The Lunacy of One-Size-Fits-All Law & Regulation

One of the major platform items of the Ted Cruz campaign is rolling back federal government regulations.

 

In case you think Cruz is, as some (Trump) would describe him, all talk, no action – early on in Ted’s career at the Federal Trade Commission, Cruz “proposed an ambitious agenda that featured efforts to roll back regulations on teacher certification, hospital accreditation and local governments’ agreements with cable television.” In other words – unlike some Johnny-come-latelys, he’s been walking the walk.

 

But what is so wrong with government regulation? After all, there must have been a need for someone to suggest a law or regulation. Otherwise, why would anyone wish to regulate another’s behavior?

 

Why indeed. I am reminded of Sheldon, the anal-retentive genius scientist – one of the main characters on the TV comedy, the Big Bang Theory. He is the dictionary definition of a control freak and insists he always knows best – regarding everything. He would make a great regulator.

 

In one episode he arrives unexpectedly to a party at his friend’s house, that he had earlier declined an invitation. When he walks in, his best friend asks why he showed up – why was he no longer with his new found friends? Sheldon tells his friend that they were having fun. When asked why this was a problem, he stated that “they were having fun…wrong.” Now that’s a regulator! He would also make a great federal lawmaker, for they too love to needlessly and senselessly regulate society by crafting idiotic legislation to right wrongs where none exist.

 

And that’s the problem with government regulators and lawmakers. It’s frankly the problem with most federal regulations and idiotic laws – they are top down, one size fits all, which almost never work – on any level. Here’s a recent example of the ludicrousness.

 

It’s called The Indian Child Welfare Act (ICWA), which is a federal law that seeks to keep American Indian children with American Indian families. Congress passed the ICWA in 1978 in response to the alarmingly high number of Indian children being removed from their homes by both public and private agencies.

 

The intent of Congress under the ICWA is to “protect the best interests of Indian children and to promote the stability and security of Indian tribes and families (25 U.S.C. § 1902). ICWA sets federal requirements that apply to state child custody proceedings involving an Indian child who is a member of or eligible for membership in a federally recognized tribe.”

 

So here is a yet another example of the government screwing things up and then passing a law or regulation to solve the problem that they caused. First they pass a law to be able to remove the children – then must pass another to return them, never considering the individual children or families. But of course the “experts” in the federal government always know what’s best.

 

Such is the plight of Santa Clara, California residents Rusty and Summer Page and their foster daughter, six year old Lexi. The couple took in Lexi when she was just two years old, so she has really never known any other parents. She is part of the family and the Page’s have been trying to adopt her for more than two years.

 

But there’s a catch. See, Lexi is 1-1/2 percent Choctaw Indian and as such, is subject to the asinine ICWA. Yes, that is not a typo. She is only 1-1/2% Indian!

 

Because of this ridiculous federal mandate, the feds are demanding the girl be ripped from the only home she’s ever known. The Choctaw Tribe has been given the right to place the child where the please – because they too know – sight unseen – what is “best” for the girl. Get this! The have chosen to move her to Utah and be placed with a non-blood relative, who isn’t even Indian and doesn’t live on the reservation!

 

And to make matters worse – as if they could get worse – the parents have been ordered by the federal jack-boots not to tell Lexi or their other three children what is about to happen until the Department of Child and Family Services thugs show up at their door to yank the girl from her home. And this, the feds claim, as well as the morons of the Choctaw tribe, is what’s best for the child.

 

Federal laws and regulations not only place a huge economic burden on this country, but quite often also exact a harsh human toll. This girl will possibly be scarred for life, as well as the family. But I guess that’s just life – right? There is no wiggle room when it comes to the one-size-fits-all federal leviathan.

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