Recently in Government Category

Phyllis's Weekly Challenge: Obama Takes Illinois Mistakes Nationwide

By Blake Bachman on July 23, 2010 4:15 PM | No TrackBacks

1.        How will the current out-of-control spending affect your future? 
2.        Why is the word  "unsustainable" becoming more common? What does this word  
           imply?
3.        How might Illinois demonstrate an example after which Americans fear our 
           government will follow?
4.        What is the relationship between spending and taxes, and how should this affect our  
           view of government-implemented programs?
5.        What are some of the new taxes that will be raised as a result of our 
           current administrations' policies, and how will these impact Americans?
6.        What are some of the immediate consequences of the impending tax hikes in our  
           work force today, especially among employers and upper-level Americans?
7.        Does the Constitution limit the power of Congress to spend? If so, in what ways?
8.        How can citizens affect the decisions on the Federal budget?
9.        How do we prompt our legislators to run our government as we do our households?
10.      What are some immediate actions that the Federal government can take to curb the 
           debt and tax crises? What are some actions we can take as citizens?        

Challenge Questions:

1. Look up some of the things on which our national budget is being spent. What solutions 
    would you propose to curb spending?
2. Research the Alternate Minimum Tax, and post an informative article to your social
    networking site. Why is the Alternate Minimum Tax so devastating?
3. Look up an article on the debt crisis in Greece. What situations led to the crisis? How
    might it have been averted? Post the article to your social networking site.


Bonus Questions:

1. Think about the levels of government, from federal to the individual. Where does ultimate
    responsibility for government truly lie? What happens when we abandon this responsibility?
2. Higher taxes always have secondary repercussions, even on those who do not see their
    taxes raised. How is this so? And what are the consequences on the American public as a
    whole?
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Homeschoolers Learn How to Lobby

By Erin Grant on June 18, 2010 9:58 AM | No TrackBacks

One of the projects in which some homeschoolers participate is going to lobby at their state capitol so they can learn first-hand how our government functions.  For several years, I have known about active homeschooling groups that do this in Missouri and in Utah.  Let me tell you about the experience of a group of 14-to-18-year-old Minnesota homeschool students.  Each year, they choose a public policy topic to research, discuss, and draft mock legislative resolutions.  This year they selected the health care bill which was then making its way through Congress.

As soon as the health care bill passed, the kids got excited about the content of the bill, the way it was passed, and the back room deals.  The student leader, 18-year-old Fletcher Warren, gave a radio interview saying, "we decided that we should do what we could."  We wrote out a 3-page resolution detailing our concerns, such as the law's unconstitutionality and violation of the commerce clause.  The resolution calls on Minnesota's governor, attorney general, and state legislature to seek an injunction that would relieve the state of having to comply with newly enacted national healthcare legislation.  The 32 homeschoolers then gathered at the St. Paul, Minnesota statehouse to hand-deliver letters and copies of the signed resolution to Minnesota legislators.  The students were able to meet with four representatives and two senators, all of whom were cordial to their young constituents.

Fletcher Warren, who served as chairman of the homeschoolers' health care committee, was pleased with the way legislators received the students and message.  He described the experience of lobbying at the state capitol as "overwhelmingly positive."  The students then expanded their efforts beyond the state legislature and spoke to several of their Congressmen.  The students' lobbying trip turned out to be a good lesson in how government operates and how citizens can participate.

You can listen to this and other commentaries by Phyllis Schlafly at www.eagleforum.org/radio.

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