The Eurozone Crisis and What it Means to America

By Brandon McWaters

OCPA Intern

Recently many news outlets have been running multiple stories covering the financial issues facing Greece, and by extension, the rest of the European Union. At first, it may seem curious why this crisis has been headlining so many reports on both sides of the pond, particularly since America does not operate on the Euro as does much of the EU. However a closer look at the situation reveals why everyone, including Americans, should be concerned with what’s going on over in Europe.

This current bailout, slated for around $140 billion (109bn-euro), is actually the second of a two-part stimulus package from EU member nations to one of the worst economies in the western hemisphere, Greece. The Greek government has been failing economically for some time now, borrowing money it couldn’t pay back, spending funds it doesn’t have, living above its means, etc. All those poor financial practices hit Greece hard when, after years of experiencing tax evasion problems, the global market hit a severe downturn in 2008-2010.  It received its first bailout in May of 2010 because it could no longer afford to borrow money and needed some time to catch up on its debt. The EU agreed on a temporary bailout to give Greece time to fix its problems and get back on track. Instead, the worst economy in Europe went further down, experiencing a 2011 deficit of 8.5% of their GDP and received the title of worst credit of any country monitored by S&P.

What this means to Americas is quite simple: If this new round of bailouts fails and Greece defaults on its debt, confidence in a nation’s debt, any nation’s debt, and their ability to pay it back plummets and that means a reduction in lender confidence internationally. There are many countries that are “exposed” to Grecian debt, which means their national banks hold part of the sum of what Greece owes. If they are not able to pay that money back, then there are multiple nations who will be short that money, including the US, which holds approximately $7.3bn in both bank/private lending and government exposure in Greek debt.

The main issue to consider isn’t even the large numbers associated with a Greek default, but rather the confidence issue that goes along with the possibility of the default. This is already affecting the US economy, particularly the banking industry, as Goldman Sachs has reported a $393 million loss for the third quarter of 2011, partially based on the uncertainty in the European markets. Analyst Todd Schoenberger, a managing director at Landcolt Trading said, "The underlying cancer on all these reports is Europe, all these banks have risk from Europe and that region will continue to have a negative impact."

The 1787 Society and the United States Constitution

By Garrett King

1787 Society President

It is October. The leaves are falling, deer hunting has commenced in Oklahoma, and, on the first Monday of this tenth month of the year, the Supreme Court of the United States of America, created by Article III of the Constitution, began its term.

The decisions that emanate from the high court are always a matter of intense public interest. And they should be—after all, since the establishment of the principle of judicial review those decisions directly impact the laws of one republic of over three-hundred million citizens as well as the laws of fifty states of various respective populations. The power wielded by this third and, at times, enigmatic branch of the federal governmental edifice is truly formidable. Our society and system of government now looks to the Supreme Court for guidance when enacting new laws, when questioning old ones, and ultimately when the Constitution appears to be threatened. Whether these dangers are foreign or domestic, unjust laws enacted by Congress or intolerable actions taken by the President or even contentions between state governments that are seemingly insoluble we look to the nine Justices of the court to find resolution, and justice. The men and women who are named to this body must be above reproach, for their duty is that of serving as a final arbiter of the Constitutional framework of this great democracy.

At the 1787 Society we work in our own way to defend and promote fidelity to the Constitution of the United States, seeking to remind ourselves and our peers of the uniqueness of the founding charter and of its uncanny ability to be so many things to so many different people. The Constitution is at once a guarantor of governance by the majority and an unmatched protector of the rights of the minority. The Constitution followed a rebellion against the British Crown yet contained within it are many of the same beneficial provisions that have helped preserve “the ancient rights of Englishmen.” It failed to eliminate the scourge of slavery but when abolition became a national battle-cry it was the principles of the Constitution that was raised, along with the Declaration of Independence, as banner and standard of that movement. Suffice it to say, the Constitution is worth upholding—at the Society it is our honor and privilege to do so.

We will end 2011’s regular meetings with a visit from the 17^th Attorney General of the State of Oklahoma, the Honorable Scott Pruitt. I do hope you will join us at Noon on 28-October at the Oklahoma Council of Public Affairs (OCPA) in Oklahoma City for this exciting conclusion to yet another productive, educational year at the 1787 Society.  As always, we are grateful to our special guests, our hosts at OCPA, and, most importantly, to our members from across the state and nation—we are building the next generation of Constitutional warriors!

- Garrett King of Weatherford is the President of the 1787 Society of Oklahoma, an initiative of the Oklahoma Council of Public Affairs (OCPA). The Society works to promote Constitutional fidelity amongst young people in Oklahoma.

