Liberal Issues

Without the power of government behind them, corporations cannot maintain monopoly positions and cannot put up legal barriers to competition. The Equalizer Amendment prohibits the government from passing any legislation that would affect any one corporation or industry differently from any other. It therefore greatly limits the ability of one corporation or group of corporations to obtain monopoly protection. It also gives you and your friends the ability to compete with any corporation that behaves greedily.

For example, one reason electric vehicles have taken so long to make it to market is that the federal government has repeatedly bailed out the big three automakers in the U. S. Had they been allowed to go under, new management would have taken over their assets in some cases, and in other cases startups would have come in to take the markets that the big three have failed to satisfy. The new manufacturers would have introduced creative vehicle concepts and new ways of doing business. The Equalizer Amendment prohibits the federal government from selectively propping up certain companies and not others or certain industries and not others.

For another example, the government's collusion with Goldman Sachs, Fannie Mae, Freddy Mac, AIG, and other large financial firms is abetting and perpetuating the greed-induced monopolistic powers of these companies. Under the Equalizer Amendment the government is not allowed to selectively favor these companies in response to their lobbying activities or their huge contributions to politicians' campaigns.

If the government should fail to abide by the restraints of the Equalizer Amendment, you will be able to sue the government for damages in a local, state, or federal court just as easily as you can sue a corporation for fraud or discrimination.

The amendment should put an end to crony capitalism. If not, you will be able to collect on numerous class-action lawsuits.

The government will never adequately care for the poor with the tax money they can confiscate from the productive part of society. Politicians are motivated to spread the proceeds around in order to buy as many votes as possible. Too much is wasted on people who don’t need the help or who don’t deserve it. Moreover, politicians will never be interested in releasing people from dependency. Politicians don’t want to work themselves out of a job. Politicians are viewed as important only so long as people are dependent on them.

People truly deserving of help–those who really need and deserve the safety net–are best served by non-political welfare. Those who are able-bodied and jobless are best served by opportunity. The Equalizer Amendment keeps the government from providing welfare to favored corporations and industries or other groups having nothing to do with need. The active clause is, “No federal law or regulation shall discriminate against or in favor of a private entity or citizen or a group of such entities or citizens on the basis of race, religion, gender, ethnicity, industry type, perceived importance, contributions of money or favors, lobbying activities, or domestic location.” Unable to play favorites without being sued, the politicians will lose interest in funding these irrelevant interests. Welfare will be doled out less politically.

Opportunity, the other side of the coin, is enhanced when the government is constrained from favoring large corporations or other groups that are already successful. Favoritism or crony capitalism invariably leads to barriers against competition from those who have not yet made a success of themselves. The Equalizer Amendment, by allowing people to easily sue the government for violating the Constitution, removes a plethora of unconstitutional regulations that serve to complicate the task of starting a business. These regulations have accumulated over the years as government has worked in cahoots with special interests and corporations to make it difficult for others to compete. With these regulations deactivated, people just starting out will have fewer obstacles in their way.

Once the powerful benefits of the Equalizer Amendment are realized on a national scale, it may come to pass that similar amendments will be passed in state constitutions and similar limitations will be adopted by local governments. It may come to pass that a poor person can once again start out in business by simply setting up a road-side stand without having to apply for a business license, resellers permit, and building code inspection and without having to hire an accountant, a lawyer, and a tax attorney.

The Equalizer Amendment inhibits the government from abetting monopolies, playing favorites, putting up regulatory barriers to new businesses, and reducing competition. In so doing it ensures that employees will have ample opportunity to leave a lousy employer and either go to a more attractive employer or start a competitive business of their own that treats its employees fairly. Nothing is more effective at bringing down an unscrupulous employer.

Where does wealth come from? Read “Money–What It Is and How to Get It.” Except when force (i. e. either the government or crime) interferes, wealth comes from 1) doing things for others that they are willing to pay for and 2) saving what you earn. There is nothing unfair about this, so long as everyone has an unobstructed opportunity to do it. The Equalizer Amendment keeps the federal government from obstructing that opportunity. The active clause is, “No federal law or regulation shall discriminate against or in favor of a private entity or citizen or a group of such entities or citizens on the basis of race, religion, gender, ethnicity, industry type, perceived importance, contributions of money or favors, lobbying activities, or domestic location.” This clause keeps the federal government from imposing regulations, tax complications, etc., that favor already-successful businesses or individuals while shutting out newcomers.

If the federal government fails to obey the Equalizer Amendment, you will have the ability to sue the government for damages just as easily as the government can sue non-government entities for infractions. If the government obstructs your opportunities for accumulating wealth, the government will likely have to pay you THE FULL COST of that obstruction plus all costs of litigating the matter plus any penalties that the courts may impose.

