How to Reform Our Dysfunctional Federal Government

In this file photo, a woman holds up a copy of the U.S. Constitution at the Rayburn House Office Building on Capitol Hill, Washington, DC. There is a growing call for a "convention of states" to propose new constitutional amendments to address term limits on Congress and the Supreme Court, trim federal power, and require Congress to exercise more fiscal restraint. Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images

Commentary

Most Americans have come to see the federal government as dysfunctional, or even abusive. For example, Congress is utterly unable to balance its budget. Although we recognize that deficits may be necessary in occasional years, Congress now runs huge deficits every year. In prosperity or recession, war or peace, the looming public debt grows and grows and grows.