Letters for April 24: Be careful with Constitution

Be careful with Constitution

To those who are asking for a constitutional convention, a word of caution. It took the Founding Fathers 11 years to craft the Constitution along with the Bill of Rights before it was ratified in 1787.

It has served us well for the past 228 years, and we need to pause and consider the risks and benefits of tinkering with it. Some of us feel that our current government officials appear to disregard what the Constitution says, but that feeling does not justify rewriting it.

First, the Preamble tells us that our government exists to “provide for the general welfare” of the people, not simply pander to the wishes of the wealthy.

The “commerce clause” in Article 1 Section 8 gives Congress power to regulate aspects of the economy. We have heard that one of the limitations of the Affordable Care Act is that insurance companies are not allowed to sell their products across state lines. So, without amending the Constitution, our Congress could repair the ACA by removing the barrier to interstate sales of insurance.

Article 1 Section 9 prohibits public officials from accepting any gift, yet our president continues to enrich himself using government funds, our tax dollars, to pay for travel to his own personal resort.

Stop and think about how any change to our Constitution could change your life if the government no longer “provides for the general welfare,” regulates commerce or bans government officials from accepting gifts. What motivates those who want a constitutional convention?

Patricia Giese
Johnson Creek

Stay in Washington

Congress “too busy” to get health care fixed? Too busy to fix our dilapidated and non-competitive tax code? Too busy to address border security issues, budget problems, Iran-nuke deal, trade issues, overstaffing issues?

Do American businesses enjoy an 11-day “recess” in April? Will American businesses shut down from July 31 until Sept. 4 this year? Do American businesses “recess” for the last two weeks in December? Oh, but our congressional representatives need to return to their districts to touch base with their constituents. They need to escape the high-pressure environment for eight weeks a year to allow them to increase their effectiveness. If only that were true.

We have as much to accomplish in 2017 as we have had in many, many years. It seems to me that for a change our elected congressional leaders should forgo unnecessary junkets around the world and a few town meetings and stay at their offices in Washington.

How about some real congressional leadership for a change?

Jim Baudhuin
New Berlin

Please email your letters to jsedit@ jrn.com, or mail them to Letters to the Editor, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, P.O. Box 371, Milwaukee, Wis. 53201-0371. Letters are generally limited to 200 words and subject to editing.

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