Post by freddyv on Feb 21, 2008 20:32:30 GMT -5
this is a good read...kind of goes into detail on the founding father's vision for our country.
Federalism: The Great Lost Concept
February 21st, 2008 by Matt Hawes
Federalism, the binding together loosely of the several states, would serve to prevent the concentration of power in a central government and was a crucial element in the new Republic. The authors of the Constitution wrote strict limits on the national government and strove to protect the rights and powers of the states and the people.
Dividing and keeping separate the legislative, executive, and the judiciary branches, provided the checks and balances thought needed to preserve the Republic the Constitution created and the best way to preserve individual liberty.
- Ron Paul
Over 200 years ago, our Founding Fathers came together and crafted a revolutionary document: the U.S. Constitution. These men had put their “lives, fortunes, and sacred honor” on the line to separate themselves from the tyranny of King George III.
The brilliance of the Constitution lay in its separation of powers. Never before had a government been purposefully constructed to avoid the darker nature of men. James Madison, the Father of the Constitution, stated in The Federalist #45 that the powers delegated - that is, given to the new central government by the states - were “few and defined.” The powers retained by the states were “numerous and indefinite.”
Madison elaborated:
The former will be exercised principally on external objects, as war, peace, negotiation, and foreign commerce; with which last the power of taxation will, for the most part, be connected. The powers reserved to the several States will extend to all the objects which, in the ordinary course of affairs, concern the lives, liberties, and properties of the people, and the internal order, improvement, and prosperity of the State.
Along the way, the balance shifted, and the intent of our Founders was lost. As the federal government grew and the power of the states shrank, liberty was greatly diminished. To make matters worse, not only did many Americans begin to believe that the federal government was always intended to control every detail of our lives, they came to accept it as incontestable fact.
As public indifference to centralized governmental power grew, so did the government’s attempts to increase that power. No longer was it enough for the government to simply lord its authority over the affairs of men and women. The temptation to use that authority to control and monitor those affairs became too hard to resist.
We are working to overcome a hundred years of indoctrination and increased dependency. The Founders would be appalled that, almost 221 years since our Constitution was written, we are now having to re-explain what a Republic is and how it works.
Federalism is the great lost concept.
The Tenth Amendment specifically states that any powers not given to the federal government are reserved by the States and the people. End of story. What we have not given D.C. is still ours.
In recent history, Congress has justified entirely ignoring the Tenth Amendment by citing its “implied powers.” The problem is that the “implied powers” are only those powers used by Congress in pursuance of their delegated powers.
It is possible to streamline operations and return to the states the powers they once held. Dr. Paul is not in favor of immediately abolishing programs like Medicare, Medicaid, and Social Security because, while these programs are unconstitutional and ultimately harmful, too many Americans have been made dependent on them for those programs to be immediately ended.
Dr. Paul’s transition plan would cut our overseas spending by several billion dollars and use that money to protect the domestic programs on which many depend, at the same time allowing young people to opt-out of Social Security, and ending the requirement that they pay for Medicare and Medicaid out of their paychecks.
Imagine a return to federalism. What works in one state could be adopted by another. What doesn’t work could be avoided. Currently, we have a “one-size-fits-all”-style of governance that forces all states to endure bad policies. If California wants certain energy standards, then they should be able to pass them and see what happens, not enact those standards on a national level and force every other state to adopt the same.
A return to federalism, which is what Dr. Paul offers, is a return to the great experiment our Founders started. As a supporter recently said, we can choose between Candidate A and Candidate B’s plans for our lives, or we can choose Ron Paul’s plan to give us back our lives.
According to Congressman Paul:
When small governments become too oppressive, citizens can vote with their feet, moving to a “competing” jurisdiction. If, for example, one state has a high income tax which the residents feel is inappropriate, they can move to Texas (as many have done) to keep more of their earnings. But as government becomes more centralized, it becomes more difficult to vote with one’s feet. There must be ample opportunity for citizen mobility: to proper governments and away from those which tend to be oppressive.
