Sunday, February 1, 2009

Constitutional authority

The R A N T of G L E N N glenn3@frontiernet.net
Glenn Jacobs / 130 N. Poverty Flat / Box 954 / Eagar, Arizona 85925 / 928-333-3517
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Federal spending authority

Letter to the editor;

(An open letter to your Congresscritter)

Do you get your authority by way of the Constitution?

(YES.)

Do you get just a little extra authority some other way?

(NO.)

The Constitution tells you how you may spend money

.Army.

Navy.

Post offices and Post roads.

Patent office.

Courts.

Piracy-punishment.

Counterfeiting-punishment.

Treason-punishment.

Naturalization laws.

Bankruptcy laws.

There's some stuff about the militia, too. No doubt that authorizes you to spend money on it.

Did I miss anything?

(YOU SURE DID.)

But the list is short.

Is your authority open-ended? Is it limitless?

(NOT REALLY.)

Is there a clause in the Constitution that if Congress REALLY wants something, or if the political situation REALLY requires it, that over-rides the whole rest of the Constitution?

(OH, DON'T I WISH!)

The chances are that we could pay off the national debt in a single generation if you would obey the Constitution and limit your spending to those items it authorizes.

Glenn Jacobs
Eagar, Arizona

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