Did Davy Crockett Misfire on this One?

  "We have the right as individuals to give away as much of our own money as we like in charity; but as members of Congress we have no right to appropriate a dollar of the public money." -- Davy Crockett
   So says a meme posted on Facebook, and I re-post it with my comment ahead of it:
   "Here's a though, but is it a true one? Could the same be said of any government spending? We have the right to give money for roads and infrastructure out of our own pockets, but for the government to make such an appropriation is robbery? Why can Congress appropriate money for one thing but not for another?
    "I would guess Davy really said this. We must wonder, then, if our current thinking cannot be traced all the way back to him. The beliefs of our icons become our own. I would suggest we ask ourselves, though, whether Davy was really right on this, and think it through on our own. It seems to me, if you can spend on roads, you can spend on the poor. To come up with some false logic saying you cannot help the poor only impedes the ability of the nation to help its poor."