Chairman Hughes, members of the State and Local Government Committee, I appreciate the opportunity to testify in support of SCR 13.  I would also like to thank the bill’s sponsor, Senator Grendell, for allowing me this opportunity to encourage the passage of this important legislation at such a critical time in our nation’s history.   Like many concerned citizens I have watched the struggle you have all faced as our economy has faltered.  Each of you fought a fierce battle this summer to balance the budget; all the while the Federal Government has sought new taxes, printed fiat money and shown no concern for the growing downward pressure it has placed on you.    I could take my time to list numerous items in the budget worthy of trimming, to keep it balanced, but that would ignore the larger problem we all know exists.  Dare I use the cliché; the Elephant in the room.    The Federal Government is literally sucking up the vast majority of Ohioan’s tax dollars, and retuning a fraction back, with strings attached to massive financial anchors that threaten to sink Ohio. Adding insult to injury, we as Ohioan’s watch in horror while our hard earned tax dollars are instead passed on to states like California and New York.  States, with far less responsible Governments, who have squandered more money than they even plan to take in, on everything from harboring and lavishly providing for illegal aliens to saving some inane smelt fish.   One must ask just how we have arrived as such a dysfunctional state of affairs before a true and just answer can be reached.   The continual push and pull for power between the States and the Federal government has existed since the drafting of the United States Constitution.  From 1787 to 1937 the belief in State Sovereignty was supported and endorsed by the Supreme Court as constitutional mandate.  The concept of “Dual Federalism” where dual sovereign governments coexist with States having powers not specifically delegated, or, dare I say, loaned to the Federal Government, is the form Benjamin Franklin envisioned, and so eloquently called a “More Perfect Union”.  Franklin later stated upon the signing of the constitution “You have your republic…if you can keep it”.  Even then, he saw the potential of this balance to be upset by complacency, brute legislative force, or worse yet, both.                                                     In the depression era of the late1930’s Presidents Hoover and Roosevelt, along with a willing Congress, passed radical new legislation that fundamentally changed the scope and range of the Federal Government, under the guise of an emergency.  Dose any of this sound frillier?   These changes nearly erased the concept of “Dual Federalism” from the judicial record.  This act of judicially gagging State sovereignty under a new interpretation of both the 10th amendment and the Supremacy Clause has emboldened Congress and relegated State governments to a role of federal administrator.  Few times has the highest court in the landed sided with the States, most recently was Gregory v. Ashcroft 501 U.S. 542 (1991) where the court clearly ruled that States can not be forced to help administer federal programs.  The open loop hole is that while States have a choice in their legislation, the court noted that it is constitutional for Congress to encourage State legislation by attaching conditions to the receipt of federal funds.  In other words, federally mandated and court approved extortion.   Ohio and her sister states have sat idle while lager and larger sums of wealth have been allowed to be confiscated in the form of taxes, only to have those funds used to twist the arms our legislators, and in essence, subvert our State representation and silence the will of it’s people.  Could we conclude that this monopoly of tax dollars going to one entity should be broken up into 50 State collectors in order to restore the balance intended by our founding fathers?  Has the time come for Ohio and her sister States to amend the Constitution so as to save themselves before they cease to exist, except in name alone?  The States have a constitutional mechanism for this, a check and balance within our union that, until now, has never been needed.   Imagine for a moment that instead of getting 15 cents on the dollar from the federal government, with strings attached far exceeding it’s monetary value, Ohio would double it’s rate of income tax.  I would be thrilled to pay an additional 10% to this State rather than 35% to a federal bureaucracy that is both unreachable and nonresponsive to my needs.  Today’s concentrated power of lobbyists is also kept far better in check when the true big money game is decentralized.  Entertain for a moment the economic and tax revenue explosion that would come from nearly 30% of ones income suddenly available to spend, or invest in new business ventures.  As power is shifted locally, imagine the job opportunities for Ohioans.  Ask yourself, has the time come for a State’s Bill of Rights, containing amendments to the United States Constitution that will move the republic in this logical direction?  A reassertion of State Sovereignty, along with a majority of the States at this time, is a prudent measure to take.  Should the time come that these questions become viable courses of action, we will be prepared.   States have not seen so much red ink since the great depression, however today it is not the economy so much as federal mandates like Cap and Trade, National Healthcare Reform and many more. These mandates fail to provide adequate funding, and pass massive costs on to our State threatening our solvency.  How can Ohioans survive, when the Federal Government decides what plants to close?  When they decide who gets to keep their job, and who loses their job?  When they decide how much of, and what resources our people can and cannot harvest?  We lay off our State’s Government workers, and the Federal Government adds workers.  We cut our services, and they add services.  We lose our sovereignty, and they give us more debt.   As one of the most populous states in the union, Ohio’s leadership role within our republic is a matter of record.  Sadly, on the issue of State sovereignty, we have remained silent.  Alaska, Idaho, Louisiana, North Dakota, South Dakota, Oklahoma and Tennessee have all passed similar legislation with bills pending in over twenty other states. SCR 13 contains no saber rattling of succession, only a common sense reminder and reaffirmation of Constitutional law.  I can assure this committee that Ohio is not alone in its desire to restore it’s true and proper balance with its sovereignty and governmental responsibility.  It is our civic duty, both as Ohioans and Americans, to formally remind the federal government of its role within our republic. Each of you know that Government functions best when it is close to home, where it can be both accountable and mindful of the unique regional and local needs it serves.  To that end I respectfully request your support for SCR 13, and begin to return our State and our Nation to that “More Prefect Union”.  Thank you.

If you would like to listen to the speech go ahead, I will warn you that this was the first time I have ever done anything like this, and my speech was less the perfect.

 

Link to .wav file

Taping of proceeding is only permitted with consent from the Committee chair.  I did receive permission, and recorded this with a low grade pocket recorder, so excuse the quality.

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