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This is a side note to the Amish and Social Security issue. I find that major constitutional problems with FDR's New Deal federal spending programs are often overlooked when historical data pertaining to issues like Social Security are discussed.

FDR needed to uphold his oath to defend the Constitution when he established his New Deal federal spending programs. But instead of rallying the states to amend the Constitution to essentially add Social Security and other New Deal programs to Sec. 8 of Article I in compliance with the 10th A., FDR basically talked the Supreme Court into buying his politically correct interpretation of the vaguely worded general welfare clause while ignoring the 10th A. protected powers of the states.

Article 1, Section 8, Clause 1: The Congress shall have Power To lay and collect Taxes, Duties, Imposts and Excises, to pay the Debts and provide for the common Defence and general Welfare (emphasis added) of the United States; but all Duties, Imposts and Excises shall be uniform throughout the United States;

10th 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.

It's almost as if FDR did not understand the Founder's requirements for constitutionally enumerated federal powers, the Founder's way of limiting federal spending.

In fact, regardless of the Court's overall acceptance of FDR's politically wide interpretation of the general welfare clause which helped to push many of his constitutionally unauthorized federal spending programs through the Court, the following extract from Jefferson's writings shows that good intentions read into the general welfare clause are no substitute for federal spending justified by the reasonable interpretation of constitutionally enumerated federal powers.

"1. To lay taxes to provide for the general welfare of the United States, that is to say, "to lay taxes for the purpose of providing for the general welfare." For the laying of taxes is the power, and the general welfare the purpose for which the power is to be exercised. They are not to lay taxes ad libitum for any purpose they please; but only to pay the debts or provide for the welfare of the Union. In like manner, they are not to do anything they please to provide for the general welfare, but only to lay taxes for that purpose. To consider the latter phrase, not as describing the purpose of the first, but as giving a distinct and independent power to do any act they please, which might be for the good of the Union, would render all the preceding and subsequent enumerations of power completely useless.

It would reduce the whole instrument to a single phrase, that of instituting a Congress with power to do whatever would be for the good of the United States; and, as they would be the sole judges of the good or evil, it would be also a power to do whatever evil they please."

--Thomas Jefferson concerning the constitutionality of establishing a national bank, 1791 http://www.yale.edu/lawweb/avalon/amerdoc/bank-tj.htm

In fact, FDR probably wouldn't have been able to establish many of his constitutionally unauthorized federal spending programs, Social Security for example, if it weren't for the swing votes of mixed up justices like Owen Roberts, a Hoover-nominated RINO. The extracts below give an idea why 10th A. protected state powers never had a chance when the 10th A. was weighed against FDR's politically correct interpretation of the general welfare clause by justices like Roberts.
"The First Amendment declares that Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion or prohibiting the free exercise thereof. The Fourteenth Amendment has rendered the legislatures of the states as incompetent as Congress to enact such laws. The constitutional inhibition of legislation on the subject of religion has a double aspect." --Mr. Justice Roberts, Cantwell v. State of Connecticut 1940. http://tinyurl.com/38a87c
The problem with Justice Roberts' profound, 10th A.-ignoring "insight" into 14th Amendment is that he outrageously misrepresented the intentions of John Bingham, the main author of Sec. 1 of the 14th Amendment. This is because Bingham had clarified, both before and after the ratification of the 14th A., that the 14th A. was not intended to take away any state's rights. See for yourself.
"The adoption of the proposed amendment will take from the States no rights (emphasis added) that belong to the States." --John Bingham, Appendix to the Congressional Globe http://tinyurl.com/2rfc5d

"No right (emphasis added) reserved by the Constitution to the States should be impaired..." --John Bingham, Appendix to the Congressional Globe http://tinyurl.com/2qglzy

"Do gentlemen say that by so legislating we would strike down the rights of the State? God forbid. I believe our dual system of government essential to our national existance." --John Bingham, Appendix to the Congressional Globe http://tinyurl.com/y3ne4n

So the 10th A. protected powers of the states were seriously weakened because FDR sympathizers like Justice Roberts based their votes to give the green light to New Deal programs like Social Security partly on FDR's politically correct license to ignore the 10th Amendment. Indeed, note that the 10th A. is not referenced in the Cantwell opinion, nor in most other post-FDR era state power related USSC case opinions; corrections welcome.

The bottom line is that the people need to wise up to very serious problem of widespread federal government corruption, particularly where the 10th A. protected power of the states are being ignored in the name of constitutionally unauthorized federal spending, a tradition established by FDR era politics. The people need to quit sitting on their hands and petition lawmakers, judges and justices who are not upholding their oaths to defend the Constitution, demanding that they resign from their jobs.

18 posted on 01/11/2008 10:49:48 PM PST by Amendment10
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To: Amendment10

It was St. Franklin who mollycoddled Alger Hiss but told Whittaker Chambers (vicariously, through Adolf Berle) to go #*&@! himself. Meanwhile he offered fawning propaganda stateside for his bosom buddy and fellow president-for-life Iosif Vissarionovich and trivially handed him half of Europe. He is a hero to Demmunists because he built the infrastructure through which they now buy the loyalty of all voters whose price is low enough.


19 posted on 01/12/2008 5:30:17 AM PST by Mmmike
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