​Government Over Reach and the Purpose of Government

Every administration will test the boundaries of the Constitution, it's to be expected. Today I want to break down how this administration is "testing" the limits and even wholly disregarding them.

Government overreach isn't a new thing. With every administration, there has been some level of overreach or abuse of power. Our founding fathers understood the weakness and flaws of human beings, even those in a position of power, which is why the Constitution is such a remarkable document. It was created as a safeguard from tyranny. However, like any law or principle, it is only as strong as enforced and followed.

The CDC issued an eviction moratorium on September 4, 2020, during the Trump administration. The constitutionality of this was questioned, but the country permitted this because of the pandemic.

The order was initially due to expire on December 31, 2020, but was extended multiple times. First by the Trump administration and then the Biden administration.

After over a year of property owners not being allowed to collect rent in order to pay mortgages, the Alabama Association of Realtors filed a complaint against the Department of Health and Human Services to put an end to the moratorium. In June, the Supreme Court kept the CDC moratorium in place but left no question that a majority of justices viewed the CDC order as unconstitutional. On the minority side of the vote, the conservative justices wanted to suspend the eviction moratorium as unconstitutional. Yet the CDC's original order was about to expire, so Justice Brett Kavanaugh supplied the fifth vote in favor of the CDC allowing the law to expire and thereby enable an "additional and more orderly distribution of the congressionally appropriated rental assistance." But Kavanaugh also indicated that he agreed with his conservative colleagues on the more significant point that the CDC never had the authority to issue the nationwide eviction moratorium in the first place without a congressional act.

From the beginning, the constitutionality of this moratorium was in question. However, because of the pandemic, Trump pushed the Constitution's limits through the CDC and we as a country allowed it to happen.

However, Biden took it further. Following this ruling from the Supreme Court, Biden extended the moratorium. When Biden was "asked by reporters at the White House if he believes the moratorium is constitutional, Biden replied, 'I think it is,' though he added that he 'can't guarantee" the Supreme Court won't strike it down,'" Forbes reported.

When announcing the new moratorium, Biden said the 'bulk' of scholars believe it is 'not likely to pass constitutional muster,' but that several 'key scholars' think it might, and is 'worth the effort,'" Forbes noted.

Biden also told reporters that, even if the moratorium ends up being unconstitutional, a lengthy appeals process could "keep this going for a while." In other words, he thinks it's constitutional, but it may not be. Even if it is unconstitutional, he still issued the extension because he can exploit the appeals process and continue to violate the private property rights of individuals.

Biden announced his intent to issue mandates for private businesses through OSHA.

Before Biden took office, he said that he would not mandate vaccines or masks. However, earlier this month, Biden found a workaround that he believes possibly has just enough teeth to "authorize" him to issue this mandate. The "workaround" is using OSHA (Occupational Safety and Health Administration) regulatory authority of the Labor Department.

This is a retweet from White House Chief of Staff Ronald Klain that he has since deleted

Biden knows that the federal government does not have authority over citizens to mandate vaccines. However, he uses a government agency to work around the Constitution and extend his powers. Using private businesses to mandate vaccines on private citizens. I went into detail about how he did this in my previous newsletter.

Biden Calls for the Department of Education to investigate the "mask ban" in Texas.

Biden has called for the Department of Education to investigate Texas for the ban on school boards to mandate masks as a possible violation of disability rights. The ADA (Americans with Disabilities Act) requires covered employers to provide reasonable accommodations to employees with disabilities and imposes accessibility requirements on public accommodations.

The claim is that accommodations are not being made for students at high medical risks. Mind you, the effectiveness of masks themselves is in question, and regardless, masks are not banned. The ban only applies to school boards and districts from mandating masks; it does not affect individuals who chose to wear masks. Students are free to wear a mask if they choose.

Call me crazy, but I would consider allowing parents to choose if their children should wear a mask is accommodating.

Some will argue that Gov. Abbott is overreaching by issuing the ban and that the school districts should be free to issue mandates if they believe it is necessary.

However, Gov. Abbott is protecting the right of individuals and parents to choose. Biden is protecting the alleged rights of a government entity to mandate the individual under the guise of the collective good. But our Constitution is written to protect individual rights and freedoms, not the collective.

And this is where I want to discuss the purpose of government in relation to our rights.

A large concerning the amount of the country looks to the government to allow us to exercise our freedoms. As if it is the government that determines our rights. But the duty of government is to protect the rights that are inherent and bestowed to us by our creator. ⁠⁠And we must know what our rights are so we can identify when the government is overreaching or flat out violating them.

We cannot continue to allow for the government to chip away at our Constitution and limit our freedom in order to "protect us" from ourselves. As wonderful as the Constitution is, it is only as good as enforced, respected, and protected.