opinion
In an era of ends justifies the means governing, it’s not surprising so few Republicans have spoken out against President Donald Trump’s executive order authorizing another $1 trillion or so for COVID-19 relief without bothering to get congressional approval.
Recall how furious the GOP was when President Barack Obama worked his "pen and phone" to grant immigration amnesty, commit the United States to a dubious global climate change treaty and ship $1.7 billion in cash to Iran to seal the nuclear containment deal.
But from the Republican side we’ve heard condemnation only from Sens. Ben Sasse of Nebraska and Rand Paul of Kentucky, and Paul seems more bothered by the spending itself than the affront to separation of powers.
Of course, that’s two more voices than were raised among Democrats to Obama’s abuse of executive powers.
The executive branch was never intended to be so omnipotent. As Sasse reminded Trump this week, he isn’t a king. He can’t spend money or rewrite tax law without congressional approval.
“Under the Constitution, that power belongs to the American people acting through their members of Congress," Sasse correctly notes.
Unless, of course, the people’s representatives prioritize partisan power over principle, as Republicans are doing now, and Democrats did then.
For the record, I support Trump’s strategy for stimulating the economy to offset the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. Suspending the payroll tax for four months for those earning less than $100,000 annually will put money directly in the hands of consumers.
Unlike the $2 trillion CARES Act passed earlier this year, it gets the job done without allowing Congress to lard on special interest spending.
And despite the hypocritical hysteria from Democrats, it doesn’t mean the end to Social Security or Medicare.
The other major piece of the Trump plan — replacing the expired $600 a week federal supplemental unemployment benefit with a $400 a week subsidy — lowers the disincentive for work at a time when employers say they can’t fill job openings.
But I can support the outcome while deploring the method of getting there.
This steady transfer of power to the executive branch via executive order was something the Founders feared when they structured a government with three equal branches.
They realized the temptation would be great for the executive to tilt the balance in his or her favor.
Presidents now believe they can take the nation to war, open or close its borders and even rewrite tax policy, all without consulting the people’s representatives.
And the people are OK with it as long as their party is in charge.
Making major policy changes was not supposed to be easy. Legislation was meant to be passed through a deliberative process that leads to consensus.
The excuse that the other party won’t go along with what the president wants to do, so he gets to do it himself doesn’t wash. That’s why we have elections. If the people tire of gridlock, they can vote to change it.
Trump’s plan is good. He should present it to congressional Democrats and let them explain why they won’t support giving working Americans up to $2,000 in extra cash while maintaining a still generous supplemental benefit for those who’ve lost their jobs due to government-ordered shutdowns.
Twitter: @NolanFinleyDN
Sign up for the Nolan Out Loud morning report at detroitnews.com/newsletters.
Watch Finley on DPTV’s “One Detroit” at 7:30 p.m. Thursdays.
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August 12, 2020 at 10:45PM
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Finley: Trump has right plan, wrong approach - The Detroit News
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