Liberty Gala an Awe-Inspiring Event

By Justin Wilmeth

1787 Society Vice President

One of the best things about being involved with the 1787 Society is the opportunity to be in the same room with some very important political figures.

At our monthly meetings, we’ve been lucky to host elected leaders including Congressman James Lankford and Congressman Tom Cole as well as other influential government and business leaders. I’m very much looking forward to Attorney General Scott Pruitt joining us at the next meeting of the Society on October 28^th at noon. I hope you’ll be there!

Our Society is blessed to have great support from the Oklahoma Council of Public Affairs. Their ability to draw national figures into the state to speak to Oklahomans is nothing short of astounding. Some of their most recent guest have included Sarah Palin and Jeb Bush. They both visited the state within the past year.

This month, at OCPA’s Liberty Gala in Tulsa, Indiana Governor Mitch Daniels was the star of the evening, bringing his no-frills, common-sense recommendations to the Sooner State. I have an aunt that lives in Indianapolis and she has raved about what Governor Daniels has done for the land of the Indy 500, so I was very much looking forward to hearing from him.

Despite his shorter stature, Daniels towered over the attendees with his plain speaking style. Working without a teleprompter and only occasionally glancing at notes, Governor Daniels kept the attention of the attendees with stories about how he shaved down state government in Indiana and reversed the state’s budget from deep red and back into black. He had a dry sense of humor that I greatly enjoyed.

My favorite story was about “a penny on a tire.” The classic story shows how bloated Indiana’s state government was at one time. Upon Daniels' arrival in office, Indiana had one vehicle for every 2.8 state employees- an insane ratio for such a small state. So what did Governor Daniels do? Rather than announce the problem and give the agencies a chance to defend all the cars littered to and fro, he assembled a team that undertook a simple task. They placed a penny on each car's rear driver’s side tire and came back in a month. If the penny was still there when they came back, they took the keys to that vehicle and sent it to auction. It goes without saying there were a lot of pennies left on tires when the workers returned. That plan brought lots of cash into state coffers and cut unneeded overhead.

That is just one example of things Daniels did to turn Indiana’s budget problems around.

This simple approach is why Governor Daniels is so popular and had a loud crowd of supporters urging him to run for president. He ended up declining (this time around, anyway) but his legacy as Indiana’s governor is being noticed across the nation. The fact that OCPA brought him to Oklahoma for us to enjoy ties us back to my original point – that this group makes it possible for the average citizen to be exposed to the best minds out there – both in our state and our nation.

If you missed this year’s event, I hope you’ll consider coming out next time around. Each spring OCPA has its Citizenship Dinner in Oklahoma City with the Liberty Gala in Tulsa following in the fall. I am sure that there will be an upcoming keynote speaker you just won’t want to miss. 

Constitution Day, an Important Event for Remembering Our Freedoms

By Justin Wilmeth
1787 Society Vice President

To some, the United States Constitution might seem outdated or stale.

In this country they are free to think that as their right to free speech is protected by that same outdated and stale document – which is, by the way, still valid and fresh to this very day.

On September 19^th Oklahoma Christian University, Daughters of the American Revolution, the Oklahoma Council of Public Affairs, and the 1787 Society partnered together to celebrate Constitution Day with students and those truly interested in what the Constitution means to us in 2011.

The event was an opportunity to hear from some credible authorities on the topic. Three different scholars focused in on different aspects of the Constitution and what it means in present times. Hopefully you were able to catch all three. But in case you didn’t, here’s a small rundown on what each speaker focused on.

Kicking things off was Andrew Spiropoulos, the Professor of Law and Director of the Center for the Study of State Constitutional Law and Government at Oklahoma City University, addressing the topic of Constitutional Principles.

After that, Joel Kintsel, OCPA Executive Vice President and Director of the Center for Constitutional Freedom, spoke to the OC campus about the issue of Federalism and if it still matters today.

Wrapping up the event was Dr. J. Rufus Fears of the University of Oklahoma. The David Ross Boyd Professor of Classics focused on the Magna Carta and how it laid the groundwork for our Constitution centuries later.

The entire event was rewarding. Like any good nerd of government and history, I do a fair amount of reading on the subjects. However, being able to hear deeply educated professionals speak on some of the most important aspects of this country’s ideology and how it came to be was simply outstanding. All of the stories were intriguing and added a lot of color to a topic that is often seen as outdated or stale.

I was reminded of just how lucky I am to have been born in this great country. Human history is basically thousands of years of dark tyranny, with the only bright spots being the liberty provided by the United States of America over the past 235 years. Listening to these men speak about why our country’s framework is unique, special, and important was refreshing and enlightening. I truly hope you enjoyed the speakers.