Boundaries on Spending and Regulating
Spending and regulating are simple to limit. Enough government people just need to support and protect the Constitution by limiting themselves and other government people to within constitutional boundaries.
Congressmen have the most power, so spending and regulating are simplest for congressmen to limit:
- First, a lower overall-total appropriation can be passed in both houses by simple majorities. Senate filibuster/cloture must never be respected. It unconstitutionally gives more weight to minority votes more than to majority votes, violating the explicit one person, one vote rule in the Constitution; and the Constitution overrides house rules. If the appropriation passes but the president vetoes, the veto can be overridden by two-thirds majorities.
- Second, the same majorities can mostly just pass commonsense repeals. Repeals can get changes underway in healthcare, pensions, defense, interest, and welfare. Repeals can end national-government control of education and transportation, and can end regulation.
The table shows how much spending and regulating can be limited from year one on, once congressmen start supporting constitutional boundaries.
Data: usgovernmentspending.com, Ten Thousand Commandments, 2025 Edition
Healthcare and pensions can initially have their spending unchanged, but have their rules changed so that customers and producers can start developing higher-quality, more cost-effective products, which will reduce spending in future years. Defense, interest, welfare, education, transportation, and regulation compliance can initially be reduced by already-substantial percentages that are practical starting points. Welfare and transportation can initially be added back into state-government budgets.
Even with only these changes, spending plus regulation compliance would be reduced in the first year by a sizable down payment of 41%.
These changes will create new political winners who will hold in place all of these improvements and more. Fast, extensive change always ends up best for freedom.
Constitution-defying Progressive government is complex. Majorities of congressmen and all presidents enact imposing statutory frameworks. All presidents enact an order of magnitude more laws, calling them regulations, and then enact still more laws, calling them guidance and other euphemisms. Majorities of judges opine in favor of essentially all of this.
In contrast, Constitution-supporting government is simple. Government people just need to be limited to better-securing people’s life, liberty, and property. Producers and customers then freely experiment and rapidly work out voluntary arrangements that add value optimally.
Healthcare (0% change in year one)
Congressmen should regularize healthcare products by passing healthcare-product descriptions that are customer-friendly, and by requiring producers to list their pricing or be punished with stiff fines and lawsuits. This will let customers compare base products and also additional products they might need if they experience complications.
Beyond this, congressmen should simply
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LewRockwell.com is a libertarian website that publishes articles, essays, and blog posts advocating for minimal government, free markets, and individual liberty. The site was founded by Lew Rockwell, an American libertarian political commentator, activist, and former congressional staffer. The website often features content that is critical of mainstream politics, state intervention, and foreign policy, among other topics. It is a platform frequently used to disseminate Austrian economics, a school of economic thought that is popular among some libertarians.
