Checks and Balances

Given the current political goings-on, I decided to refresh my memory concerning what the branches of our federal government are actually supposed to be doing. Here’s a quick overview of what I learned/relearned, without (much) commentary. I hope you find this as refreshing and enlightening as I did!

Our federal government’s powers are separated into three branches: the legislative, the executive, and judiciary. They are listed in this order in the Constitution because the framers considered them to be in this order of importance.

The legislative branch is described in Article 1 of the Constitution. It is embodied by Congress, which itself is made up of the House of Representatives and the Senate. Its main job is to make laws.

The executive branch, described in Article 2 of the Constitution, is supposed to execute the laws created by the legislature. It is embodied principally by the President of the United States.

The judiciary is described in Article 3 of the Constitution. It is made up of the Supreme Court as well as the federal courts. Its job is to interpret the laws created by the Congress and executed by the President.

Given that the powers are separated into these three branches, each branch also has the ability to limit (or check) the other two branches to some degree. This ability is what helps create and maintain the balance of power between the branches.

The legislature has the greatest number of checks against the other two branches. The framers of the Constitution were concerned with the possibility of the President becoming a dictator in the manner of King George III (their former sovereign).

To check the executive branch, the legislature can:

• Impeach the President (House of Representatives)
• Remove the President (Senate: if 2/3 vote for impeachment)
• Reject appointment of officials
• Override vetoes (2/3 vote in both houses required)
• Refuse to pass laws the President wants
• Refuse to appropriate funds for Presidential programs

To check the judiciary, the legislature can:

• Impeach and remove judges
• Reject judicial nominees
• Change the court system by adding or removing federal courts
• Change the jurisdiction of federal courts
• Pass new laws that override Supreme Court decisions (as long as the decisions weren’t based on the Constitution)
• Propose amendments to the Constitution

The executive branch has the next highest sets of checks. To check the legislative branch, the executive can:

• Veto Congress’s laws
• Call Congress into special session (but can’t force them to pass new laws)
• Carry out laws in ways that are contrary to the intent of the Congress
• Break ties in the Senate

To check the judiciary, the executive can:

• Nominate Supreme and federal court justices
• Pardon people convicted by the courts
• Refuse to carry out court decisions

Finally, the judiciary has really limited checking power. To check the legislative branch, the judiciary can:

• Declare laws unconstitutional
• Preside over impeachment trials (remember, they’re carried out in the Congress)

To check the executive branch, the judiciary can:

• Declare executive actions unconstitutional
• Issue warrants in federal crime cases

(I'm sure there's a pretty picture that lays all this out at a glance, but I'd already typed it out before I began searching for images...)

These concepts are described in greater detail in The Federalist Papers, No. 51, written by James Madison. Read through it when you can — it’s worth a gander.

The Big Short

A short (no pun intended) offering today, as I'm currently intellectually and emotionally exhausted from worrying about the future of our country and the world in general...

Last night, Tanya and Marco and Tanya and I (yes, two separate Tanya's) watched The Big Short, the movie about the guys that made a ton of money off of betting against the American economy from 2005 through 2008 or so.  Well, that's not really what the movie (or book) is about.  The story actually follows and exposes the absolutely ridiculous series of unfortunate events that got us to the point of the housing market bubble bursting.  The fact that those people that bet against the market made a lot of money in the meantime is almost a footnote, which I thought was really interesting.

The movie was poignant and entertaining, which is also a pretty rare combination.  Every performance was memorable and well executed, with the exception of Brad Pitt -- sorry, he's really hit-or-miss with me and felt very average in this role.  There was a greater than usual amount of breaking the fourth wall, and it was always compelling and appropriate.

In light of our current political climate, I encourage everyone that isn't familiar with the story here to go watch the movie and/or read the book.  Think about how the candidate you favor relates to (or is actually culpable in) the events portrayed there.  Consider how they might behave on a going-forward basis with regard to Wall Street (and fiscal responsibility overall).

Now bear in mind that this is only *one* of the really important issues that probably don't have enough substantive discourse in the debates from either party.  It is my sincere hope that everyone that can *will* participate in this year's political process and will do so thoughtfully.

Pick your top three issues.  Really think them through from as many perspectives as you can so that you can have a fair view of them.  Find the candidate that best aligns with those top three, and vett that they do so as much as you possibly can.  Don't just listen to what the candidate is saying -- look at their public/behavioral record.  This is relatively easy to do with current/former government officials, less so with private citizens.  Do your best in this effort so that you can support and vote with a clear conscience.

Insofar as the opportunities present themselves, participate in meaningful, thoughtful, and respectful discussion with people that disagree with the importance of your issues or your stances.  Be open to learning something, understanding someone else's point of view, and potentially changing your attitude.

Above all, be kind to yourself and to everyone else.  There's too much hate and misery in the world as it is -- don't contribute to vitriol or negative behavior/attitude.  I read this commentary yesterday and found that it resonated with my own mental state pretty well.  It was written more eloquently than I could have done, so please give it a read.

Alright, that's it for politics and sadness for me.  I promise the next post will be back to the normal book reviews, writing, exercise, technology, etc.  If you need a diversion until then, check out Tim's Snake Lake blog post and play the game.  Yum!!