During my random searches of the Internet, I came across this interesting project seeking a redesign for the American Dollar. Granted, replacing our currency would be a huge pain in the rear and add more uncertainty to a market that doesn't need it, but some of these designs are pretty impressive. Two particularly good designs pointed out by Heather are by Michael Tyznik and Dan Swenson. Swenson's $100 is gorgeous. The lines in the background (I'm not an artist and so have no idea what term to use there) give the impression of being in a glass building which generates an amazing effect with John Trumbull's "Signing of the Declaration of Independence." This image of an event that occurred 230+ years ago appears remarkably modern with that backdrop and I do not need to explain the symbolism there.
Tyznick's design includes Amendments from the Bill of Rights on the reverse of every bill. I very much like the idea of putting some statement of American ideals on our money apart from our Latin motto and "In God We Trust" but these Amendments are a bit clunky. They are also paired with American Presidents and politicians who did not create those Amendments, which might lead to unnecessary confusion with an audience not particularly well informed concerning history.
I have little to no artistic skills. Any design I actually tried to create would probably end up looking like this. That being said, I am curious: if we were to redesign our paper money, what should we put on it? I would like to see individuals beyond politicians, but very solid Americans would have to be chosen in such a way as to not generate controversy and not appear to be token appreciations to minorities. There are also a hell of a lot of choices to choose from, both for the individual on the obverse and the image on the reverse. I would like to see dollar bills generally following the Tyznick/Swenson model (Swenson being inspired by Tyznick's design) with the following figure, image, and quote on these denominations:
$1: George Washington/Washington Crossing the Delaware by Emanuel Leutze/"The sun never shined on a cause of greater worth." Thomas Paine, Common Sense
$2: Clara Barton/Bald Eagle/"God grants liberty only to those who love it, and are always ready to guard and defend it. " Daniel Webster
$5: Abraham Lincoln/Lincoln Monument/"With malice toward none, with charity for all, with firmness in the right as God gives us to see the right, let us strive on to finish the work we are in"~Lincoln's 2nd Inaugural Address
$10: John Paul Jones/USS Constitution/"I have not yet begun to fight"
$20: Frederick Douglass/Statue of Liberty/"The life of the nation is secure only while the nation is honest, truthful, and virtuous." Frederick Douglass
$50: Ralph Waldo Emerson/Grand Canyon (not sure which image of it would work best on a dollar bill)/"The best moments in life are these delicious awakenings of the higher powers, and the reverential withdrawing of nature before its God." ~Emerson, "Nature"
$100: Benjamin Franklin/Signing of the Declaration of Independence (basically Swenson)/"We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness"
I really wanted to add Henry David Thoreau but I can't imagine him being happy about being on a dollar bill. I've also avoided using anyone within the last 100 or so years. This isn't a slam on them; there have been a hell of a lot of great Americans in that time period. When I think of money, though, I think those who appear should be almost mythical in their stature. In terms of actual people, time is really needed to establish that. Putting more modern faces inevitably leads to propaganda and controversy, which is about the last thing we need concerning our money. The Romans used to put images of Roma (the god personifying Rome) and other deities on their coins up until the collapse of the Republic, when they switched to the faces of current politicians instead.
Having attempted to create such a list, I can say it is a lot harder than one might imagine. I can certainly imagine some of the criticisms that would come my way for proposing this list. With such a minimal amount of space on seven separate types of bills, something important will inevitably be left off. If for no other reason, that seems like enough to not actually rework the subject matter of our dollar bills for the time being.
Thursday, August 26, 2010
Sunday, August 8, 2010
Missouri's Prop C, Federalism, and Nullification
On August 3rd, the people of the state of Missouri voted on a statute known as Proposition C. The statute asked if Missouri law should be amended to "deny the government authority to penalize citizens for refusing to purchase private health insurance or infringe upon the right to offer or accept direct payment for lawful healthcare services?". The people of Missouri overwhelming approved of this measure, with 71% supporting. This new law was specifically designed to deny the federal government the ability to force citizens to buy health insurance. Similar measures are to be voted on in November in Indiana, New Mexico, North Dakota, and Wyoming.
