Constitutional Freedom

“The Migration or Importation of such Persons as any of the States now existing shall think proper to admit, shall not be prohibited by the Congress prior to the Year one thousand eight hundred and eight, but a tax or duty may be imposed on such Importation, not exceeding ten dollars for each Person.

The privilege of the Writ of Habeas Corpus shall not be suspended, unless when in Cases of Rebellion or Invasion the public Safety may require it.

No Bill of Attainder or ex post facto Law shall be passed.

(No capitation, or other direct, Tax shall be laid, unless in Proportion to the Census or Enumeration herein before directed to be taken.) (Section in parentheses clarified by the 16th Amendment.)

No Tax or Duty shall be laid on Articles exported from any State.

No Preference shall be given by any Regulation of Commerce or Revenue to the Ports of one State over those of another: nor shall Vessels bound to, or from, one State, be obliged to enter, clear, or pay Duties in another.

No Money shall be drawn from the Treasury, but in Consequence of Appropriations made by Law; and a regular Statement and Account of the Receipts and Expenditures of all public Money shall be published from time to time.

No Title of Nobility shall be granted by the United States: And no Person holding any Office of Profit or Trust under them, shall, without the Consent of the Congress, accept of any present, Emolument, Office, or Title, of any kind whatever, from any King, Prince or foreign State.”

Interestingly enough this section is called the limits on congress. The congress was setup as the true representative body of the people of the United States. The idea was that with regular elections and proximity of relationship, members in congress would be subject to the wishes of the people. As such; however, the people and the congress need limits. It is clear today that the congress has decided to pursue its own course. Why does congress believe that their agenda is better than that desired by the silent majority.

So let’s break down some of the language defined in this article. First and foremost is the mentioning of habeas corpus. Habeas corpus is the right of individual to a trial. To not just be locked up forever. Also interestingly enough it may be suspended under the constitution if there is a concern for public safety or the concern over rebellion. We currently face the question with the prisoners at Guantanamo, as to whether or not they deserve the right to appear before a judge. The argument may be made that as we are in a time of war, and they are considered the adversary, they do not deserve to receive time before a judge. As a counter argument, you may consider that many of these individuals were picked up haphazardly in the early days of the war in Afghanistan, when it was truly unclear who was an enemy and who was not. I personally believe that these individuals should not be brought into the United States to appear before our justice system, but rather they should be subject to a military trial in accordance with the Geneva Convention.

The next set of limitations primarily focus on interstate commerce. There was a lot of concern during the formation of the constitution that state’s rights be preserved. However, the members of the constitutional convention also recognized the need to have unity among the states. By requiring states to engage in commerce freely between each other, this forced them to also remember to stay united. Obviously the states faced serious challenges in the 1800’s at staying united, and I believe that there will continue to be challenges. One particular challenge is the concern that some of the more fiscally conservative states face when looking at their more liberal counterparts. For example, California is suffering from significant budget short-falls, and has pleaded for federal assistance. However, when carefully considered, federal assistance is truly assistance from other states, who have been more careful with the tax dollars received and spent. I believe that Californians must accept the hard reality that is inadequate funds. Our nation must also recognize that money doesn’t grow on trees and if we are not careful we will soon find ourselves in a place we never wanted to be.

I will continue this discussion in the next post.

“The Congress shall have power to lay and collect taxes, duties, imposts and excises, to pay the debts and provide for the common defense and general welfare of the United States; but all duties, imposts and excises shall be uniform throughout the United States;

To borrow money on the credit of the United States;

To regulate commerce with foreign nations, and among the several states, and with the Indian tribes;

To establish a uniform rule of naturalization, and uniform laws on the subject of bankruptcies throughout the United States;

To coin money, regulate the value thereof, and of foreign coin, and fix the standard of weights and measures;

To provide for the punishment of counterfeiting the securities and current coin of the United States;

To establish post offices and post roads;

To promote the progress of science and useful arts, by securing for limited times to authors and inventors the exclusive right to their respective writings and discoveries;

To constitute tribunals inferior to the Supreme Court;

To define and punish piracies and felonies committed on the high seas, and offenses against the law of nations;

To declare war, grant letters of marque and reprisal, and make rules concerning captures on land and water;

To raise and support armies, but no appropriation of money to that use shall be for a longer term than two years;

To provide and maintain a navy;

To make rules for the government and regulation of the land and naval forces;

To provide for calling forth the militia to execute the laws of the union, suppress insurrections and repel invasions;

To provide for organizing, arming, and disciplining, the militia, and for governing such part of them as may be employed in the service of the United States, reserving to the states respectively, the appointment of the officers, and the authority of training the militia according to the discipline prescribed by Congress;

To exercise exclusive legislation in all cases whatsoever, over such District (not exceeding ten miles square) as may, by cession of particular states, and the acceptance of Congress, become the seat of the government of the United States, and to exercise like authority over all places purchased by the consent of the legislature of the state in which the same shall be, for the erection of forts, magazines, arsenals, dockyards, and other needful buildings;–And

To make all laws which shall be necessary and proper for carrying into execution the foregoing powers, and all other powers vested by this Constitution in the government of the United States, or in any department or officer thereof.”

