoidance through the use of obscure accounting rules to lessen the tax payment (termed as tax minimization) is not a good democratic practice, because the tax burden is no longer equitable. Ambitions of the few elites in the country allowed these loopholes to continue, and reform proposals today are intended to plug or remove those loopholes, so there will be no need to raise taxes again. d. Pluralism – democracy is defined as the rule of the majority, but this principle is rarely applied in practice. It is good only in theory, because in reality, various political factions have their own narrow and specific agendas and advocacies. In particular, rich people control the levers of power in government to pass tax laws that favor them to the detriment of other people. America is created on the solemn phrase of “one out of many” or in Latin words, “e pluribus unum” with the literal translation of “out of many, one” but many special interest groups have pursued their own lobbies in the government corridors of power by influencing a politician during consultation and formulation of policies, in particular tax policy reforms. e. Federalism – the American Congress passed Amendment No. 16 to adopt a federal income tax, which was ratified on February 03, 1913 by three-fourths of all state legislatures. It is a clear example of how the judiciary upheld the legality or constitutionality of the federal governments inherent power to tax all incomes across all states (National Archives 69). To recall history a bit, it was taxation without representation which sparked the Americans revolt against its mother country, England, because taxes were imposed without any consultations. f. Anti-federalism – the people in the anti-federalism movement used the fears of the people of oppressive taxation, similar to the British system before, to argue that individuals liberties are better protected by the states (Grofman & Wittman 246) rather than by a distant Federal government. And this is one of the main reasons today why tax reforms are urgently needed, because other than higher tax rates, the Federal government is perceived by many electorates as having lost control of a rational tax policy. It seems the fears before had been justified, because at present the maze of various tax laws has become confusingly complex. A review of the tax code is very timely, to lessen the tax burden and find ways to cut expenses. Tax reform is also one of the key stumbling blocks in reaching agreement to avoid the sequestration or forced spending cuts which Pres. Obama recently signed (Yellin & Cohen 1). g. Constitutional perspective – the citizens themselves are agreed once they formed a government that they need to support their own government through the imposition of taxes. It is therefore an inherent power of any government to tax its people, although tax rates vary a lot in terms of what items, products, or services are to be taxed in order for their government to function properly. Just as any citizen has the right to vote, elect his selected officials, and to remove them by not voting for these same politicians in the next elections if he finds them or their performance wanting. The reverse side of this right is also the obligation to pay a proper tax due, whenever appropriate. What the people are now complaining is the wastage in its tax revenues, wherein government funds were not spent wisely or prudently or benefit only a few. h. Bill of Rights perspective – it is in the interest of government to tax at a maximum while it is in the interest of citizens to pay as little tax as possible, just the bare minimum to enable the government to function properly, and nothing more. Although the citizens allowed themselves to suffer the burden of taxation with consent, governments can also be constrained in its power of taxation, such as the propositions put forward to limit this power. III. Recommended Solutions (Consensus and compromise) Clearly, solutions must be found to make America balance its budget and bring this country back to fiscal health. Although the government has the power to tax and the power to enforce it through coercion, this does not indicate how tax revenues being collected will be spent. In other words, it is quite often the situation where the citizens have even very minimal choice in how these tax monies will be allocated, budgeted, and spent. For example, national defense is a top priority, especially against terrorist threats, but up to what extent should the United States of America continue to shoulder the burdens of being a policeman of the world? Foreign wars like those in Iraq and Afghanistan cost a lot of public money, in the trillions of dollars that could have been better spent at home, such as on improving health care, in educational facilities, new roads, bridges, and other infrastructure, and to revive the economy. Other countries should also share the burden of policing the world, as it is a huge expense. a. Federalism perspective – both the legislative and the executive branches of the government should agree on tax reforms in order to avoid the huge spending cuts which will undermine American security worldwide, especially the state of readiness of the military. It is imperative the reforms will focus on plugging the tax loopholes which allow the rich people to escape the payment of their due share in the taxes that government needs for its programs. It is the moral obligation of politicians from both Republican and Democratic parties to agree on eliminating tax perks and exemptions so there will be no more need to raise new taxes. b. States viewpoint – from the perspective of a state, it wants to be allowed to set its own tax rates as a manifestation of its power to tax the citizens within state borders without an interference from the Federal government, although the Supreme Court has variously shifted its position on this issue. There are many federal agencies which need taxes to operate them, like Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and Food and Drug Administration (FDA). c. Cooperative federalism perspective – this ideology is based on the thinking that it is much better to have a cooperative attitude rather than adopt a confrontational approach as it will benefit everybody. This was the idea which the Founding Fathers of America had in mind when they choose to adopt a federal form of government, as a compromise between the need for a strong central government and the worry of the states of losing their own powers. d. My humble proposal – the United States should now withdraw its troops from the foreign lands in which they are currently posted and bring these troops back home. Military expenses are a huge drain on the national treasury, and with little noticeable or direct benefits. It is high time for America to stop being the policeman of the world by virtue of its being the sole remaining superpower. Withdrawal from foreign wars is also an honorable way out of the wars the United States cannot hope to win, because these wars are basically local in nature. It is the task of the local populace to fight their own wars, just like what Pres. Richard Nixon did in the case of Vietnam, by following a doctrine of “Vietnamization” by letting South Vietnam fight North Vietnam, without extensive American involvement, although that war was lost. In todays environment, it is better and cheaper to use pilot-less drones, like what Pres. Obama is doing in the fight against religious extremists without endangering American soldiers. It is the more cost-effective way to combat terrorism today (Gordon & Landler A18) and besides, the Afghan war is no longer a war of necessity, because most Al-Qaeda leaders were killed. IV. Conclusion (Proposal to avoid becoming the next Roman Empire 2): People today view the separation of powers no longer as a blessing and safeguard in preventing the rise of a dictator or tyrant, but instead sees the guiding principle behind the co-equal branches of government more as a curse, due to the lack of any substantive reforms in a government that has been increasingly viewed as wasteful and extravagant in terms of certain optional or discretionary expenses. The paralysis in government continues with adverse effect on American supremacy, in terms of its global economic, political, and military power. There is a growing apprehension that America is becoming like the ancient Roman Empire when it slowly began its decline as a world power, from a combination of factors, like what is happening to America today. Historians and political experts see many similarities (Murphy 5). It is interesting to note Old Rome collapsed due to revolts from its oppressively heavy taxation but America need not lose confidence in itself by retreating and save its tax dollars. Works Cited Gordon, Michael R., and Mark Landler. “Obama to announce troops return: Decision on Afghan troop levels calculates political and military interests.” New York Times. 12 Feb. 2013. Web. 03 Mar. 2013 . Grofman, Bernard, and Donald A. Wittman. The Federalist Papers and the New Institutionalism. New York, NY, USA: Algora Publishing, 1989. Print. Murphy, Cullen. Are we Rome? The fall of an empire and the fate of America. New York, NY: Houghton Mifflin Company, 2007. Print. National Archives. “Milestone Documents in the National Archives.” National Archives and Records Administration. 1995. Web. 04 Mar. 2013. . Yellin, Jessica, and Tom Cohen. “Obama signs order activating deep spending cuts.” CNN. 02 Mar. 2013. Web. 02 Mar. 2013. . Read More