The three branches of government were originally designed by the fathers of the constitution to be equal in power, with a democratic system dependent on checks and balances. Checks and balances are designed to disperse and constrain power in order to maintain the desired balance between the powers of the three branches. Over time though, it seems as if there has been a slight shift of power that now favors the Legislative branch. The Constitutional system of checks and balances has been gradually corrupted over time, and the critical balance between our economic system and our system of government has been lost. As a result, the careful balance between the three branches of government that the framers wrote out has been lost. In the present day system of our democracy, the Legislative branch has slightly more power than the Executive or Judicial branches because of its ability to pass legislation. The Legislative branch has the power to pass laws, change laws, and even alter the Constitution. Laws dictate the direction in which the entire country is going, and affects every person living in the country, and even those in other countries. Without laws governing the United States, there would be no structure to the country. Without this skeleton of society, there would surely be chaos. Laws are in place to maintain the status quo, to protect property, to protect vested rights, and to protect established relationships. With the absence of laws, our society would not be able to function effectively, and the sustainability of the United States for future generations would falter. The Legislative branch is more powerful than the Judicial or Executive branches because the Executive branch levies our taxes, writes our laws, confirms our Supreme Court Justices and Cabinet Officials, declares our wars, decides how the federal money is spent, and many other important duties