One of the many fake “democratic” things DC has established to provide cover for its totalitarianism – is the bureaucratic Comment Period.
As but one of MANY examples:
FTC Extends Public Comment Period on Its Proposed Rule to Ban Noncompete Clauses Until April 19:
“The Federal Trade Commission voted to extend the public comment period for its proposed new rule to ban employers from imposing noncompetes on their workers….
“The proposed rule, announced by the FTC in January of this year, is based on a preliminary finding that noncompetes constitute an unfair method of competition and therefore violate Section 5 of the Federal Trade Commission Act.”
Except EVERYTHING contained therein is anti-democratic – and anti-Constitution and anti-our republican form of government.
In our system, we elect elected officials to pass laws. We establish bureaucracies – filled with unelected bureaucrats – to implement those laws.
The actually constitutional comment period – is us trying to get our elected officials to do what we want.
And if they don’t do what we want? We ostensibly have the ability to get rid of them. Albeit in elections that have been polluted by decades of gerrymandering, bad election laws and government sclerosis.
What we absolutely can not do – is un-elect bureaucrats. Because bureaucrats aren’t elected.
Which is why bureaucrats aren’t supposed to create laws. They’re solely supposed to implement the laws our elected officials pass.
What the FTC is doing above – is writing new law. And that sort of power grab is happening all throughout the titanic federal Leviathan – ALL the time.
456 Federal Agencies? The Eternal Push for Ever-Expanding, Redundant Over-Government
Before the FTC’s “proposed rule” – non-compete clauses are legal. After their “proposed rule” – non-compete clauses will be illegal.
That’s law-writing. That’s unconstitutional.
Now, Congress passing a law banning non-compete clauses would also be unconstitutional. Because the Constitution doesn’t expressly empower the government to do anything remotely resembling that sort of thing. But that’s a separate issue.
Unelected bureaucrats at the FTC banning non-compete clauses is the issue. And it is empirically unconstitutional.
It’s also an obnoxious fig leaf for totalitarianism.
The Utter Dumbness of the Bureaucracy ‘Comment Period’:
“The Comment Periods – are just dumb. Again, these bureaucrats aren’t elected. And they are under no obligation whatsoever to have the comments you file – affect at all what they’re about to do to you.
“If the comments favor the power grab they are about to execute – they trumpet the results, and move forward as planned.
“If the comments oppose – they ignore the results, and move forward as planned.
“And this nonsense – allows for much additional nonsense by outside pro-government Leftist groups. They get to turn the Democracy Theater – into Kabuki Theater. They enlist their armies of uninformed nonsense-spewers – to spew their nonsense into the comment process.”
Speaking of outside Leftist groups adding to the idiocy….
Bureaucracy Power Grab Comment Periods Are Always Stupid – and Corrupt:
“Another…hallmark (is) coordinating (dare I say colluding) with outside Leftist groups – who were also very much in favor of very much more government.
“‘Emails Reveal Collusion Between EPA and Green Groups on Crafting Climate Change Rules:
“‘The documents include EPA associate policy administrator Michael Goo’s use of a private Yahoo account for what he described as a channel for offline chats with environmental advocacy groups, including the Clean Air Task Force, as well as then-EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson’s description of the Clean Energy Group as an ‘industry validator’ for climate change regulations.”
Yes, of course, the unelected bureaucrats aren’t above lying and breaking the law to get those power grabs done…:
“Wait a sec – ‘Lisa Jackson + email’ rings another bell.
“’Newly Released Emails Show EPA Director’s Extensive Use of Fictional Alter Ego:
“‘Richard Windsor never existed at the EPA, but the agency awarded the fictional staffer’s email account certificates proving he had mastered all of the agency’s technology training – including declaring him a ‘scholar of ethical behavior,’ according to documents disclosed late last week.
“‘Windsor.Richard@epa.gov was the controversial email alias used by former Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Lisa Jackson, who resigned earlier this year amid questions about whether her agency was complying with open-records laws.’”
The entirety of the bureaucracy “Comment Period” – is fake and fraudulent.
83% Bots: We Told You the Power Grab ‘Comment Period’ is Titanically Stupid:
“(T)he thrice-delayed process – resulted in the FCC receiving 22 million ‘Comments.’
“83% of which – were from robots.
“All of which very much informs the decision-making process, I’m sure.”
Congress is supposed to care about this unconstitutional, un-elected power-grabbing – and rein it in. Because this is the bureaucracy stealing the power the Constitution gives to them.
Except Congress – is Congress. So….
Congress Reminds Us How Titanically Stupid Bureaucracy ‘Comment Periods’ Are:
“Speaking of The Swamp insulating itself from accountability: Behold the unofficial, unaccountable, unconstitutional Fourth Branch of the government – the administrative state.
“The Legislative (Congress) and Executive (the President) Branches have for decades conspired to grow this massive, unelected, unaccountable regulatory Leviathan.
“To which Congress has continuously ceded more and more of its Constitutional power and authority.
“Taking more and more of the government’s lording over us away from the Congress – whom We the People elect…and can un-elect. And handing it over to career statist hive-mind bureaucrats – whom We the People do not elect…and can not un-elect.
“Now when the government does something obnoxious, stupid and unconstitutional – and we avail ourselves of our First Amendment right and lobby Congress – they can lamely point at the Fourth Branch bureaucracy and say ‘It wasn’t us – it was them.’
“Lame. So very lame.”
Indeed it is.
Biden’s FTC wants to illegally ban non-compete clauses.
So Biden’s FTC will illegally ban non-compete clauses.
And no idiotic “Comment Periods” are going to stop them.
And Congress isn’t going to stop them.
Multiply this by 456 bureaucracies – over, and over, and over, and….