Musings of a Patriot

Tag: checks and balances

  • Federalist No. 66

    Federalist No. 66 has me seeking opinions on a few questions. Specifically it got me asking which of the four elements of our federal government (the Executive, the Judicial, the Senate, and the House) is the most powerful? Which Should be the most powerful? The founders clearly had some idea about which they thought should…

  • Federalist No. 51

    Of course the importance of checks and balances in our government is a well known concept as discussed in Federalist No. 51. What I had not previously realized was that splitting the Congress into two houses was a part of the effort on checks and balances. I had always understood that choice to simply be…

  • Federalist Nos. 47 – 48

    I had never really considered the interplay between the concept of separation of powers and the concept of checks and balances between branches of government. Here Madison explores the limits on the separation of powers (Federalist No. 47) and the necessity of robust checks and balances (Federalist No. 48). Having read these papers I have…

  • A Managed Economy

    I try not to focus on political or economic issues on Sunday, but I had a hard time when I noticed the figure "$700 Billion" yesterday. I was particularly worried by this statement: . . . it would allow Treasury to act unilaterally: Its decisions could not be reviewed by any court or administrative body…