Governing by Executive Order is a Bad Idea

Donald Trump's presidency has sharply highlighted the treacherous  instability resulting from attempting to legislate by Executive Order. There were good reasons for designating Congress to write the laws and the Executive to enforce them.

Social order relies on stability. Justice cannot exist without stable, thoughtfully legislated, codified law, applied equally to all members of a society. Just note how difficult ending Obamacare is compared to DACA. The first was legislated. DACA was created by Executive Order.

Under a system that changes its executive at least every eight years, Executive Orders can quickly become problematic. Close to a million young people trusted that Obama's DACA gave them a secure path to their future. Every single one of them is about to learn whether that trust was misplaced. If it was, the price will be frighteningly steep for those individuals; it will be catastrophically destructive - in economic, social, political and global terms - to the United States.