FreeMarketUnderBlog

There is much debate and discussion regarding the “original intent” of the Founding Fathers in constructing the Constitution. I am not so presumptuous to suggest that I can better determine the original intent than anyone else, but I would suggest a look at the larger picture. That is, rather than debating a few words or a clause here or there, people should focus on the larger picture of intent. 

It is very clear that the Founding Fathers wanted to restrict the federal government as much as possible. Nearly every single element of the constitution was put forth to restrain and limit the government, not to give it a perpetual upper hand, like a monarch, against the citizenry. They didn’t want simply to tie the hands of government. They wanted to tie its hands and legs, break its limbs, then tie it up in the back yard and kick it if it tried to get up. That was the sort of restriction of government powers intended by the Founding Fathers, and is a far cry from the centralized power the federal government has today. Instead, today, we have created a Frankenstein monster set loose on the citizenry under the pretense of being a caring and generous society. 

Remember what Winston Churchill once said. That “democracy is absolutely the worst form of government … with the possible exception of all the others”. On this issue it is likely that Winston Churchill was in agreement with the Founding Fathers in their assessment that a government was a “necessary evil”. Not something to be desired, but a necessary evil. 

Another interesting description of Democracy, this one by Benjamin Franklin, is that “Democracy is two wolves and a sheep deciding what to have for dinner.” Today in this country if you have any assets and income, you, my friend, are the sheep. These changes proposed here are presented in the spirit of keeping that sheep off the spit. Not because I’m rich, because I’m not. Just because it’s right and it’s fair. There is no sense in flushing the prosperity of an entire country – a great one at that – down the tubes in the name of compassion and society. This approach has been in the works since at least the 1930s, and you can see where it has gotten us so far. 

In sum, there should be some guiding principles that prevent a majority of voters from relieving you of your property (and, by the way, money is property). Despite the best intentions of the Founding Fathers, we today are light years away from this ideal.