Obama's Executive Unilateralism | Gene Healy | Cato Institute: Commentary

Obama's Executive Unilateralism | Gene Healy | Cato Institute: Commentary: "In an interview with a panel of Latino journalists last fall, the president had a different take: "This notion that somehow I can just change the laws unilaterally is just not true. We live in a democracy," he insisted. "You have to pass bills through the legislature and then I can sign it." That's why, despite the urging of immigration activists, he could not implement the Dream Act via executive diktat."

"The University of Chicago's Richard Epstein warns that "government by waiver" is "among the most serious challenges to the rule of law in our time." The growth of the administrative state has concentrated enormous discretionary power in the president's hands, and he can use that power to reward political allies and legislate by decree without the inconvenience of democratic deliberation.

Consider the conditional waivers the administration has granted to 10 states, freeing them from the strictures of the No Child Left Behind Act — but only if they adopt certain reforms, nowhere to be found in the law."

"the president's union allies were suspiciously overrepresented in Obamacare waivers granted by Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius, loosening administrative cost limits in employer health plans."