The trend in Washington, D.C., has been to tackle big problems with big legislation, but why not tackle our big issues one step at a time?

Two years ago, lawmakers signed off on an overriding and, according to some, an exceedingly expensive overhaul of health care.

The bill addresses so many topics it was difficult two years ago to gauge exactly how effective it might be. Just as difficult to gauge was how many lawmakers who voted on the issue actually read the legislation and could speak authoritatively about it.

Soon after the massive Affordable Health Care Act was passed, lawmakers rammed through a 2,300-page overhaul of financial regulations. Again, the law is so massive it is difficult to believe many lawmakers actually read it.

All we really knew two years ago about the health care and financial overhauls is that they created new bureaucracies with broad-ranging authority.

This year and in the coming years, Americans will learn more about the real costs of these massive pieces of federal legislation. …

In the urgency of the moment, our elected leaders set aside prudence in exchange for expediency, and rammed through massive laws without regard to their huge price tags or unanticipated side effects.

This approach to lawmaking is reckless and, in many instances, it’s avoidable. For example, the timetable and framework for a federal budget already are in place, yet it has been five years since Washington enacted a federal spending plan.

Let’s do away with the big laws. Let’s replace them with little laws that address smaller problems, which, if properly tackled, can contribute to the resolution of much larger problems.

It’s simple. Solve a smaller problem. Repeat.

– Kearney (Neb.) Hub