(Philly) – As the mid-Atlantic region faces yet another massive blizzard, the problem of unregulated snow can no longer be ignored. It’s time for Congress to set limits on the crystalline mayhem descending through the atmosphere and disrupting the lives of hardworking Americans.
Certainly, snow-control legislation would require political will and bipartisan support. But if today’s policymakers don’t put an end to snowstorms, these boom-and-bust blizzards will continue to undermine our nation’s growth and prosperity.
Consider the facts: Local governments such as Philadelphia’s are struggling to deal effectively with the amount of snow we’re getting. With Washington in the path of a major storm again, essential federal services will be shut down. And weatherpersons “predict” snow, but they don’t do anything about it.
Snow is also costly for taxpayers. Salt, plows, and workers on overtime gobble up revenue and break strained budgets. Philadelphia’s cleanup of the season’s first major storm cost $3.4 million.
And those costs are insignificant compared with the billions in lost economic activity. Traffic comes to a standstill, public transit seizes up, and airports close. Snowbound businesses shut their doors, and consumers don’t shop.
Because snow is a global phenomenon, banning it will require international cooperation. But the first step is regulating it in the United States. Worldwide initiatives invariably require U.S. leadership and support.
Even regulating domestic snowfall won’t be easy. There are several constitutional and practical challenges, but none of them is insurmountable.
The most obvious question is whether the federal government actually has the authority to ban snow. Die-hard federalists, who claim that virtually any Washington regulation intrudes on states’ rights, would no doubt challenge the ban, citing the 10th Amendment.
But a Supreme Court challenge predicated on states’ rights is unlikely to succeed for one obvious reason: Snow is not confined to individual states. The Constitution’s commerce clause empowers the federal government to regulate matters that extend – or, in this case, drift – across state lines.
The bigger problem, of course, is practical. Regulating precipitation – or even banning it entirely – won’t actually stop snow from falling. Virtually all meteorologists agree that, given certain atmospheric conditions, snow will continue to fall from the sky regardless of federal law.
To address this, Congress should appoint a blue-ribbon panel of experts (with at least one labor representative) to study the problem and submit recommendations in four years, at which time a more effective law would be passed.
The committee would be funded by a penny-per-shovel tax. Some might argue that this tax would exacerbate the snow problem by discouraging Americans from buying shovels, but that can also be fixed with legislation. Congress should simply mandate that all Americans purchase shovels.
Yes, there would have to be a Medicaid-style program for those who cannot afford shovels, and perhaps a carve-out for Nebraskans who already own shovels to get Ben Nelson’s vote. But those minor details could be worked out in conference committee.
Source: Philly
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