Proposing a Constitutional Amendment

Randy Barnett over at Volokh Conspiracy is proposing an amendment that comes in at about the size of the original Bill of Rights. It5 contains some much needed items, including congressional term limits, and limits to the commerce clause.

Article [of Amendment 1] — [Limits of Federal Power]
Congress shall make no law nor delegate any authority, pursuant to its powers in the eighth section of article I, respecting any activity confined within a single state, regardless of its effects outside the state or whether it employs instrumentalities therefrom; but Congress has power to reasonably regulate pollution between one state and another, and to define and provide for punishment of offenses constituting acts of war or violent insurrection against the United States.

He proposes replacing the income tax with a federal sales tax which would hit everybody. I lean more toward the flat tax, but no matter what, this will also become known as the "full employment for lawyers" clause.

Another interesting item:

Article [of Amendment 4] — [Recision Power of States]
Upon application of the legislatures of two thirds of the states, any law, regulation or order of the United States shall be rescinded.

essentially gives the states a final veto over whatever the Feds do. In practice this was the reason that Senators were originally appointed by the legislatures of the states and not directly elected. A popularly elected Senator is functionally no different from a representative, except that since he controls a larger chunk of the federal pie, his price is higher.

An interesting proposition, give it a read.