Federal Extortion of States Continues with Bail-Out of States Attempt

By Douglas V. Gibbs

It is unconstitutional for the federal government to provide funding to States. States have become dependent upon the funding, and it has allowed the federal government to extort the states. Highway funding is a great example. When the federal government wanted the speed limit to be 55 nationwide in the '70s, they told the states to make their speed limits 55 mph, or lose highway funding. The federal government did the same when it decided it wanted the drinking age to be uniformly 21.

The federal government basically says, "Do as we say, or we will keep your money."

In the real world, that is called extortion.

Unfortunately, the weening of the States from federal funding will have to be something done incrementally with reforms. But the importance of not allowing it to escalate into more funding, and more dependence of the States upon the federal government, is paramount. The proposed bail-outs of the States of California, Illinois, and any other state that begins failing economically, will simply give the federal government more power over the states, and will further squash State's Rights.

Rather than bail-outs, why not follow Chris Christie's example in New Jersey, and cut spending drastically, cut taxation to encourage growth (which results in an increase in revenue), and then begin the reforms to move the states away from dependency upon federal funding for anything. . .

-- Political Pistachio Conservative News and Commentary