A great day to remember how our system is built to prevent the kind of arbitrary dictation of law that our forefathers fought a war to get away from.
Real Clear Energy (9/15/21) column: "Just a couple months ago Americans celebrated July 4 – the anniversary of our nation’s Declaration of Independence. We no longer wanted to be part of a system where policy was set by a remote government official or a king. A new nation was born out of this idea. When the Founders sat down to craft a constitution for the nation, they proposed a representative government.  States would remain in charge of local issues, but Senators and Representatives, working with the President, would set national policy. But whether local or national, public policy would be in the hands of elected representatives. Cities like Baltimore, San Francisco, and Oakland are now rejecting that system. In 2018, Baltimore filed suit against major oil companies demanding billions of dollars for what the city fears will be harms in the future from global climate change. The city is not willing to leave public policy up to Congress. It wants to usurp the role of our elected representatives and hand policymaking over local judges...This is an issue for Congress. What is best for Baltimore, San Francisco, Oakland or even the entire State of Maryland or California is not necessarily what is best for the nation. In 1776, a nation was born from the idea that policy should be made by elected representatives. Maybe this is something the people behind the litigation in Baltimore need to remember."
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"For the most part, transit is as obsolete today as manual typewriters, rotary telephones, and slide rules, and Congress should stop subsidizing this out-of-date form of transportation."Â
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– Randal O'Toole, The Cato Institute
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