While the proposition is labeled "symbolic" and not specifically called nullification, it is in fact a rare example of a state denying the federal government power within the territory of that state. Supporters of ObamaCare clearly see this proposition as a case of nullification; Dana Milbank said of Proposition C: "the initiative essentially declared null and void the federal health-care reform's requirement that individuals have health insurance." He calls nullification "a temper tantrum" and says those supporting Prop C "are jettisoning Article VI" of our Constitution with respect to the supremacy clause.
Milbank is wrong, both in respect to Prop C supporters "jettisoning Article VI" and with nullification being a "temper tantrum." Article VI only comes into play when laws are made in accordance with the Constitution; when the federal government attempts to overstep the boundaries placed upon it, Article VI no longer applies. The "Tenthers" (referring to the 10th Amendment and those who rest their argument against ObamaCare upon it) do not say states can just nullify any law they dislike; the argument is any power not delegated to the federal government belongs to the states and the people thereof. As Milbank may not have noticed, the power to force people to buy products is not one delegated to Congress, the President, or anyone else at the federal level.
Nullification, far from being a "temper tantrum", is actually a theory of federalism that deserves reconsideration. Nearly everyone who knows of nullification automatically ties it to antebellum (that bellum being the Civil War) South, with the better informed remembering South Carolina threatening to nullify tariff laws and prior to that Thomas Jefferson arguing that nullification was necessary to stop abuses of power of the Adam's Administration (with respect towards the Alien and Sedition Acts). The issue of nullification is generally lumped in with secession and then slavery, though it need not be, just as government efforts to fight tobacco use need not be tied in with the Third Reich. Nullification attempts to deal with a flaw in our federal system: what happens if the federal government oversteps its bounds? What remedies exist?
Our Founding Fathers set up a system of government via the Constitution that attempts to limit the concentration of political power. Checks and balances between the legislative, executive, and judicial branch are one way of achieving this end. The second is by dividing power on another axis, between local and national leaders. At the time of ratification, states were quite jealous of a possible central government; indeed, their first attempt at creating a central government, the Articles of Confederation, failed because of that jealousy of power. While a clear need existed for a central government capable of at least raising revenue, states were still not eager to create a powerful central government. In the end, they created a federal system in which the federal government would have predominance over foreign affairs and streamline commerce and trade while the states would control most internal matters. Powers which the federal government would have were specifically spelled out; the 10th Amendment was passed to make sure any power not mentioned belonged to the states. The federal government, when acting within its delegated powers, would have to be followed (a la Article VI), but beyond those powers it had no authority.
Governments are composed of people and in particular politicians. Everyone wants more control and politicians in particular, so it should come as no surprise that those in government would try to expand their powers. Within a decade, the new federal government was expanding its powers, much to the chagrin of Republicans (old school, as in anti-Federalists Democrat-Republicans). The problem faced by Thomas Jefferson is the same faced by John C. Calhoun and the same facing us today: what do we do if the federal government attempts to overstep its bounds?
Those bashing nullification generally have one answer to this problem: seek remedy in the courts. Which courts? Why, the federal courts, of course! The problems here are obvious. For starters, the federal courts are a part of the federal government, one of the parties involved in the controversy. The second, much more salient problem, is that the Supreme Court may make a ruling based on policy, rather than legal reasons. Just because a majority of justices wish to see the federal government expand for ideological reasons does not mean the states actually consented to the central government having that power. If anyone should know what the state delegated or did not delegate, it should be the state itself.
It is rather shocking the Founding Fathers should have left out a mechanism for determining such controversies. Of all people, the Fathers knew that governments are not by nature prone to protect the rights of others out of the goodness of their hearts. But a lack of a clearly defined mechanism does not mean we should default in favor of unchecked federal expansion.
