During the early days of the American Revolution, the American patriots needed a slogan to communicate a complex subject into an easy-to-understand soundbite. The American patriots were upset that Parliament was violating the English Constitution by passing laws that American colonists did not have the ability vote on. The phrase that sparked patriots’ hearts and minds was “No taxation without representation.”
While the phrase “No taxation without representation” became the rallying cry, it is important to understand that people in the American colonies were upset at more than just taxation. Take a look at the 27 different grievances laid out in the Declaration of Independence; only one has anything to do with taxation. However, it lays out multiple grievances about how England had flipped the legislative process on its head and was essentially violating the Constitution.
In this nation, we have a problem where Congress no longer represents the people. Because our representatives are more concerned about re-election, they have abrogated their authority to an unelected bureaucracy that passes rules We the People have no say over but that have a real effect on our daily lives. When we complain to Congress about these regulations, our representatives can play the good cop and claim they agree with us but there is nothing they can do because regulations are passed by the bad cop, bureaucracy.
When Congress was passing the Affordable Health Care Act (a.k.a. ObamaCare), then-House Speaker Nancy Pelosi stated that Congress needed to pass the bill in order for us to see what was in it. While the center-right political commentators ridiculed Pelosi for these statements, the sad reality is that she was right. While there were 2,700 pages of law Congress passed and the president signed, there have been about 20,000 pages of regulation written and decided by no elected official that will ever be accountable to We the People.
Our Founding Fathers declared independence because Parliament was passing laws the people had to live by without their consent. Every day, the federal and state bureaucracies are passing rules that have the same enforcement as law.
It is time for We the People to stand up and let our voices be heard. No longer can our elected representatives allow an unelected bureaucracy do the job they were elected to do. We live in a republic, which means We the People are entitled to have our representatives vote on the laws that affect our lives.
The new slogan for this movement should be “No regulation without representation.” While some are pushing for a constitutional amendment that requires Congress to have a say in the regulation process, this effort should be extended to all 50 states. Each state should not allow its bureaucracy to pass rules absent the consent of the state legislature.
Let your elected officials hear your voice. Ask your elected officials what they are doing to protect you by reigning in the bureaucracies. It is time for our elected officials to hear the voice of We the People loudly proclaim: No regulation without representation.