America needs a 21st- century trust buster
The Charlotte Observer
At the dawn of the 20th century this nation was in
trouble. The vast majority of its citizens lived in desperate
conditions. Vast amounts of wealth were concentrated in the hands of
a few individuals such as Andrew Carnegie, John D. Rockefeller, and
J.P. Morgan. Although the Sherman Antitrust Act had been enacted in
1890, it had been little used to challenge the use of trusts by men
like these to amass incredible wealth. But when President McKinley
was assassinated in 1901 and Teddy Roosevelt became president,
things changed.
Roosevelt
went on to become one of our greatest presidents in part because he
directed his attorney general to challenge the Northern Securities
Company, a railroad trust established by Rockefeller and Morgan.
Roosevelt did not oppose all trusts, only bad ones. Roosevelt
believed the Northern Securities was a monopoly that sought to
control all railroading from Chicago to the Pacific Northwest. When
the case reached the Supreme Court, Roosevelt won 5-4. Roosevelt had
become a “Trust Buster.”
A
century later the nation is again in trouble, and there is another
trust that needs busting. It’s a trust that is both bad and good.
It’s enormous in size and scope. Its activities penetrate every
corner of American life. It has the power to both self-finance and,
when that is insufficient, to print money. Worst of all it is
accountable to no one.
It
is the federal government. It makes Northern Securities look lame by
comparison. Its worthy actions need to be preserved. Its unworthy,
unnecessary, or outdated actions need to be terminated. We need
another Teddy Roosevelt.
The
Constitution provides for the most direct way to deal with this
problem through the Congress’ power of the purse. Ideally Congress
would terminate funding for federal programs that are
counterproductive, outdated or don’t work. But instead when bad
things happen, the executive branch comes to Congress and says it
needs more bureaucrats and more money to fix the problem. And
Congress complies.
The
only effective way to separate the wheat from the chaff is through
major surgery.
Federal
support for things like responding to natural disasters such as
forest fires and hurricanes is essential. So too is provision for
the national defense, but not for unneeded weapons systems. Care for
Veterans is essential, but not by a socialized medical system that
has killed veterans while serving itself. Medicare and Medicaid are
vital, but not when it’s staffed by folks who are incapable or
uninterested in accurately answering a telephone call. Tax
collection is necessary, but not by an IRS willing to put politics
in front of its mission.
The
next president needs to do to the executive branch what Teddy
Roosevelt did to Northern Securities – break it up. It would be
best if both parties agreed on the necessity of this undertaking.
Unfortunately, they don’t. The Democrats are the handmaidens of
government growth. They see that growth as an appropriate way to
bring about desirable social and economic change.
But
among the Republicans, a rising star is Carly Fiorina. She does not
miss an opportunity to address how she would reform the federal
bureaucracy. Such an effort must emanate from the White House and
include control over the appointment of every department’s
undersecretary. That’s the person who actually manages the
day-to-day affairs of each department. The effort must also attempt
to reinstate the president’s power to impound, not spend, money
appropriated by Congress.
If
Fiorina ends up president, vice president, or the appointed
Trust-Busting Tzarina of the next administration, the fat will be in
the fire! It’s long overdue.
Goldman worked on Capitol Hill and at the National Institutes of Health. He has retired to Flat Rock and can be reached at: EmailMe
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