Thomas Jefferson and James Madison (one of the three authors of the Federalist Papers, largely seen as the definitive authority in what the Constitution means and why those provisions were made) authored the Virginia Resolution of 1798 against the Alien and Sedition Acts. I want my reader to go through their argument here. The state of Kentucky adopted two similar resolutions (again largely written by Jefferson) in 1798 and 1799, which should also be read. In particular, consider this statement from the Kentucky Resolution passed in 1799:
That the principle and construction contended for by sundry of the state legislatures, that the general government is the exclusive judge of the extent of the powers delegated to it, stop nothing short of despotism; since the discretion of those who administer the government, and not the constitution, would be the measure of their powers: That the several states who formed that instrument, being sovereign and independent, have the unquestionable right to judge of its infraction; and that a nullification, by those sovereignties, of all unauthorized acts done under colour of that instrument, is the rightful remedy...
Nullification and a judiciary upholding the written Constitution are the only checks on an ever expanding federal government; we know from history that the judiciary cannot be trusted because more often than not justices wish to see the government expanded regardless of the contract of the Constitution. The only defense against such abuses is for the states to oppose such laws within their own jurisdiction. This is the natural check placed on an expanding federal government, no less so than judicial review, though never mentioned in the Constitution, clearly follows from the concept of checks and balances to keep the legislative and executive branch from exceeding their powers. The Kentucky Resolution of 1798 emphasizes this point: "as in all other cases of compact among powers having no common judge, each party has an equal right to judge for itself, as well of infractions as of the mode and measure of redress."
What Milbanks confuses for a temper tantrum is in fact what should occur when the central government oversteps its bounds and attempts to wield power the people of this nation never granted them. Were nullification more widely accepted and practiced, the federal government would indeed have a difficult time micromanaging internal affairs of states and people far beyond their delegated powers or ability. Those seeking a government with unchecked power certainly fear nullification; those seeking the preservation of liberty will likely find no better friend.
I intend to stop here. My reader should know that I am aware that incorporating nullification into our current political culture would be very complex and probably require reworking the federal government's ability to use funds as carrots and sticks. That will require a longer, more in depth work than I present here. As of now, with a federal government once again expanding its powers into unprecedented (and not delegated) waters, it is enough to show that some mechanism is needed to preserve the balance of powers set forth in the Constitution and that nullification is the only logical means towards that end.
While the proposition is labeled "symbolic" and not specifically called nullification, it is in fact a rare example of a state denying the federal government power within the territory of that state. Supporters of ObamaCare clearly see this proposition as a case of nullification; Dana Milbank said of Proposition C: "the initiative essentially declared null and void the federal health-care reform's requirement that individuals have health insurance." He calls nullification "a temper tantrum" and says those supporting Prop C "are jettisoning Article VI" of our Constitution with respect to the supremacy clause.
Milbank is wrong, both in respect to Prop C supporters "jettisoning Article VI" and with nullification being a "temper tantrum." Article VI only comes into play when laws are made in accordance with the Constitution; when the federal government attempts to overstep the boundaries placed upon it, Article VI no longer applies. The "Tenthers" (referring to the 10th Amendment and those who rest their argument against ObamaCare upon it) do not say states can just nullify any law they dislike; the argument is any power not delegated to the federal government belongs to the states and the people thereof. As Milbank may not have noticed, the power to force people to buy products is not one delegated to Congress, the President, or anyone else at the federal level.
Nullification, far from being a "temper tantrum", is actually a theory of federalism that deserves reconsideration. Nearly everyone who knows of nullification automatically ties it to antebellum (that bellum being the Civil War) South, with the better informed remembering South Carolina threatening to nullify tariff laws and prior to that Thomas Jefferson arguing that nullification was necessary to stop abuses of power of the Adam's Administration (with respect towards the Alien and Sedition Acts). The issue of nullification is generally lumped in with secession and then slavery, though it need not be, just as government efforts to fight tobacco use need not be tied in with the Third Reich. Nullification attempts to deal with a flaw in our federal system: what happens if the federal government oversteps its bounds? What remedies exist?
