Shutdowns and the Founders

By Douglas V. Gibbs

As the dust settles from another government shutdown, this one being the longest in American History, I find myself asking what went wrong.  What would the Founding Fathers have thought about the whole affair?

Shutdowns are a modern day invention.  In the early days of the Republic, Congress didn’t bundle the entire federal budget into one massive, bloated bill.  They passed spending measures individually.  The deliberations were transparent and the aim was to remain within the principles of the U.S. Constitution.  Each appropriation stood on its own merit.  If a program didn’t belong, it didn’t get funded.  No hostage taking.  No wheeling and dealing.  No extortion.  No omnibus monstrosities.

Today, we’ve traded principle for packaging.  We cram transportation, defense, education, social programs and healthcare into one overstuffed legislative package and dare anyone to oppose it.  The result?  A single disagreement over even one small part of it can grind the entire government to a halt.  Coercion by a machine that uses legislation to fuel its bureaucracy. 

Would the Founding Fathers have sacrificed funding for military pay over a healthcare package?  Most of these programs would have never passed constitutional muster in the first place had they been offered as an individual expenditure.  When spending is decided bill by bill, unconstitutional expenditures find it more difficult to be passed.  The most unconstitutional federal spending is achieved while hidden inside massive bills, more often than not present as a part of political ransom.

The Founding Fathers did not put all of their legislative eggs in one basket.  Each item stood alone, was debated on its own merit, and was decided upon based on its own arguments.  The Founding Fathers did not tolerate omnibus bills or earmarks, and nor should we. 

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