E-Newsletter No. 29 ______ May 2016
Last month we provided a link to Article 1, Section 8 of the US Constitution, which lists the responsibilities of the federal government. Nowhere in the Constitution does it mention that the federal government should provide healthcare to all of the country’s citizens (or food or housing), or provide a monthly pension benefit to a retired citizen.
So, how did we start heading down this long and winding road towards socialism and an ever-expanding federal government and a cumulative debt of $19.3 trillion? The simplistic answer is that Article 1, Section 8 gives to Congress the responsibility To make all Laws which shall be necessary and proper…. But unfortunately, the supporters of the liberal/progressive agenda fail to read the entire sentence – To make all Laws which shall be necessary and proper for carrying into Execution the foregoing Powers – (the powers that are listed above this sentence in Section 8).
On our website, we have a Conversation Piece entitled “Don’t Tread on Me” / There Ought to be a Law (or Not). The Founders of our country established a federal government with limited powers, and with the intent that the federal government would focus on a few vital functions, which are primarily oriented towards protecting the country as a whole and the citizens’ rights. Unfortunately, over the course of time (and due to some of our elected officials’ desire to “fix a problem” or advance a favor towards a special interest group or some other sub-segment of the population) we now have a federal income tax code (including IRS Regulations and Official Guidance) that is in excess of 70,000 pages and 4 million words. We also have a situation where it is easy for a citizen to commit three crimes a day, oftentimes without knowing it. (We recommend that you do an internet search on a book entitled Three Felonies a Day by Boston civil rights lawyer Harvey Silverglate).
Fortunately, it is possible to get off the road that we’re heading down, if we simply return to the Founders’ idea of Limited Government. And fortunately, there is an educational institution that has created a series of online courses that gives everyone an opportunity to better understand our country’s founding principles. The following link takes you to Hillsdale College’s website and the page that lists the various courses that are available (for free) –
http://online.hillsdale.edu/dashboard/courses
The course entitled Introduction to the Constitution is a good place to start, to refresh your understanding of representative government, the separation of powers, and the principles of Limited Government. The fourth segment of this course highlights the differences between centralized, bureaucratic rule and constitutional government.
Constitution 101 – The Meaning & History of the Constitution will provide you with a more in-depth understanding of the underlying principles behind our country’s founding. It includes a segment on The Progressives’ Rejection of the Principles of the Declaration of Independence, along with The Progressives’ Assault on the Constitution.
Lastly, we also highly recommend Constitution 201, which includes a segment entitled Restoring Constitutional Government. Common Sense tells us that the principles behind Limited Government are just as true today as they were back in the 1700s.
US Debt Clock – – April 1st – $59,420 per citizen / May 1st – $59,558