The State of Oklahoma and the United States of America have something in common right now: they can’t pass a budget. As a result, neither our State or our Federal Government is working. Our elected officials are not doing their most basic duty – running the government. As a result, the citizenry of both bodies of government are suffering more our elected officials are.
So I have this idea, maybe a couple of ideas, and I’d like for my dear reader (note the use of the singular here) to point out why the idea is a bad one. How about we make a rule of law that no bill can be brought to committee until the budget has been passed and signed into law? It’s okay to submit bills: get the lawyers busy analyzing all of the crazy stuff submitted to please the constituents and (hopefully) weed out all the unconstitutional nonsense, but nothing goes to committee, discussion, consideration, or vote until the budget is done. That is the one job they absolutely have to do: run the government. We have seen what happens if they don’t do this. We look to the entire world as a bunch of idiots. Dysfunctional. It’s embarrassing and something has to be done.
Remember elementary school? The school yard bullies who picked on everyone “inferior”? Remember the clicks and the hen pecking to establish a dominate order? Stupid behaviors you hoped every one would outgrow? Well, they didn’t.
A second idea to support the first can be borrowed from the Catholic Church. When a new Pope is required, the Cardinals are shut away in the Vatican until the new pope is elected. Let’s say our elected officials fail to do their one important job and can’t pass a budget. Instead of rewarding them for their failure by paying for a special session, how about we board up all the doors and windows (and close off the secret tunnels) until we see the smoke of the burning papers from their secret deliberations, compromises, and concessions? No food until the job is done. We may even have to cut off the water after a day or two.
Legacy and Lunacy 