Section 8 - Powers of Congress
- The Congress shall have Power To lay and collect Taxes, Duties, Imposts and Excises, to pay the Debts and provide for the common Defense and general Welfare of the United States
.... Notice the term 'common Defense and 'general' Welfare'. More about that later - To borrow money on the credit of the United States;
....This they have taken to heart - To regulate Commerce with foreign Nations, and among the several States, and with the Indian Tribes;
...This talks about 'commerce' - like trading between the states. This disallows, for instance, one State to tax anothers imports. - To establish an uniform Rule of Naturalization, and uniform Laws on the subject of Bankruptcies throughout the United States;
...Pretty self explanatory - To coin Money, regulate the Value thereof, and of foreign Coin, and fix the Standard of Weights and Measures;
...Again, pretty straightforward - To provide for the Punishment of counterfeiting the Securities and current Coin of the United States;
...Ditto - To establish Post Offices and Post Roads;
...Ok, let's be take a liberal interpretation for today - and say this is roads and highways. - To promote the Progress of Science and useful Arts, by securing for limited Times to Authors and Inventors the exclusive Right to their respective Writings and Discoveries;
...Ok - they can protect intellectual property. Today that includes computer programming and TV programs. - To constitute Tribunals inferior to the supreme Court;
...Set up a Federal Court system - To define and punish Piracies and Felonies committed on the high Seas, and Offenses against the Law of Nations;
...Check - no piracy allowed. - To declare War, grant Letters of Marque and Reprisal, and make Rules concerning Captures on Land and Water;
...They can declare War. - To raise and support Armies, but no Appropriation of Money to that Use shall be for a longer Term than two Years;
...If you are going to fight a war, you need an Army. - To provide and maintain a Navy;
...And a Navy. We will add Air Force - seems logical - To provide for calling forth the Militia to execute the Laws of the Union,
suppress Insurrections and repel Invasions;
...The Militia is us, by the way - To exercise exclusive Legislation in all Cases whatsoever, over such District...
...The District of Columbia
We should also look immediately at the 10th amendment. The list above tells Congress what it can do. The 10th clarifies the question 'what about things we didn't mention?':
- The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people.
This means - If we did not tell the Feds, in the constitution, that they can do...then they can't. It is up to the States - or directly to us, the people.
And folks, that's it. Let's look at the purpose as noted:
'For the defense and GENERAL Welfare....'
'General' means 'for everyone, for most people'. It does not say 'specific'. So, the Feds were supposed to be limited to doing things for the public. Parks, roads, defend the country. Things that would be too big for a city or state to do.
It does NOT mean taking my money and giving it to you. That would be for your SPECIFIC welfare.
Let's make a quick list of things NOT given to Congress to do. They SHOULD be, then, left to the States.
- A Federal Department of Education
- A Federal Department of the Interior
- A Federal Department of Health and Human Services
- A Federal Department of Transportation for anything other that building roads
- A Federal Welfare program. Because, as we noticed - there is no provision for transferring wealth from one person to another.
- Social Security
- OSHA
- The Environmental Protection Agency
- The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission
- Any Federal Gun Laws
- Any Federal Hate Crime Laws
You get the idea. That is MOST of what we have allowed the Congress Critters to screw up on our behalf.
Time to take the country BACK.... Is it 1776 yet?
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