Abdicating government to the bureaucracy

A democracy secures my rights to life, liberty and the pursuit of my happiness (freedoms). Government does not dispense to me my rights; I am born with them and they are unalienable.

The U.S. is barely meeting the goals of our representative democracy. The people can vote, but the parties choose for whom. The separation of powers between the legislative, judicial and executive branches has been lessened by increased Congressional delegation of its legislative power to other federal administrative agencies and the frequent use by presidents of executive orders.

I believe democracy changed for the positive given that more people can participate, receive governmental benefits for daily living, and pursue economic activity in employment.

I believe Congress may unintentionally crash the republic by attending more to their political agendas than performing their legislative duties. They delegate some of their legislative power to the federal bureaucracy which implements laws, procedures and fees (a form of taxation) and enforces them. Legislative power comes to them from "the people" and is therefore not theirs to be transferred. Congress would therefore not delegate their constitutional duties to the president like setting tariffs, or to administrative agencies to implement laws and fees. One unintended consequence of this power delegation by Congress is the creation of a fourth branch of government: the administrative branch.

Dan Wentzloff

Huntley