Presidential Power

            As the face of this country, the President receives all the criticism when things are going bad and when they are going good, other politicians tend to point their fingers at themselves to collect the praise for success.  These politicians know it’s easy to place blame on the person who leads this country and manipulate the voters into thinking the President has all the power. But does he really have more control than the Constitution originally stated. Since he still has to go through Congress for most issues and can’t just do anything he wants without worrying about the consequences, I will argue that our founding fathers may see additional authority with the President but will also be able to see that this does not put the Separation of Powers and Checks and Balances at risk.

            The founding fathers would be comfortable with the current Presidential Powers because the Congress still holds a lot of power when it comes to what the President can and cannot do. Article I of the constitution is laid out to provide plenty of power to the congress. They have the ability to declare war, lay and collect taxes and, being in the legislative branch, create laws. They have a say in nearly everything the President does and they are elected by the people, not the President himself.

Although Executive Orders are a benefit for the President, if he abuses his power with them they will be examined and questioned by the Supreme Court and serious consequences could follow. Even though the President doesn’t have to run them by Congress, this ability allows the President to make laws in uncommon circumstances when there isn’t time to let people debate it. In the past, Executive orders have been used in time of war and stressful moments in this countries’ history.

Lastly, I believe the founding fathers will approve of the President’s power because everything in the Constitution is still the most vital part of our government. It is necessary that every member of every level of government follows the words of this document to ensure the power of the people. Although it may not seem like it, I still believe that the people of this country are in control. We just have a tendency to listen to what all the other politicians are saying about the power of the President.

From these previous examples, I personally don’t feel the President is too powerful and I think the founding fathers would think the same.

Budget Process

For years as America’s debt has increased and budgets created to stall it have not been too impressive with most, the people of the U.S. have become frustrated with the lack of progress. Ideas are thrown out that seem good in theory, but behind every cut or addition of a program there always seems to be a negative. These concerns are what the members of the legislative branch have to deal with when deciding on a budget. Congress must weigh every factor before passing a budget and it is not as easy as it may seem.

            In the budget simulation game I noticed that every card had a significant pro and con. This makes it difficult to cut things because it will always affect someone and those people will fight the budget plan. There’s obviously no solution that will please everyone but that is an important factor for the Congress. They need to make the most people happy while doing what’s best for the country. This is when prioritizing comes into play. If Congress truly believes that a budget will impact the country in a positive way, even if many people will be upset with it, they will have to make that decision; is it worth it?

            Another thing that Congress has to keep in mind is whether they need to find something that will be a short or long term plan. Of course a budget that will be effective will most likely be for the long term because the deficit will not diminish quickly, but sometimes a short term plan will lead to other possibilities. By cutting or changing certain programs that will have an immediate effect on the debt, there is a possibility that this money will help to keep moving in the right direction. Even making a small impression on the debt could help in the future.

            Balancing the budget is also very difficult because most cuts will result in job losses. In the current economic condition, job losses are not what this country needs. I believe that the economy has to be in a better condition before we can make a sufficient dent in the debt. Any step that involves the loss of jobs will outrage a lot of people and I doubt any member of the government is willing to have that on their shoulders at this point.

            Before this activity, I expected there to be a lot of programs with wasteful spending that could be cut without any repercussions. After looking through all the cards I realized how difficult it must be to create a budget. There are so many factors that Congress has to think about and when it comes to something as crucial as our countries’ large and increasing debt, they have to be right with every decision.

Too Many Rights Make a Wrong

            The U.S. Constitution is strong and the Bill of Rights and other amendments that have been added have given the people of this country feel more comfortable with their rights. Many still complain that we don’t have enough and that the ones we do have are violated often. I believe the exact opposite. I think we have too many and that some rights added as amendments can give undeserving people too much freedom. Although I know our system is set up so everyone is equal and everything is fair, I think that criminals who break laws and take away other peoples’ rights are unworthy of the rights they are given.

            The first example comes from the fourth amendment of search and seizure. The case of Mapp vs. Ohio starts with a suspected bombing fugitive being held in Mapp’s home. The police entered illegally without a legitimate warrant and found no signs of the suspect. They did however arrest Mapp for owning porn which is illegal in the state of Ohio. After going through the court system and reaching the U.S. Supreme Court, Mapp was acquitted of the charges. I understand that not only did the police enter the house unlawfully and found evidence that did not relate to what they were looking for but I still feel this is unfair. Mapp wasn’t holding a fugitive but still had illegal material within her home and should be accountable for that. Therefore I disagree with the decision in this case which allowed someone to go free for things that were proven with evidence.

            The next case was Miranda vs. Arizona. A very popular case to this day because of the steps put in place to prevent this from happening again. Miranda was arrested for kidnapping and sexually assaulting a woman in his home where the police did not notify him about his 5^th and 6^th amendment rights. He later confessed to the crime with no knowledge of his right to counsel. When this case went to the Supreme Court they ruled that because he was not read his rights, the confession could not be used and he would be free to go. As citizens of this country I think we all should be held responsible for knowing our rights and we shouldn’t need them to be told to us to make a valid case. He confessed to an awful crime but got away with it because we aren’t expected to know our rights.

            The final case to show why there are too many rights in our system is that of Antwan Maxey. Maxey was arrested for a murder eight months after it happened. He asked for a trial as soon as he was arrested but didn’t have one before a 120 day period. According to the Illinois court system, if a trial for any crime is not done within this time period their right to a speedy trial would be considered violated. This shows how a technicality can erase charges for even the most serious of crimes.