November 25, 2009 7:53AM # A Complaint for Wednesday By [David Boaz](https://www.cato.org/people/david-boaz) --- SHARE Rep. Emanuel Cleaver (D‑Mo.) has introduced [H.Con.Res.155](http://www.opencongress.org/bill/111-hc155/show), “Supporting the goals and ideals of ‘Complaint Free Wednesday.’ ” The bill description says: > Expresses support for the goals and ideals of Complaint Free Wednesday. Encourages each person in the United States to remember that having a positive life begins with having a positive attitude. Recognizes and reaffirms the meaning of Thanksgiving by asking each person in the United States to use Complaint Free Wednesday to refrain from complaining and prepare for a day of gratitude. So what’s my complaint? My complaint is that people get elected to office and they think their every passing thought should be a law. Eat less, exercise more, [play classical music to unborn children](https://www.cato.org/pubs/policy_report/cpr-20n1-2.html), have a college football playoff, keep your frequent-flyer miles forever, don’t complain so much — every time a politician has an idea, he writes a law to ban or mandate something. So, please, send Rep. Cleaver a message — on this Wednesday of all Wednesdays, complain about politicians who don’t understand that the powers of the federal government are “[few and defined](http://www.constitution.org/fed/federa45.htm)” and think that all their preferences should be enacted into law. ##### Related Tags [Government and Politics](https://www.cato.org/government-politics) [![Creative Commons License](/build/cato_2020/images/creative-commons.svg)](http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/) This work is licensed under a [Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/).