Our Founding Fathers set up a system of government via the Constitution that attempts to limit the concentration of political power. Checks and balances between the legislative, executive, and judicial branch are one way of achieving this end. The second is by dividing power on another axis, between local and national leaders. At the time of ratification, states were quite jealous of a possible central government; indeed, their first attempt at creating a central government, the Articles of Confederation, failed because of that jealousy of power. While a clear need existed for a central government capable of at least raising revenue, states were still not eager to create a powerful central government. In the end, they created a federal system in which the federal government would have predominance over foreign affairs and streamline commerce and trade while the states would control most internal matters. Powers which the federal government would have were specifically spelled out; the 10th Amendment was passed to make sure any power not mentioned belonged to the states. The federal government, when acting within its delegated powers, would have to be followed (a la Article VI), but beyond those powers it had no authority.
Governments are composed of people and in particular politicians. Everyone wants more control and politicians in particular, so it should come as no surprise that those in government would try to expand their powers. Within a decade, the new federal government was expanding its powers, much to the chagrin of Republicans (old school, as in anti-Federalists Democrat-Republicans). The problem faced by Thomas Jefferson is the same faced by John C. Calhoun and the same facing us today: what do we do if the federal government attempts to overstep its bounds?
Those bashing nullification generally have one answer to this problem: seek remedy in the courts. Which courts? Why, the federal courts, of course! The problems here are obvious. For starters, the federal courts are a part of the federal government, one of the parties involved in the controversy. The second, much more salient problem, is that the Supreme Court may make a ruling based on policy, rather than legal reasons. Just because a majority of justices wish to see the federal government expand for ideological reasons does not mean the states actually consented to the central government having that power. If anyone should know what the state delegated or did not delegate, it should be the state itself.
It is rather shocking the Founding Fathers should have left out a mechanism for determining such controversies. Of all people, the Fathers knew that governments are not by nature prone to protect the rights of others out of the goodness of their hearts. But a lack of a clearly defined mechanism does not mean we should default in favor of unchecked federal expansion.
Thomas Jefferson and James Madison (one of the three authors of the Federalist Papers, largely seen as the definitive authority in what the Constitution means and why those provisions were made) authored the Virginia Resolution of 1798 against the Alien and Sedition Acts. I want my reader to go through their argument here. The state of Kentucky adopted two similar resolutions (again largely written by Jefferson) in 1798 and 1799, which should also be read. In particular, consider this statement from the Kentucky Resolution passed in 1799:
That the principle and construction contended for by sundry of the state legislatures, that the general government is the exclusive judge of the extent of the powers delegated to it, stop nothing short of despotism; since the discretion of those who administer the government, and not the constitution, would be the measure of their powers: That the several states who formed that instrument, being sovereign and independent, have the unquestionable right to judge of its infraction; and that a nullification, by those sovereignties, of all unauthorized acts done under colour of that instrument, is the rightful remedy...
Nullification and a judiciary upholding the written Constitution are the only checks on an ever expanding federal government; we know from history that the judiciary cannot be trusted because more often than not justices wish to see the government expanded regardless of the contract of the Constitution. The only defense against such abuses is for the states to oppose such laws within their own jurisdiction. This is the natural check placed on an expanding federal government, no less so than judicial review, though never mentioned in the Constitution, clearly follows from the concept of checks and balances to keep the legislative and executive branch from exceeding their powers. The Kentucky Resolution of 1798 emphasizes this point: "as in all other cases of compact among powers having no common judge, each party has an equal right to judge for itself, as well of infractions as of the mode and measure of redress."
What Milbanks confuses for a temper tantrum is in fact what should occur when the central government oversteps its bounds and attempts to wield power the people of this nation never granted them. Were nullification more widely accepted and practiced, the federal government would indeed have a difficult time micromanaging internal affairs of states and people far beyond their delegated powers or ability. Those seeking a government with unchecked power certainly fear nullification; those seeking the preservation of liberty will likely find no better friend.
I intend to stop here. My reader should know that I am aware that incorporating nullification into our current political culture would be very complex and probably require reworking the federal government's ability to use funds as carrots and sticks. That will require a longer, more in depth work than I present here. As of now, with a federal government once again expanding its powers into unprecedented (and not delegated) waters, it is enough to show that some mechanism is needed to preserve the balance of powers set forth in the Constitution and that nullification is the only logical means towards that end.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)