Democracy at theUtah State Capitol

In early February 2012 many of our state legislators participated in a very common and typical event in the rotunda of the state capitol building which I consider to be an inappropriate political activity .

The Community Action Partnership of Utah, America's Poverty Fighting Network, sponsored a box luncheon for their member organizations with the state legislators.  

The event was part of what they called " Democracy Day". This may sound quite innocent until you consider that our founding fathers strongly opposed the form of government known as "democracy".  They much preferred the form of government which our constitution provides, a "republic". Consider these eight quotations from our founders:

Democracies have ever been spectacles of turbulence and contention; have ever been found incompatible with personal security, or the rights of property; and have, in general, been as short in their lives as they have been violent in their deaths. 

        James Madison

Remember, democracy never lasts long. It soon wastes, exhausts, and murders itself. There never was a democracy yet that did not commit suicide. 

        John Adams

A democracy is a volcano which conceals the fiery materials of its own destruction. These will produce an eruption and carry desolation in their way.The known propensity of a democracy is to licentiousness [excessive license] which the ambitious call, and ignorant believe to be liberty. 

       Fisher Ames, Author of the House Language for the First Amendment

We have seen the tumult of democracy terminate . . . as [it has] everywhere terminated, in despotism. . . . Democracy! savage and wild. Thou who wouldst bring down the virtuous and wise to thy level of folly and guilt. 

       Gouverneur Morris, Signer and Penman of the Constitution

The experience of all former ages had shown that of all human governments, democracy was the most unstable, fluctuating and short-lived. 

       John Quincy Adams

A simple democracy . . . is one of the greatest of evils. 

       Benjamin Rush, Signer of the Declaration

In democracy . . . there are commonly tumults and disorders. . . . Therefore a pure democracy is generally a very bad government. It is often the most tyrannical government on earth. 

       Noah Webster

Pure democracy cannot subsist long nor be carried far into the departments of state, it is very subject to caprice and the madness of popular rage. 

       John Witherspoon, Signer of the Declaration

In addition, it seems wrong that a charitable organization spend its precious funds to buy lunch at an expensive venue for legislators and for their non-poverty stricken administrators. It seems doubly inappropriate that most of the funds these organizations have at their disposal come from federal and state taxpayers and were intended for the relief of the poor.

 I do not approve of my tax dollars being spent by government-sponsored non-profit organizations to attract legislators to convince them to appropriate more of my tax dollars for further misuse by the non-profits. 

May I suggest that our legislators should be willing to mingle and visit with citizens and groups who come to the capitol during the legislative session without the enticement of a free lunch or dinner paid for by monied special interests. Normal average citizens cannot afford to buy lunch for legislators in the capitol rotunda and should not have to do so in order to get a few minutes of their attention.
 

HB213 School Community Council Member Qualifications

Each public school in Utah elects a School Community Council (SCC). Among other things the SCC decides how the school will spend its share of funding provided by the School Lands Trust Fund. For most schools this runs from several thousand to tens of thousands of dollars. The SCC is made up of two types of members, parents and school employees. It was required that parents outnumber school employee members.

When first established, SCCs were often dominated by school district employees because school employees could be elected as school employee members or as parent members. In 2011 the legislature restricted district employees from being elected as parent members of the SCC in the district where they work. That change troubled school employees because they usually could not serve on the SCC of the school where their own children attended.

HB213 Would now revise the law again so that school employees could serve as parent members on the SCC where their child attends as long as that is not also the school that the parent works at. In order to prevent dominance of the SCC by school employees, HB213 also requires that parent members outnumber employee members by at least 2.

Some schools seem to have trouble recruiting enough parents to serve on the SCC. Because parents want their childrens' schools to be excellent, they should, as good and involved citizens, take their turn serving on their local School Community Council.