September
2009
The Letter I Wish Obama Would Send to Perry, Pawlenty
Recently, both right-wing GOP Gov. Rick Perry of Texas and supposed moderate Republican Gov. Tim Pawlenty of Minnesota have expressed sympathy for the “Tenther” movement. For those of you who don’t have the Constitution and Bill of Rights memorized, this is the Tenth Amendment:
The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people.
Tenthers argue that the Federal government should exercise no power not explicitly given to it in the Constitution. Perry and Pawlenty are using this argument to claim that, should the Congress and President enact health-care reform, they can keep it from applying to their states. (This is quite similar to the “Nullification” theory that helped lead to, and was settled by, the Civil War.)
He won’t do it, but I wish Barack Obama would send Perry, Pawlenty, and any other Tenther governors the following letter:
ShareDear Governor X,
In accordance with your expressed desire that your state not be subject to any Federal program not explicitly authorized by the Constitution, as of now I am cutting off all Federal funds distributed to your state or to individuals or institutions therein for the following purposes:
Medicare
Medicaid
Social Security
Veterans’ health care
Immunization
Transportation infrastructure (e.g. highways, bridges, rail)
Air traffic control for flights within your state
Education of special-needs students
FEMA assistance after hurricanes, wildfires, and other disasters
HIV/AIDS prevention and services
CDC investigation and technical assistance
Certification of health care providers and suppliers
Scientific and technological research
Highway safety
Job creation and retention
Child support enforcement
Unemployment insurance administration
Adult literacy and English language acquisition
Crime victim compensation
[etc., etc.]Congratulations on your new sovereignty. Let me know how it works out.
Janice M. Eisen
Janice M. Eisen, Stupid Politicians, Whimsy
Provided that they cease to collect federal revenue and return all of the payroll deductions for Medicare and Social Security… I’d say its a sweet deal.
Texas pays more in taxes than it receives back from the Feds, so I think Obama’s letter would be stupid. Being a donor state means that Texas and a lot of other states would come out ahead under your scenario.
Nothing says they could stop paying taxes. The 16th Amendment specifically authorizes the Feds to collect income tax. Even Tenthers would have to admit that’s constitutional. And they’d still receive services such as defense, after all, which must be paid for, and taxes are not on an a la carte menu.
By the way, according to the Tax Foundation, Texas was running in the mid-to-high nineties on return on taxes paid from 2000-2005, so they’d feel it. Minnesota has a better case, at 74ยข received per tax dollar paid in 2005.
In either case, the figure doesn’t count the administrative costs of the programs paid for by the Feds. That would be a huge burden if the state wanted to continue running any programs on their own.
And finally, please note that this entry is in the category “Whimsy.” Deep analysis is neither necessary nor encouraged.