I wonder tonight if the general welfare clause of the Constitution should be subordinate to the enumeration of powers given the federal government in Article 1, Section 8.
Reading comments from the Founding Fathers, it seems they did intend for it to be this way, did intend the things enumerated to have precedence over the general welfare clause.
And, it causes me to wonder at what type of a government would be left, if powers were kept within what the listing. I read through each item, anticipating that our government would be limited much more than it is. As I progressed through my reading, however, I wondered if most everything the federal government is doing might fit under this umbrella. Maybe, maybe not, depending on how you interpret those things in the listing.
The government should be allowed to only do these things:
1. It should be able to tax in various forms.
2. It should have power to pay its bills.
3. It should be able to provide for the common defense.
4. It should be able to provide for the general welfare.
5. It should keep taxes uniform throughout the United States, which probably means one state or section of the country shall not be imposed greater taxes than another. Or, does it mean graduated income taxes are not allowed? I don't think so, but maybe.
6.It should be allowed to borrow money and run up a debt.
7. It should regulate trade and commerce with other nations and between states.
8. It should establish the rules of naturalizing people as citizens when they came from other countries.
9. It should govern bankruptcies and make the rules on bankruptcies.
10. It should coin money.
11. It should establish which weights and measurements are used.
12. It should set laws and punishments for counterfeiting.
13. It could have a postal service. Does this granting of authority imply that other national utilities and services are appropriate? Does a national health system fit under this?
14. It should provide highways, if that is what is meant by saying it could "post roads."
15. It should promote the progress of science and the arts. Does this extend authority over schools and learning?
16. It should extend patents and copyrights.
17. It should have a court system beneath the Supreme Court.
18. It should define and punish crimes committed internationally. It refers to "Offences against the Law of Nations," which makes me wonder if the Constitution blindly made room for NATO, the United Nations and other such international laws and organizations.
19. It should have power to declare war.
20. It should have officers armed to fight contraband and piracy, and authority to make rules regarding international captures and arrests.
21. It should raise and support armed forces, although there would be no standing armed forces. The duration of any armed force would be limited to two years.
22. It should be allowed to have military posts and sites, and allowed to govern them.
23. It should be allowed to draft and use other measures to raise an armed force.
24. It should be allowed to suppress both insurrections and invasions.
25. It should provide the training, and arming for the military forces.
26. It should not set the rank for officers in command positions, as that should be left to the states.
27. It should be allowed a system of disciplining those in the military, thus our military courts.
28. It should be allowed a district where the federal government is headquartered, thus the District of Columbia. And, it should be the legislative arm for that district.
29. It should have authority to govern all places and sites purchased or transferred from the states for federal use as military sites.
30. It should not have any sites used for the armed forces except those granted to it by the state legislatures. In other words, there shouldn't be a Ft. Douglas unless the Utah Legislature authorizes it.
This is one of the provisions that makes me reflect the most. It doesn't say anything about this applying to all federal lands, but I wonder that if military places need to be acquired from the states, then if we are to have any other federal properties -- national parks and BLM lands and such -- should they not come under the same rule? This might flip me on my head in my opinion on federal lands.
(Last updated and corrected 8/4/17)
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