The Price of Liberty

From Cowboy State Daily – Wyoming’s statewide online newspaper – comes this tidbit:

Not Happy With New Law, Gordon Won’t Sign New Rules Without Legislature’s OK

Gov. Mark Gordon isn’t pleased about a new law that gives the Legislature more power to override state agency rules that he has the final say to approve or deny. He says from now on, he just won’t sign new rules until a majority of legislators approve. [READ MORE]

Oh, dear. Gordon seems to be pouting, doesn’t he? After all, isn’t this supposed to be how a republican form of government with separation of powers works?

The legislature – elected by the people in districts or other ways of dividing up the State – is supposed to pass laws to regulate various matters in the State. The governor (as the chief executive) and his subordinates (cabinet members, heads of agencies, etc.) is supposed to act on those laws: generally to enforce them, or to carry out the will of the legislature which is supposed to carry out the will of the people. (Within the bounds of the constitution, of course: the limits on what government can and cannot do.) The big guy (or gal) isn’t supposed to make up laws all on his own. And the people who work for him aren’t supposed to either.

Yet that is what the Byzantine system of government regulations has resulted in. The legislature passes some law: either vague and confusing or incredibly detailed and still more confusing. The governor signs it, supposedly verifying that (a) it is needed and (b) it is something that he and the people who work under his supervision can do. But then the unelected, poorly supervised, “got my own agenda” bureaucrats (who seem to be mostly working from home these days – if they are really working) get their turn in the trough. They take a few dozen words in a section of legislation and produce thousands (or tens of thousands) of words explaining the way to interpret and apply and process whatever the law is supposedly doing. And supposedly the governor reads and understands and approves all of this.

We call “hogwash” on this – by all means the legislature has a duty to the people who elected them (idiots or not!) to decide if all this verbiage really is doing what it is supposed to be doing. And if not, should they not have the power to throw it back on the bureaucrat’s desk with a big red “F” scrawled on it?

So Gordon’s plan makes perfect sense, but he is apparently doing it in a huff, upset that the legislature dares to tell him how to run the State’s government – and indeed, the State itself. (As we understand it, the legislators overrode his veto – stick it to him, people!)

Indeed, should not every State require such a thing? And double down on Congress in DC having even a tenth of the guts that the legislature in Cheyenne had?

Of course, we understand that expecting a legislative body, whether it be Congress or a State’s own, or a local County council or town elders, to do the right thing is really stupid. They are experts of doing the wrong thing time and time again. But even if this only reduces the bureaucratic nightmare (and printing bill) by 10 percent, it seems to be worth doing.

Governor Gordon, stop the whinging. Start doing your job: executing the law, not writing it or interpreting it or twisting it – or letting the people whom you supposedly supervise do those things.

Oh, and while you are at it, how about you start treating the people of Wyoming like responsible adults, responsible free adults who can be held accountable for good and bad things they do, but don’t have to be treated like a bunch of immature adolescent wards of the State. Who knows? Maybe they’ll start to live like free people!