I’m aware that I’m mostly preaching to the choir, but we must be intellectually armed in this battle and we must immerse ourselves in these concepts, ready at any point to discuss them with those we come across. If we do our homework, and spread the word, federalism will no longer be a lost concept.
links:
The US Constitution - www.archives.gov/national-archives-experience/charters/constitution.html
The Federalist #45 - www.constitution.org/fed/federa45.htm
Federalism: The Great Lost Concept
February 21st, 2008 by Matt Hawes
Federalism, the binding together loosely of the several states, would serve to prevent the concentration of power in a central government and was a crucial element in the new Republic. The authors of the Constitution wrote strict limits on the national government and strove to protect the rights and powers of the states and the people.
Dividing and keeping separate the legislative, executive, and the judiciary branches, provided the checks and balances thought needed to preserve the Republic the Constitution created and the best way to preserve individual liberty.
- Ron Paul
Over 200 years ago, our Founding Fathers came together and crafted a revolutionary document: the U.S. Constitution. These men had put their “lives, fortunes, and sacred honor” on the line to separate themselves from the tyranny of King George III.
The brilliance of the Constitution lay in its separation of powers. Never before had a government been purposefully constructed to avoid the darker nature of men. James Madison, the Father of the Constitution, stated in The Federalist #45 that the powers delegated - that is, given to the new central government by the states - were “few and defined.” The powers retained by the states were “numerous and indefinite.”
Madison elaborated:
The former will be exercised principally on external objects, as war, peace, negotiation, and foreign commerce; with which last the power of taxation will, for the most part, be connected. The powers reserved to the several States will extend to all the objects which, in the ordinary course of affairs, concern the lives, liberties, and properties of the people, and the internal order, improvement, and prosperity of the State.
Along the way, the balance shifted, and the intent of our Founders was lost. As the federal government grew and the power of the states shrank, liberty was greatly diminished. To make matters worse, not only did many Americans begin to believe that the federal government was always intended to control every detail of our lives, they came to accept it as incontestable fact.
As public indifference to centralized governmental power grew, so did the government’s attempts to increase that power. No longer was it enough for the government to simply lord its authority over the affairs of men and women. The temptation to use that authority to control and monitor those affairs became too hard to resist.
We are working to overcome a hundred years of indoctrination and increased dependency. The Founders would be appalled that, almost 221 years since our Constitution was written, we are now having to re-explain what a Republic is and how it works.
Federalism is the great lost concept.
The Tenth Amendment specifically states that any powers not given to the federal government are reserved by the States and the people. End of story. What we have not given D.C. is still ours.
In recent history, Congress has justified entirely ignoring the Tenth Amendment by citing its “implied powers.” The problem is that the “implied powers” are only those powers used by Congress in pursuance of their delegated powers.
It is possible to streamline operations and return to the states the powers they once held. Dr. Paul is not in favor of immediately abolishing programs like Medicare, Medicaid, and Social Security because, while these programs are unconstitutional and ultimately harmful, too many Americans have been made dependent on them for those programs to be immediately ended.
Dr. Paul’s transition plan would cut our overseas spending by several billion dollars and use that money to protect the domestic programs on which many depend, at the same time allowing young people to opt-out of Social Security, and ending the requirement that they pay for Medicare and Medicaid out of their paychecks.
Imagine a return to federalism. What works in one state could be adopted by another. What doesn’t work could be avoided. Currently, we have a “one-size-fits-all”-style of governance that forces all states to endure bad policies. If California wants certain energy standards, then they should be able to pass them and see what happens, not enact those standards on a national level and force every other state to adopt the same.
A return to federalism, which is what Dr. Paul offers, is a return to the great experiment our Founders started. As a supporter recently said, we can choose between Candidate A and Candidate B’s plans for our lives, or we can choose Ron Paul’s plan to give us back our lives.
According to Congressman Paul:
When small governments become too oppressive, citizens can vote with their feet, moving to a “competing” jurisdiction. If, for example, one state has a high income tax which the residents feel is inappropriate, they can move to Texas (as many have done) to keep more of their earnings. But as government becomes more centralized, it becomes more difficult to vote with one’s feet. There must be ample opportunity for citizen mobility: to proper governments and away from those which tend to be oppressive.
I’m aware that I’m mostly preaching to the choir, but we must be intellectually armed in this battle and we must immerse ourselves in these concepts, ready at any point to discuss them with those we come across. If we do our homework, and spread the word, federalism will no longer be a lost concept.
links:
The US Constitution - www.archives.gov/national-archives-experience/charters/constitution.html
The Federalist #45 - www.constitution.org/fed/federa45.htm