Many Americans are understandably confused about how the federal government has grown so big and so powerful.
The Constitution doesn't appear to grant to Congress any of the power they currently wield. On the contrary, an honest, straightforward reading of the Constitution suggests that Washington only has authority over a limited, narrow set of issues, and everything else is left up to the states.
That's what the Framers intended when they wrote the Constitution, but as Prof. Rob Natelson explains in a fascinating new article, the Supreme Court threw out much of that structure in two decisions in the mid-20th century.
Those two decisions, United States v. Butler (1936) (pdf) and Helvering v. Davis (1937), effectively rewrote the Constitution to allow Congress to spend money on virtually any topic. Rather than remain within the confines of the Constitution, these decisions ruled that Congress could levy taxes on any topic as long as it promoted the "general welfare" of the nation.
As it says in Article I, Section 8, Clause 1, "The Congress shall have Power To lay and collect Taxes, Duties, Imposts and Excises, to pay the Debts and provide for the common Defence and general Welfare of the United States..."
However, as Prof. Natelson explains, the Framers used the term "general welfare" in a different way then we use it today.
In reading the text, the court ignored 18th-century word definitions. In 18th-century political discourse, “common” and “general” usually meant national rather than regional or special. “Provide” meant “lay up provisions for,” not “spend” (pdf). Thus, the phrase “provide for the common Defence and general Welfare” meant only that taxes were limited to storing up funds for national, rather than local or special-interest, purposes.
There are other reasons to believe the Court wildly misinterpreted the General Welfare Clause, but the damage was already done: thanks to these two decisions, Congress can tax and spend on any topic, regardless of the 10th Amendment or the rightful authority of the states.
As Prof. Natelson explains, these decisions amounted to a re-writing of the Constitution without the approval of the people or the states.
There's only one way to restore our country to its original structure. The Court will never re-interpret the Constitution after decades of abuse, which is why we must call the first-ever Article V Convention of States.
A Convention of States is called and controlled by the states and has the power to propose constitutional amendments. These amendments can fix bad Supreme Court precedent by clarifying, among other things, the true meaning of "General Welfare."
With these and other amendments in place, the federal government will be restricted to a narrow set of topics and all other issues -- education, agriculture, the economy, energy, etc. -- will be left to the states, where We the People have a real voice in government.
Over 5 million people have joined the movement, and 15 states are on board. To add your name to the list, sign the petition below!
