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The 'Great Generation'? Walter Williams says unconstitutional spending led to tyranny
WorldNetDaily.com ^ | Wednesday, November 13, 2002 | Dr. Walter Williams

Posted on 11/13/2002 12:08:18 AM PST by JohnHuang2

The American generation who suffered through the Great Depression and defeated the tyrannical designs that Adolf Hitler, Mussolini and Tojo Hideki had for the world has often been called "the great generation." Will history see it that way? Let's look at it, but first start with a couple of statements from two truly great Americans.

In 1794, Congress appropriated $15,000 for relief of French refugees. James Madison stood on the floor of the House to object, saying, "I cannot undertake to lay my finger on that article of the Constitution which granted a right to Congress of expending, on objects of benevolence, the money of their constituents." James Madison, you'll recall, is the acknowledged father of the Constitution, and he couldn't find constitutional authority for spending "on the objects of benevolence."

Your congressman might say, "Madison was all wrong; after all, there's the 'general welfare' clause." Here's what Madison had to say about that: "With respect to the two words "general welfare," I have always regarded them as qualified by the detail of powers connected with them. To take them in a literal and unlimited sense would be a metamorphosis of the Constitution into a character which there is a host of proofs was not contemplated by its creators." Thomas Jefferson echoed similar sentiments saying, "Congress has not unlimited powers to provide for the general welfare, but only those specifically enumerated."

When the great generation was born, Congress spent only three percent of the GDP. Today, as the great generation dies off, Congress spends over a quarter of the GDP. There is no constitutional authority for at least three-quarters of that spending.

Let's look at the recent election campaign. Whether it was a Democratic or Republican candidate, for the most part, they won votes by promising to spend the money of their constituents "on the objects of benevolence." They promised to violate the rights of some Americans for the benefit of other Americans. They promised to take money from younger Americans to buy prescription drugs for elderly Americans, take money from non-farmers to give to farmers and take money from wealthier people to give to poorer people. In a word or two, politicians campaigned on an unstated promise to ignore any oath of office to protect and defend the United States Constitution and instead go to work on undermining it.

Don't get me wrong. I don't blame only politicians. For the most part, they're only the instruments of a people who have growing contempt for our Constitution. You say, "Hold it, Williams. Now you've gone too far!" Check it out. How many votes do you think a James Madison-type senatorial candidate would get if his campaign theme was something like this: "Elect me to office. I will protect and defend the U.S. Constitution. Because there's no constitutional authority for Congress spending on the objects of benevolence, don't expect for me to vote for prescription drugs for the elderly, handouts to farmers and food stamps for the poor. Instead, I'll fight these and other unconstitutional congressional expenditures"? I'll tell you how many votes he'll get: It will be Williams' vote, and that's it.

The "great" generation has transformed the electoral process from voting for those most likely to protect our God-given rights to liberty and property, to voting for those most likely to violate those rights for the benefit of others. There's no question that the "great" generation spared the world from external tyranny, but it has outdone any other generation in destroying both the letter and the spirit of our Constitution, and as such produced a form of tyranny for which there's little defense.


TOPICS: Constitution/Conservatism; Editorial; Government; News/Current Events
KEYWORDS: walterwilliamslist
Wednesday, November 13, 2002

Quote of the Day by goldstategop

1 posted on 11/13/2002 12:08:18 AM PST by JohnHuang2
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To: JohnHuang2
bump
2 posted on 11/13/2002 12:25:43 AM PST by Texas_Jarhead
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To: JohnHuang2
This one's a keeper.
3 posted on 11/13/2002 12:44:18 AM PST by BikerTrash
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To: JohnHuang2
May a gracious G-d protect and keep well such tremendous and true Americans as Dr. Williams! How few of our fellow citizens could, and would dare to, recite the Founders' rationalisation of the Constitution, and the ideas and principles upon which it was based and thereby written? How few will condemn those fraudulent alleged Americans in Congress, of both parties, who swear to 'protect' the Constitution, then violate it to the point of rape with their every action?

And, what is the margin of survival of a constitutional republic? There have only been a few in history, and never a one destroyed by external enemies. Always, always, the destruction arose and spread from within, instigated by those who had no use for the founding principles of these republics.

Pournelle stated the point well (brilliantly, in my view), a decade and more ago: 'History has not been kind to wealthy republics, and has uniformly destroyed them when, over time, they refused to follow their original principles.'

Apologies to all for the rant.

4 posted on 11/13/2002 1:05:48 AM PST by SAJ
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To: JohnHuang2
Very true; now, what to do?
5 posted on 11/13/2002 3:16:06 AM PST by billybudd
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To: JohnHuang2
bump
6 posted on 11/13/2002 3:34:53 AM PST by aeronca
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To: JohnHuang2
That's what I've always believed.

