Editor’s Note: a guest post by Paul Loy Hurd, President; Louisiana Excellence, Inc. (paul@LouisianaExcel.org)

The citizens of Louisiana are within a week of electing a new U.S. Senator, and six Congressional representatives, including two rookie Representatives for Louisiana. While much has been shouted-out, mailed-out, and dropped-lout, in this federal campaign, four issues that are strategic, and possibly existential, issues have gone largely avoided by all the candidates. Beyond the ad agent battles, we voters need to make good use of the last week of campaigning, to ask your favorite – and your least favorite – candidate for federal office, what they believe is the best path to a better future by addressing these four critical federal issues. We all know that the winners we elect in a week, will be going to Congress, and will have to address each of these historically important issues. What exactly do our Representatives intend to do on these Four Federal Mega-Issues? Here’s the options available to our Representatives in Congress.

1) Social Security Funding Cuts Coming: The Social Security trust fund is scheduled to reach “insolvency” by 2032. When that cash flow failure occurs, all recipients of Social Security benefits will, by law, take an immediate, monthly reduction of their present benefit by an amount of 15% to 25%. Those type of cuts, to benefits paid-for and earned, are politically explosive and morally offensive. There are at least seven, largely distasteful, alternatives available for the workers who contributed to this program their entire lives, whose survival is on the chopping block. America’s workers are on the verge of being denied their benefits that they paid for, funded, and now need for their retirement. Math does not lie, and in this case, our Social Security retirement system can be maintained only with major modifications to the revenue/benefit imbalance. That cash flow imbalance can only be addressed in three ways. First, Congress can leave the statutory benefit cuts in place, and let the disabled, the old, the dependent take the loss of income. Second, Congress can agree to fund all or some of the “income deficit” from general revenues of the USA. This general fund spending option would dramatically increases our federal spending deficit problem (see issue No. 2 below) that itself is crushing America’s economic future. Third, Congress can increase the rate of payroll taxes and increase payroll taxes on the working employees of America to fund this ill conceived deficit. This solution works only for those wishing to make the U.S. workers the forgotten Americans. Fourth, Congress can selectively reduce benefit based upon each beneficiary’s particular historic standing. Like, reducing benefits based upon the level of wealth or reoccurring income the beneficiary receives outside the Social Security system, can be done but it penalizes the beneficiaries who paid the most into the system. A fifth solution, that is available to Congress is greatly enhanced immigration, to increase the number of workers contributing into the system. Sixth, Congress can reduce benefits based upon the historic contributions made by the recipients into the system. But, this solution will reduce benefits on those retirees and beneficiaries, who are likely to have much less wealth available to exist into their retirement.

And not the retirement savings plan always promised. Seventh option available to Congress, is to adjust future benefits for future retirees by raising retirement age, or increasing the number of years that a beneficiary must contribute to receive maximum benefits.

The ultimate solution will be a mix of these multiple options, but the mix can be deadly for beneficiaries, or the U.S. economy, or current workers. None of these options are easy to chose, but every federal official we are electing, are signing up to resolve this huge federal spending problem for our retired and disabled citizens. What does your candidate suggest is the right action, or mix of actions?

2) Nation Debt Threatens To Crush America’s Prosperity. The cumulative national debt is $43 trillion or more at this time. Worse than that cumulative debt, the U.S. spending is generating $2 Trillion more debt each year. In contrast, before 2020, the U.S. annual deficit was around ½ of a trillion dollars. The problem now is, we have a Social Security deficit that is seeking more spending to resolve, and we need to reduce our annual deficit by $1.5 trillion. These are big deficits reoccurring every year, and are largely undiscussed and unrestrained. What does your candidate suggest is the action that must be taken for U.S. to substantially reduce our continuing deficits? The deficit is already driving interest rates up and up. The time is quickly approaching where the threat of the deficit uncontrolled will create super-inflation, followed by the collapse of our economy, employment and the stock market. If our new Representatives let this happen, they let the financial crisis and depression of the 21st Century come roaring in like it did one hundred years earlier. Deficit spending must stop, but how, and by whom?

