General Welfare Clause

[RickWhite]

There is a lot of debate on what is meant by the phrase "General welfare" visa vi how it is used in the US Constitution.

One often overlooked idea is that the framers felt very strongly about limiting the power of Congress, preferring to allow the individual states to govern themselves.

Below, are Madison's words on what the general welfare clause does not mean.

"If Congress can employ money indefinitely to the general welfare,
and are the sole and supreme judges of the general welfare,
they may take the care of religion into their own hands;
they may appoint teachers in every State, county and parish
and pay them out of their public treasury;
they may take into their own hands the education of children,
establishing in like manner schools throughout the Union;
they may assume the provision of the poor;
they may undertake the regulation of all roads other than post-roads;
in short, every thing, from the highest object of state legislation
down to the most minute object of police,
would be thrown under the power of Congress.... Were the power
of Congress to be established in the latitude contended for,
it would subvert the very foundations, and transmute the very nature
of the limited Government established by the people of America."

 

[dukeofbaja]

It's spelled 'vis a vis', not 'visa vi'.

 

[medicineman]

Say Rick, You should really let your secretary write your posts. For such a "High roller", your spelling and grammer really suck. Just saying.

 

[Illegal Smile]

Say Rick, You should really let your secretary write your posts. For such a "High roller", your spelling and grammer really suck. Just saying.

It's Jus' sayin' not just saying.

 

[ViRedd]

The very first paragraph in the Constitution states: "We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, PROVIDE for the common defense, PROMOTE the general Welfare ... "

If the Founders intended for the federal government to provide the general welfare, they would have said so, wouldn't they? So, that brings us to what they really intended, and that was, to promote the general welfare and not provide the welfare. The founders were of a libertarian mindset and abhored big, intrusive government. So, in their minds, the best way the federal government could promote the general welfare would be to stay the hell out of the way and just protect the liberties of the people.

 

[Parker]

Santa Claus has more believability than the General Welfare clause.