Constitutional Law Debate: The Legislative Branch the Essay

Constitutional Law Debate: The Legislative Branch

The Legislative Branch of government is the most powerful for many reasons. Of course, there would be people who would argue against that and state that other branches are more powerful because of specific powers that those branches possess. Despite that argument, the Legislative Branch of the U.S. Government clearly has more power because of the types of decisions that have been entrusted to them. Discussed here will be some of those decisions, along with how they apply to the "real world" and how they are viewed by people who have to live with the decisions that the Legislative Branch makes.

The Legislative Branch is the one that levies taxes (Trethan, 2011). Taxes are important and they pay for many government programs. They also allow crews to keep up roads and bridges, along with other structures that are owned and operated by the government. Overall, taxes are what most people would consider a "necessary evil." People who have to pay a lot in taxes are not happy with them, and many corporations and wealthy individuals have found creative ways to avoid many of the taxes that they would otherwise have to pay. Occasionally, bills are introduced that would close some tax loopholes, but they usually do not pass.

Once the Legislative Branch makes the rules about taxes, it also decides how to spend the tax money that it collects.Any money that the government spends, no matter where it came from, is the responsibility of the Legislative Branch of the government (Trethan, 2011). Being able to both decide how to collect and decide how to spend the money of the country is an amazing amount of power. There are, of course, checks and balances within government that stops the Legislative Branch (or any other branch) from being able to do anything it wants (The Legislative, 2011). However, there is still a large amount of power given to the Legislative Branch that goes over and above what is given to other government branches.

Another ability that makes the Legislative Branch so powerful is the ability to write laws (Federal, 2011). Not every branch has the opportunity to create the laws that the people of the United States have to follow. Because that can be done by the Legislative Branch, it is capable of changing the very face of America. What is acceptable and not acceptable from a legal standpoint is decided there, so the people who occupy that branch of government must be trustworthy and careful individuals that really do care about life and liberty. They will have to follow the laws they create, just as everyone else will, but it is vital that they do not allow that to cloud their judgment when determining whether to pass a law. Instead,….....