Stamping out Federalism

by Smitty

When two or more related items crop up in the Google Reader, one is tempted to post. Big Government points out that 244 years ago today began the enforcement of the Stamp Act. Other than the part where the Colonies declared independence some 11 years later, the Stamp Act was a big success.

Scroll forward to today. Tyler Cowen notes with some apprehension the plans for Tyson's Corner, VA, which is more or less between Washington DC and its big airport at Dulles.

Amidst noting the WaPo's report of a 15 billion dollar price tag, Tyler quotes: "For funding, Fairfax [County, VA, where Tyson's Corner is located] officials say, they will look to the Obama administration, which is committed to subsidizing growth projects in urban areas."

As a Virginia resident, this doesn't hurt my property values any. However, it strikes me that anyone not living in Northern Virginia ought to be telling their Representatives to tell the Virginia delegation to lay by its dish.

Having grown up on the left coast, it pains me to see the US turn into one of those third world countries where you've a nice airport and five-star hotels in the capitol, and the rest of the country looks like a full-on junk yard. If a State wants to sex up its capitol at the expense of the rest of the counties, it's their prerogative. The Federal government shouldn't be raping the rest of the country so.

That Fairfax County seems to deal directly with the Obama Administration, with Richmond left in the cold, is also worrisome. One hopes that Bob McDonnell, an Army vet, has a come-to-Beavis meeting with these jokers and educates them on the importance of the chain of command, should he win the gubernatorial election next Tuesday.

The US Constitution was written to give the Federal government enough juice to ward of re-absorption of the States into England, or some other European country (among other motives). The crap-tacular policies of the Obama Administration seem a modern variation on the theme of the Stamp Act.