E-Newsletter No. 105 September 2022
“I want a government so small you can barely see it.” – Rand Paul
That is the same vision that our country’s Founders had when they wrote the Tenth Amendment – – 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.
Our Liberties are in danger of being toppled by the ever-expanding power and intrusiveness of the federal government. Our Editorial Board believes most of the growing divide within our country between the Left and Conservatives is due to this “scope of government” issue. The Left’s “religion” is Big Government. Conservatives support the principles behind our country’s founding and the Tenth Amendment. Conservatives reject the idea that the Constitution is a “living document” and generally oppose the thinking that underlies the “progressive” agenda.
This issue is probably the most important of the three planks of the petition to call a Convention of States under Article V of the Constitution – – …to limit the power and jurisdiction of the federal government.
We recently ran across an interesting website – https://usgovernmentrevenue.com/ – that shows government revenues as a percentage of GDP (gross domestic product) going back to the year 1900. The increases are alarming, but one of the interesting aspects of the chart is the shift between local, state and federal government revenues. The federal government used to be less than local government. And while State governments now also surpass local government, the burden of State taxes are nowhere near the taxes collected by the federal government.
Local State Federal Total
1900 3.78% .81% 3.22% 7.81%
1950 3.89 3.83 13.16 20.88
2000 6.48 9.62 19.76 35.86
2020 7.12 8.99 16.37 32.48
You might initially think the federal government in 2020 was “good news.” Unfortunately, that was not the case at all. The numbers above are government revenues as a percentage of GDP. The federal government’s deficit in 2020 was a whopping $3.1 trillion (Revenues of $3.4 trillion and Spending of $6.5 trillion). The federal government’s spending in 2020 was over 31% of GDP and the $3.1 trillion deficit has been “borrowed” from our children and grandchildren.
The above results are entirely due to the “progressive” agenda and the Left’s desire for a bigger federal government. The petition for the Convention of States is limited to proposing amendments that pertain to three aspects of the Constitution and the federal government. The other two planks are – …to impose fiscal restraints on the federal government, and to limit the terms of office for its officials and for members of Congress. All are worthy changes, indeed. You can call them “anti-progressive.” Additional information on the Convention of States can be found at www.conventionofstates.com.
US Debt Clock – – August 1st – $91,925 per citizen / September 1st – $92,650