Walter Williams has a philosophical bent very near my own.
7 posted on 11/13/2002 3:58:45 AM PST by Maelstrom
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To: JohnHuang2
Unfortunately for the majority of the 'Greatest Generation', the effect of living through the Great Depression and a world war was to make the need for a strong and intrusive government the accepted wisdom. The fact that the New Deal and its programs did not cure the Depression and that statist policies useful for marshaling resources to fight a war were likely only to distort the economic and social basis of a free society out of recognition did not become the outlook for the average American. This is not surprising. While the experience of the 30's was one of endless chronic economic woes and uncertainty the overwhelming triumph of the US and its allies in the Second World War seemed to validate statist nostrums. The equally massive post war prosperity presided over by the same alliance of big government and big business that had produced the 'miracle' of WW2 solidified the victory of the forces of liberal capitalist statism. The permanent crisis of the Cold War helped fully institutionalize the meta-state and wove almost every individual American firmly into the matrix of the statist regime. Many individual Americans saw all or part of the implications of the triumph of statism but were and are powerless to alter what seems to be almost an elemental force of nature in government's endless apetite for power and its modes of cooption and veiled intimidation.
8 posted on 11/13/2002 6:33:07 AM PST by robowombat
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To: stainlessbanner; 4ConservativeJustices; Ff--150
Walter Williams bump
9 posted on 11/13/2002 6:41:03 AM PST by billbears
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To: billbears
Great Article thanks for the flag. I don't know if you caught the one of the articles about a Confederate veteran earlier this week. The grandson, still living, talked about how after the War, this man refused to accept government handouts and subsidies. He was too proud to live off the government. Attitudes sure have changed!
10 posted on 11/13/2002 7:20:00 AM PST by stainlessbanner
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To: JohnHuang2
Wrong Williams! I'd vote for him too. The smartest man in America speaks again.

(to the theme of Shaft) He's a baaad mutha, shut yo mouth, I'm jus talkin bout Williams, we can dig it!

11 posted on 11/13/2002 7:23:47 AM PST by Republic of Texas
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To: *Walter Williams list
http://www.freerepublic.com/perl/bump-list
12 posted on 11/13/2002 7:27:35 AM PST by Free the USA
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To: JohnHuang2
Great keeper from a great American.
13 posted on 11/13/2002 7:32:03 AM PST by MissAmericanPie
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To: billybudd
now, what to do?

Educate, my friend. To any who will listen, and even some who will not.

14 posted on 11/13/2002 7:41:20 AM PST by MrB
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To: JohnHuang2
It will be Williams' vote, and that's it.

He's wrong.

He's have Eala's vote, and probably Eala's wife's vote too. Three votes.

15 posted on 11/13/2002 7:50:23 AM PST by Eala
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To: billbears
Thanks for the bump>WW is a man with no peers.
16 posted on 11/13/2002 10:10:36 AM PST by Ff--150
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To: JohnHuang2
bttt
17 posted on 11/13/2002 3:25:41 PM PST by gcruse
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To: JohnHuang2
As usual, Williams is right on the money in his views on the Constitution and American Freedom. I must disagree with him, however, on the vote that a modern Madison might expect. I believe that he would find that properly explained, that traditional view still has considerable traction.

(Of course, any politician advocating it would, one must hope, couple with the end of the improper Federal largesse, a demand for an end to the equally improper Federal meddling. It is the whole package that can still be sold to the rooted American population, not bits and pieces of it. As I have pointed out before, the way to weed the elderly away from the nonsense about prescription drug coverage is to talk about protecting their grandchildren from the despicable Leftwing agenda aimed at reorienting basic values--for example, the Leftist assault on the Boy Scouts.)

William Flax Return Of The Gods Web Site

18 posted on 11/13/2002 3:35:16 PM PST by Ohioan
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To: billbears
How many votes do you think a James Madison-type senatorial candidate would get if his campaign theme was something like this: "Elect me to office. I will protect and defend the U.S. Constitution. Because there's no constitutional authority for Congress spending on the objects of benevolence, don't expect for me to vote for prescription drugs for the elderly, handouts to farmers and food stamps for the poor. Instead, I'll fight these and other unconstitutional congressional expenditures"? I'll tell you how many votes he'll get: It will be Williams' vote, and that's it.

I can think of quite a few others that would vote for him, starting with me.

19 posted on 11/14/2002 4:34:57 AM PST by 4CJ
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To: JohnHuang2
Big keeper. (saved it to my favorites!!!!). Let the weening process begin.
20 posted on 11/14/2002 3:09:05 PM PST by VRW Conspirator
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