Success of the Equalizer Amendment at the federal level will likely lead to the adoption of similar amendments in various state and local constitutions and bylaws. The result will be a reduction in the barriers to equal economic opportunity at all government levels.

The Equalizer Amendment makes it unconstitutional for the federal government to respond with particular favor to special interests that contribute money or favors to 1) political candidates, 2) federal office holders, or 3) federal government employees or that conduct lobbying activities. The active clause is, “No federal law or regulation shall discriminate against or in favor of a private entity or citizen or a group of such entities or citizens on the basis of race, religion, gender, ethnicity, industry type, perceived importance, contributions of money or favors, lobbying activities, or domestic location.”

To make sure that the federal government will comply with the above provision, the Equalizer Amendment includes the clause, “No federal law or regulation shall apply to the citizens of the United States that does not apply equally to all officers and employees of the United States government other than members of the military.” This clause makes it as easy for a citizen to sue the federal government as it is for the federal government to sue corporations or other entities in the private sector.

The suit can be originated and adjudicated in a local or state court as well as a federal court. If the federal government appears to be responding with favoritism to contributors or lobbyists, the government will likely have to pay to the injured parties THE FULL COST of that favoritism plus all costs of litigating the matter plus any penalties that the courts may impose. If the experience of such lawsuits in the private sector is any indicator, political candidates and the federal government will likely be inclined to refuse any contributions from large organizations such as corporations and special interest groups for fear of being subjected to lawsuits.

The applicable clause is, “No federal law or regulation shall discriminate against or in favor of a private entity or citizen or a group of such entities or citizens on the basis of race, religion, gender, ethnicity, industry type, perceived importance, contributions of money or favors, lobbying activities, or domestic location.” This clause prohibits politicians from playing favorites. Another clause, “No federal law or regulation shall apply to the citizens of the United States that does not apply equally to all officers and employees of the United States government other than members of the military,” subjects the government to lawsuits if the government fails to obey the first clause.

Opportunity for the little guy is enhanced when the government is constrained from favoring large corporations or other groups that are already successful. Favoritism, or crony capitalism, invariably leads to barriers against competition from those who have not yet made a success of themselves. The Equalizer Amendment, by allowing people to easily sue the government for violating the Constitution, removes a plethora of unconstitutional regulations that serve to complicate the task of starting a business. These regulations have accumulated over the years as government has worked in cahoots with special interests and corporations to make it difficult for others to compete. With these regulations deactivated, people just starting out will have fewer obstacles in their way.

Once the powerful benefits of the Equalizer Amendment are realized on a national scale, it may come to pass that similar amendments will be passed in state constitutions and local bylaws. It may come to pass that a person of modest means can once again start out in business by simply setting up a road-side stand without having to apply for a business license, resellers permit, and building code inspection and without having to hire an accountant, a lawyer, and a tax attorney.

We restrict our attention here to morality that applies to actions of consenting citizens that involve only these consenting citizens and do not criminally victimize others.

The saying, “You can’t legislate morality,” comes to mind. So-called victimless crime laws serve only to create resentment and to make the immoral behavior chic. In 1920 the sale, manufacture, and transportation of alcohol for consumption were banned nationally as mandated in the Eighteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution. The prohibition was a failure. The amendment was repealed in 1933 by the Twenty-First Amendment. Today’s War on Drugs is a similar failure and a waste of taxpayer money. The only really effective constraints on immoral behavior come from three sources: 1) warnings from parents, peers, religious organizations, schools, etc., 2) observation of the demise of people exhibiting immoral behavior, and 3) the culling of the population through disablement and early deaths of people who engage in immoral behavior.

The Equalizer Amendment contains two clauses that act to prevent the federal government from trying to legislate morality. The first is, “No federal law or regulation shall apply to the citizens of the United States that does not apply equally to all officers and employees of the United States government other than members of the military.” This clause allows citizens to sue the federal government with the same ease as that with which the federal government can sue private entities. Since the legislation of morality by the federal government is by and large unconstitutional, any attempt by the federal government to legislate morality will be rendered unsustainable by lawsuits.

The second clause of importance is, “No federal law or regulation shall discriminate against or in favor of a private entity or citizen or a group of such entities or citizens on the basis of race, religion, gender, ethnicity, industry type, perceived importance, contributions of money or favors, lobbying activities, or domestic location.” It prohibits the federal government from imposing on private citizens any legislation either for or against any particular religion or gender.

"What this country needs are more unemployed politicians."

-- Edward Langley, Artist (1928 - 1995)

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