Bill Of Federalism Analysis

In Randy Barnett’s commentary piece “A Bill of Federalism,” he drafts a work devised on restoring the balance between state and federal power while also keeping the original meaning of the Constitution. One of the more controversial proposed amendments is the 10th amendment which states ensure that the US Constitution remains the supreme law of the land. Meaning that judges must obey the text preventing them from ignoring or altering the text. The only way this changes for a judge is for an amendment to receive proper revising. In addition to this foreign law is to only cast a light on the original meaning of the text. Barnett summarizes his feelings by stating that we can only classify the Constitution as “living” if we follow the text. So, this leads us to the question of how implementing this amendment could affect our government’s system. It seems to me that this amendment would completely change the focus of federal officials. With the amendment in place, officials would continually think about evolving the Constitution rather than focusing in on the historical significance of the document. There is

Legislatures now have an incentive to increase lobbying for changes to the Constitution rather than enforce the new public policy. This focus increases the way that politicians work together and creates even more of a struggle during congressional sessions. Citizens needs under my estimation get pushed to the side because there is less of a desire to care out these platforms. However, on a positive note judicial review could become a more impactful part of the constitutional process. Making unlawful agendas harder to come by with the betterment for public and constitutional rights. However, I feel the 10th amendment would negatively affect the importance of proper legislation taking the focus away from the real issues present and in need of