Read what you sign!
Yes, I have advocated that people who enter contracts (e.g. mortgage agreements, credit card agreements) should read the documents before they sign them, but I refer here to another novel idea.
Maybe legislators should read the laws on which they vote. Yes, they should read every word of every law upon which they cast a vote.
How can they claim to represent you when they don’t read the laws to which you must abide? You should read the personal contracts to which you commit individually. They should read the contracts to which they commit you, without your individual consent.
This idea has caught on with a group known as Downsize DC that wants to put it into law: http://www.downsizedc.org/page/read_the_laws.
They should, however, carry this legislation one step further. If bills require the signature of the President before they become law, should he not have to read them first? Yes. How can we claim “checks and balances,” if the President does not also read what he signs into law.
Some might say, “If he did that, he would not have time for anything else.”
That’s the point.
