The Nightmare of Amendment 41

To roughly paraphrase Garrison Kiellor, the ballot initiative is a good thing - mostly. Last year we voted to approve Amendment 41, a vaguely-worded, broad measure to fight corruption in Government. Problem is it was so vaguely worded that children of lawmakers and civil servants are being denied scholarships because of it.

Well, we're stuck with it now. On another blog, I spoke out against it on other grounds: As the law was written, if my friend Matt Bryant had been elected to the State house, I couldn't have bought him a beer if that beer would have brought his annual gift total to over $50.00. If I'd have taken him to dinner, it would have to cost me less than $50.00. This extends to his family as well - had he brought his wife along, the tab couldn't have been more than $25.00 each.

Supporters argued the measure would fight corruption and it would have. The problem is that there was no problem, at least none worthy of a constitutional amendment to fight. The Blue Book specifically mentions the problem we're having, children of civil servants being unable to accept scholarships. C'est la vie, I suppose. Did no one read the book? Here's a kicker: A person with a political vendetta could demand an investigation of family members for their Christmas presents! Did you know you voted for that?

The ballot initiative is a powerful tool both for good and for ill. Our nation's founding fathers were opposed to it for the very reason illustrated by Amendment 41: Populism can lead to all sorts of bad law. Add to populism an uininformed electorate and you have a recipe for disaster. As politically active people, it is our responsibility to educate voters whenever possible to avoid disasters such as the very popular but completely wrong-headed Amendment 41.