Posted on 02/05/2005 7:37:15 AM PST by Heartland Hattie
For a long time, I've been wondering about the constitutionality of using tax monies for foreign aid.
I am no expert at constitutional law. I'm not certain if the huge spending to aid foreign governments is truely legal.
Can anyone point out an exact passage in the Constution that covers this? I know that Section 8 of Article 1 talks about the right to collect taxes etc. for "the common defense and general welfare of the United States", but I'm unsure if paying billions of our tax dollars in aid falls into this category.
I am also curious about the constitutional legality of the United Nations, more precisely the immunity from prosecution enjoyed by it's "diplomats" in this country. And, as the billions of dollars paid into it have NOT resulted in "the common defense and general welfare of the United States", is it a breech of constitutional law to pay into the UN?
Any ideas?
What I have learned nowadays is that you can't read the simple language of the Constitution to try and decide what is Constitutional or what is not. You'd be best off writing a letter to Sandra Day O'Connor to ask, since she's the one who mostly makes that decision nowadays.
As for my personal opinion, I think that foreign aid is actually somewhat more of a valid Constitutional power for the federal government than a lot of the domestic stuff they do nowadays, since it involves relations with other nations, which is a federal government function. But Sandra doesn't care what I think.
Well, by giving foreign countries aid, they become somewhat dependent upon us.
It keeps them in line.
"You get too soon old and too late smart" - by someone who was old enough to understand the wisdom of that quote!
but it is true. By giving foreign aid, countries become somewhat dependent upon us. We assert our power, and the threat of pulling the aid always lingers.
EWWW- picture
Giving money to people to keep them alive is not a gov't function, that belongs to churches and charities.
Have you heard about 'Oil for Food'?
hort answer? No, it isn't.
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