Rutkowski: Discussing the proper role of government

What’s the proper role of government? What determines it? How well does government fulfill its role? Does it sometimes fail? Does government ever exceed its authority and overreach? If it does, how well does this overreach "promote the general welfare, and secure the blessings of liberty to ourselves?”

These important questions deserve an answer. There is a proper role for government; anarchy is not the answer. For the federal government, the U.S. Constitution describes the proper role of the Legislative, Executive and Judicial branches respectively in Articles I, II, and III. Furthermore, a limit on federal authority is set forth in the Tenth Amendment: "The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people."

This is pretty clear. You don't need to be a constitutional scholar to understand it. However, those of us who follow matters of government and governing have observed many examples of the federal government going beyond its specified role and/or failing to meet its obligation to the people. These examples continue to occur in Arizona and our neighboring states.  

A recent executive order expanded federal control of land around the Grand Canyon and restricts the ability to mine uranium (making us more dependent upon foreign sources for this strategic resource). We are fully aware of the chaos on our southern border and the clearly unsubstantiated claim by DHS that it the "border is secure."

So, what can we and the state of Arizona do? Arizona State Senate President Warren Petersen will be the special guest of Fountain Hills AZ Tea Party at 6:30 p.m. on Thursday, Nov. 16, at the Community Center to address these issues. As always, all interested parties are invited to join us.