Constitution Day 2010

This past week, on September 17th, our nation recognized Constitution Day. It is disappointing how little mention there was regarding this day. My sons said that they don’t recall the date being mentioned at school over the years. Not by civics, social studies or history teachers. I recall as a boy back in the 1970s watching “School House Rock” in between cartoons on Saturday mornings. That is where I first learned about the Constitution, how our government works, and the history of the country’s founding. ABC no longer broadcasts the program Saturday mornings. How things have changed.

Many people believe that the Constitution was adopted on July 4, 1776. The truth is that it was adopted September 17, 1787 by 39 delegates from 12 colonies. We have become a nation fixated on wanting “my rights” whether constitutionally based or not. The 39 delegates understood that the Constitutional rights come with a responsibility first. Our liberties are contained in the U.S. Constitution, Bill of Rights, and Declaration of Independence. But these are earned as the leaders of the Revolution committed…”We pledge our lives, fortunes and sacred honor.” “We the People” are called to this responsibility.

The authors, and those in favor of adopting the Constitution, believed that Divine Providence has preserved our liberties and protected our very way of life. They would suggest that most of our problems and failures that trouble our nation today are due to the actions of our civil leadership ignoring or abusing our Constitutional law. Today, there is a growing movement to ensure faithfulness to the Constitution with the hope that this will begin to repair the damage done by this neglect. Could it be that we are re-learning the lessons of history?

It is our responsibility to hold all our elected representatives accountable to his or her oath to the Constitution. The U.S. Constitution is a contract between the people and the civil magistrate. Would it not be responsible that both sides of a contract uphold their end of the commitment? Only by each of us living up to this responsibility will there be the possibility of no longer being subject to a ruling class, party politics, special interests and similar such abuses.

Let us not forget Constitution Day again. Read and learn the Constitution. Not through a modern writer who, may have an interesting “view point”. But rather, the founding documents as written by those who drafted the Constitution. And more importantly, the Constitution itself. And let us be responsible to ourselves, and hold our elected officials to their pledge to "preserve, protect, and defend the Constitution of the United States."

Publius

AUGUST EMPLOYMENT REPORT

President Obama stated to Diane Sawyer in an interview last January, “The purpose of a politician is to get re-elected.” A bothersome statement coming from a president…but insightful. With the campaigning for the mid-term elections in play, it’s foreseeable that the August jobs report could be used politically not economically. Washington and the press suggest the report demonstrates a turn around. A closer look suggests otherwise.

The August unsuccessful numbers were the third month in a row. This would suggest that government spending and control over the credit markets are failing to meet the goal of job creation. From the report: 54,000 job losses this past month. An unemployment rate at 9.5%. The recovery strategies are not creating enough new jobs to decrease the ranks of the 14.9 million unemployed. (Possibly political, the report did not include the involuntary part time workers of 8.9 million.) One in seven people are unable to find a full time job. So how is the private sector doing?

For profit businesses added 67,000 jobs for an overall labor force expansion of 550,000 since May. Average hourly wages increasing .3% in August. Manufacturing jobs receded in August, yet, since January a successful sector. Construction and healthcare continue to expand.

A number of pundits suggest a double dip recession. The August report points to something other than recovery. The August numbers, put into the perspective of an 18 month trend show that continued slow and low growth may continue. With the failure of previous stimulus spending, politicians doing their job “to get re-elected” will pull out a few tricks for votes. Some will divert attention from the economy, some will promote little jolts like cash for clunkers and home buyer tax credits – short term small impacts that the past 12 months show did not help.

It appears government spending does not have the positive impact on unemployment as we would hope. Ten years ago the United States was the top industrialized nation for employment. Now it is the worse. Will the political messaging change this fall to divert attention away from the reality of the economic reports?

PUBLIUS