One of those questions that I think can give a clue into how people view government is to ask which Constitutional Amendment they would repeal, if given the chance. To most people, the first step would be the 16th Amendment, allowing an income tax. That’s a fair answer, but since it’s such a common answer, I tend to usually phrase the question as which amendment other than the 16th someone would choose to repeal.
For me, the answer is clear. The 17th Amendment, providing for the direct election of Senators, would be the first to go. There are a lot of problems with governments in general growing power, but the 17th Amendment eliminated one of the crucial constraints on the federal government’s growth. As we can see now, with the federal government being the primary governmental entity in our lives, rather than the state governments, it has completely destroyed the intent of “federalism” our government was built on.
All the ins and outs were well explained by Dale Franks over at QandO, to the extent that I wish I had written it myself. Head over and check it out.
How about you, readers? What amendment would you repeal, and why?
(Enjoy this post? Digg it!)
