To the editor:

Who is responsible for the national debt reaching $30 trillion? Democrats? Republicans? Corrupt politicians? Un-elected bureaucrats implementing rules and regulations? Or…is it the lazy, uninformed, misinformed, uninvolved citizenry?

All of the above?

American people have become apathetic to the history that brought us to this point. One doesn’t have to become a Constitutional scholar to know what a large part of the root cause is. All a person has to do is read and understand what the Founders spent months debating in providing us with a document that holds second place only to the Bible in world history.

Specifically, the two house system of one body called the Senate and the House of Representatives whereby the House is a body of individuals directly elected by the people to represent the people and a Senate to represent the individual States. Because of the 17th Amendment, Senators no longer represent the State from which they come, rather they represent the party to whom they claim allegiance.

The original intention for the formation of a Senate was for two Senators to be “appointed” by the Legislature of each State and accountable to that Legislature. That no longer exists. Elected Senators, since 1913, are no longer held to account for their actions or votes by their State.

The passage of bad or irresponsible bills has become less burdensome in the Senate because lobbyists have the money and power to influence a very small majority (51) of people to do their bidding which affects the entire country. Much easier to do than attempting to influence 50 State Legislatures.

As a result of having all the power of influence in one place, Washington DC, the people have no real control over the actions of our government. Spending projects, (previously called “pork projects”) have created some of the most wild-eyed, frivolous spending in world history.

The Founders gave us a way out of this mess in Article V of our Constitution. A Convention of States. Seventeen States have signed on to this Convention and there needs to be 17 more to call the Convention. In that Convention it is highly possible to repeal the 16th and 17th Amendments. Those two alone can put the Federal Government back inside of the Constitutional box where it belongs.

No longer would we have to adhere to overburdensome regulations, taxes and “INFRINGEMENTS” on our Constitutional, God-given rights by a small minority of politicians residing in Washington DC. Not a dream, a reality, but only the people can make this happen. Call your State Representatives and Senators, hold them accountable to the restoration of our Constitution and save our country.

Roger Baumann

Wabasso