Is line item veto a good policy?

Answer 1

It could be. It would, in theory, allow a president to remove 'pork' from spending bills, for instance. Many bills are cobbled together with support 'bought' via spending targetted to individual districts. Once such a bill passed, the Pres could trim a few such provissions, and the individual congressmen who were bribed with them probably wouldn't be able to work up the support to override them.

OTOH, if a president abused the line-item veto to effectively change the meaning of legislation (it's concievable), presumably there'd be more support for overriding it.

It would add another level of complexity and double-think to the workings of congress, which might not be worth the potential savings could be obtained by a president who favored fiscal restraint. (Of course, such a president could instead try to sequester such funds).

Answer 2

That's a difficult question. At one time I would have said yes. Certainly a line item veto would help curb some of the obviously wasteful pork-barrel spending.

Over the last few years, I'm forced to say that the potential abuse far outweights that, however. The intent of the idea is good. But imagine what Bush would have done with a line-item veto. I guarantee you a large number of programs that are in fact useful would have been gutted--bsed simply on his ideology or at the behest of special interests. What I've seen is that--in the hands of an abusive president--the line-item veto would become a means of subverting the constitutional process whereby Congress is given control over the national purse-strings. As such, it could undermine the system of checks-and-balances the framers so carefully crafted.

And--while Bush is the specific example--that problem applies to either side of the political spectrum. The damage would be just as great if a future presideent on the left adopted such tactics.

Answer 3

No, it puts too much power in the hands of the president, power the Constitution never intended for the holder of that office to wield.

Answer 4

If the man in office is smart enough to know how to use it for the good of the nation .

Answer 5

only if your president has some common sense. reagan yes clinton no

Answer 6

yes.

Answer 7

yes...