FreeMarketUnderBlog

The Constitution specifically states that the government has the ability “To regulate Commerce … among the several States”. This is the dreaded “interstate commerce clause” with which the federal government justifies being involved in virtually every commercial enterprise or industry. The pretense, which has unfortunately been upheld by the US Supreme Court, is that any thing that might possibly ever be sold over state lines falls under the purview of the US government by virtue of this “commerce clause”. 

One recent example of the US government’s use of this clause is in its stand against state approval (i.e. in California) of medical marijuana laws. Because marijuana sold in California for medical purposes could be transported and sold in another state (i.e. across state lines), the government reasons that it falls under “interstate commerce” and is subject to its jurisdiction. Never mind that a sober interpretation of the constitution clearly implies that the right to use marijuana, medical or otherwise, is left, like most rights, to “the states or to the people”. 

The broad interpretation that allows the government to meddle in virtually any activity it so desires is a travesty. It is doubtful and unlikely that the Founding Fathers, given their obvious bias toward limiting the powers of the federal government would have left this language so vague if they knew it would foster such regulations as the amount of water that a toilet can use per flush. While many would argue that the concern over safe food, safe drugs and safe consumer products justifies these regulations, the point is whether these regulations fall into the jurisdiction of the federal government.  A properly narrow interpretation of the commerce clause would suggest that the answer is an unequivocal “No”. 

It is widely accepted that the single largest intent behind the Commerce Clause was to guarantee free trade between the states, by making certain they did not tax and tariff one another’s goods as they came across state lines. Even a casual reading of the Federalist Papers bears this notion out. Therefore, this clause should be re-written simply to state “that goods and services shall flow freely between and among the states without tax or tariff, and that the federal government shall act as arbiter for disputes regarding commerce between the states”. This would go a very long way toward removing both the mountains of regulation that burden virtually every business and industry and the abridgement of a nearly unlimited number of personal liberties.