Still waiting for the endgame

When is a solution not a solution?

When it’s something that comes from the government. State or federal, county or city, makes little difference.

Not that all decisions are terrible, but trying to solve problems through legislation, as far as I can tell, hasn’t produced results. I say that because the legislation keeps coming.

The chief example of this is the tax code, which has over the years become such a miasma that it takes lawyers, accountants, forensic wiccans and Ouija boards to figure out what’s owed, but that doesn’t stop the changes or the need for other people’s money.

Throughout the decades, we’re told by legislators that “something needs to be done” and that in order to do it, you have to re-elect me, we’ll tax you into oblivion and the world will be full of puppies and rainbows.

But has it really?

For instance, the policy, or really, the lack of policy, regarding immigration and border crossings has been in place in some form or another for a long time, but why? What is the expected result, and will it be something beneficial for the country?

Counties in East Texas are scrambling for grant funds to increase law enforcement capabilities to combat crime linked to illegal immigration, telling me that the net effect of immigration law is opposite to what was intended.

Casting our gaze to the Department of Energy, there have been rules and regulations on power consumption, types of power and recommendations for renewable and sustainable energy for who knows how long. I’ve not seen any of the promised changes, and the rules keep getting changed.

Same thing with the EPA, who has been tightening the screws on industry for the longest time, continues to demand more and more emission controls and target outputs. That has trickled down to the people, since gas stoves, pizza ovens, gas water heaters, gas heating and air conditioning — basically anything that burns — are under the gun and will more than likely be abolished. Over the years, though, has their meddling made a difference?

The Department of the Interior simply takes lands it wants to “protect,” but that continues unabated.

These are just some things off the top of my head, but they only serve to illustrate that constant lawmaking has not produced the expected results, especially in the areas that seem to be most important.

Multiply this by the length of time laws have been added, and the question becomes, “Have we done what we expected?”

This isn’t intended to debate the efficacy of government, but of policy.

I’ve thought for a long time that we as a people, either through like-minded legislators or through a Convention of States, that there needs to be a bookmark placed where we are, and an independent commission be appointed to review the efficacy of laws and regulations. Those that don’t meet the expected results, or that no longer have any bearing on society, must be removed. We can call it a Sunset Commission.

For too long, the people who are mentioned in the quote, “of the people, by the people, for the people,” have not paid close enough attention. To right the ship of state, that needs to change.

Tony Farkas is editor of the San Jacinto News-Times and the Trinity County News-Standard. He can be reached at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..