3) Life-Tenured Federal Judges Are Politically Out of Control. The clearest threat to the uniquely established and honored “Rule of Law” in the U.S., is the ever increasing willingness of our federal judges to ignore applicable law, and instead decide many of the cases presented in federal court based upon the Judge’s political desires, and not the dictates of established law. Ironically, the primary justification for federal judges having life-tenure, was to eliminate any reason for an appointed federal judge to apply his personal political preferences, instead of rationally apply the law as it exists. The theory was that a federal judge with life tenure, is fully insulated from personal punishment for deciding a hard legal case according to the law instead of political ramification. Another pillar of the U.S. “Rule of Law” is the recognition – and binding legal obligation – that each level of the federal judiciary (from District Court, up to the Court of Appeals, and up to the Supreme Court) to apply the established (existing precedent) applicable law, as established by any superior court under which the lower court serves. If the law and precedent already dictate a particular ruling, the inferior court is legally bound to apply the law as established by its superior supervising Court.

The life-tenure of all federal judges has not proved to create the independent legal application of the law. Presently, a lower court judge can knowingly ignore established law and rule as their political wishes dictate. As a result, the Rule of Law is being crushed under these politically active, judicial holdings. Congress has the constitutional authority to restrain the federal judiciary that is over-reaching its constitutional authority. Congress has the power to restrain a political judiciary and preserve our Rule of Law. First, the Congress could be more active in its impeachment of those judges, particularly District Judges, that refuse to apply the settled law. Alternatively and much more likely, Congress can remove judicial jurisdiction from the politically unrestrained Courts. Congress fully controls the jurisdiction (list of the cases that the Court is authorized to hear) of all federal courts. Congress can simply let the appellate process itself, identify the District Judges that are out of control, and whose authority should be restricted. Congress can enact jurisdictional removal for any District Court Judge who is reversed on appeal on appeal. This restriction on federal jurisdiction is called “jurisdiction stripping” and has occurred multiple times under our Constitution. Such a statute simply demands “Judicial Excellence” as that excellence is identified within the federal judicial appellate system. Such jurisdiction stripping (removal) would end the authority of the non-conforming District Judge from participating in issues that they have decided incorrectly. Judicial excellence can be demanded by Congress. What does your candidate believe is the best way to constitutionally demand judicial excellence, and our continued fidelity to the Rule of Law?

4) Birthright Citizenship Abuse Threatens Existing Citizenship. The multiple abuses of the present “Birthright Citizenship” rights have been well documented. The recent Supreme Court case left maximum birthright citizenship in place, unless or until Congress passes clear restrictions on this unacceptable abuse. President Trump’s Executive Order identified clear abuses of this citizenship procedure, all of which are viable and appropriate limitations on this constitutional right. Birthright Tourism, and newborns from illegal immigrants, are two of the most obvious abuses that could be eliminated by Congressional action. In the Supreme Court opinion, Justice Kavanagh noted expressly that such a Congressional enactment is authorized under the same constitutional amendment (the 14th Amendment) that included the Birthright Citizenship provision. Congress can correct these abuses. What has your favorite candidate said about curing the abuses of Birthright citizenship?

Now is the time to find out how exactly do our candidates for Congress – the House of Representatives and the U.S. Senate – intend to address these critical federal issues, that must be addressed in Congress to save these United States. No action means the loss of our Nation. Each of these issues calls for leadership and judgment sufficient to save our Constitutional Republic from its own excesses presently unchecked.

Equally, it certainly is time for each responsible voter to demand real solutions from our Congressional candidates to best determine whether their wisdom and strength of character is sufficient to earn your vote, and thereby bestow upon your candidate the responsibility to save our Union. Where does your favorite candidate, and the other candidates, stand on these federal Mega-Issues facing America?