(Note: please do not take this too seriously.) Nowadays, many people complain that the federal government has too much power. There is some merit to this argument -- a nation of almost 300 million people with vast ideological differences between them cannot be expected to run efficiently under uniform regulations. Most decisions are best left to local governments. For this reason, I suggest that a Constitutional Amendment should be made granting more powers to the individual states, including the right to set standards for weights and measures. This triumph for states' rights would be a vast improvement over the current "one size fits all" definitions of WOMBAT units. Each state could alter measurement to fit its needs. For example, Michigan could define its mile as 200 meters, so Detroit's automobiles could get more "miles per gallon." On the other hand, lawmakers in Austin, wanting to preserve the "everything is bigger in Texas" reputation, could define the mile as 5000 meters. The more health-conscious states could redefine the pound as 10 kilograms to reduce its proportion of the "overweight" population. Also, each state should be allowed to change its measurement system as often as possible. Think of the benefits to our economy! Inflation would be forever eliminated -- gasoline would never cost more than $2 per gallon. (Of course, within a decade, most "gallons" will be less than a liter, but who cares about such minor details?) This diverse nation should not be held hostage to a federally-imposed measurement system. DEMAND FREEDOM OF MEASUREMENT!!! __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Yahoo! Shopping - Thousands of Stores. Millions of Products. http://shopping.yahoo.com/