It is impressive the rights that the constitution gave to congress.  I believe that it is because the founders recognized that congress was attached to the people.  Congress would be established by the people within a state, and therefore would more easily follow the demands of their state.  By granting this power to congress the founders were effectively saying, “We Believe in the American People”.

The author believes in the American people too!  I believe that the normal American is freedom loving, loves their family, and has a desire to make the world around them a better place.  I think we all fall into the fallacies of human kind but that does not mean that we aren’t good people.  That is why I think we need to stick to the intent and word of the constitution, which ensures that the power of government is wrested on the people of the country.  Granted this does not mean that majority should always rule as discussed in a previous post, but rather that the laws should allow good people to have their freedom, and that laws should protect the people not inhibit them.

Section 7. All bills for raising revenue shall originate in the House of Representatives; but the Senate may propose or concur with amendments as on other Bills.

Every bill which shall have passed the House of Representatives and the Senate, shall, before it become a law, be presented to the President of the United States; if he approve he shall sign it, but if not he shall return it, with his objections to that House in which it shall have originated, who shall enter the objections at large on their journal, and proceed to reconsider it. If after such reconsideration two thirds of that House shall agree to pass the bill, it shall be sent, together with the objections, to the other House, by which it shall likewise be reconsidered, and if approved by two thirds of that House, it shall become a law. But in all such cases the votes of both Houses shall be determined by yeas and nays, and the names of the persons voting for and against the bill shall be entered on the journal of each House respectively. If any bill shall not be returned by the President within ten days (Sundays excepted) after it shall have been presented to him, the same shall be a law, in like manner as if he had signed it, unless the Congress by their adjournment prevent its return, in which case it shall not be a law.

Every order, resolution, or vote to which the concurrence of the Senate and House of Representatives may be necessary (except on a question of adjournment) shall be presented to the President of the United States; and before the same shall take effect, shall be approved by him, or being disapproved by him, shall be repassed by two thirds of the Senate and House of Representatives, according to the rules and limitations prescribed in the case of a bill.”

This is imperative that every American know and understand as our spend-happy government is leading us to complete and utter destruction. Legally all bills that raise taxes or revenue need to come from the House of Representatives. Why do you think the founders felt that this was necessary? Because the House of Representatives are up for election every two years and because they come from districts that are relatively small. This means that if you don’t like the taxes you have to pay, talk to your representative. Hopefully he lives relatively close to you.

We like to pretend that the government has infinite amount of money, it can just keep selling treasuries to the Chinese and they can just pay for everything we need. This is not realistic, logical or true. The government will eventually have to either repay the money or default on the debt. I hate to think how the Chinese would feel if we defaulted on the debt. What does a bank do when you default on your mortgage? They take your house! Can the Chinese take our Country? Maybe…

“The Senators and Representatives shall receive a Compensation for their Services, to be ascertained by Law, and paid out of the Treasury of the United States. (The preceding words in parentheses were modified by the 27th Amendment.) They shall in all Cases, except Treason, Felony and Breach of the Peace, be privileged from Arrest during their Attendance at the Session of their respective Houses, and in going to and returning from the same; and for any Speech or Debate in either House, they shall not be questioned in any other Place.

No Senator or Representative shall, during the Time for which he was elected, be appointed to any civil Office under the Authority of the United States which shall have been created, or the Emoluments whereof shall have been increased during such time; and no Person holding any Office under the United States, shall be a Member of either House during his Continuance in Office.”

The above section to the first Article is relatively straightforward. However, it does provide a good introduction into an item the author considers to be an imminent problem. The Omnibus bill is currently being voted upon by the senate. The spending is $410 billion dollars. This represents an 8% increase over last year’s spending for general government functions. This is completely absurd considering the recent passage of the stimulus package, which already increased government spending by $800 billion.

Government revenues are about $2.5 trillion. That’s a lot of money, considering it is about 18% of total GDP. That means that on average every single income earner in the United States is paying on average about 18% in taxes. Now include state taxes and the total average tax burden is about 30%. Even then, the government can’t get its fiscal house in order. The total deficit this year will be well over $1 trillion. That means that if we wanted to pay off the debt we’ll incur this year alone we either need to increase taxes by 50% or we need to cut government spending in half. Now compound the interest, previous debt etc, and we have a very serious problem.

The government has decided that they can spend as much as they want without consequences. How can a government expect its citizens to remain content knowing that the leaders of our nation are driving us straight towards a cliff? Please comment and let us know your frustrations with this government irresponsibility.

“Each House shall be the Judge of the Elections, Returns and Qualifications of its own Members, and a Majority of each shall constitute a Quorum to do Business; but a smaller number may adjourn from day to day, and may be authorized to compel the Attendance of absent Members, in such Manner, and under such Penalties as each House may provide.

Each House may determine the Rules of its Proceedings, punish its Members for disorderly Behavior, and, with the Concurrence of two-thirds, expel a Member.

Each House shall keep a Journal of its Proceedings, and from time to time publish the same, excepting such Parts as may in their Judgment require Secrecy; and the Yeas and Nays of the Members of either House on any question shall, at the Desire of one fifth of those Present, be entered on the Journal.

Neither House, during the Session of Congress, shall, without the Consent of the other, adjourn for more than three days, nor to any other Place than that in which the two Houses shall be sitting.”

Have you ever seen the old Jimmy Stewart movie, “Mr. Smith Goes to Washington”? In the movie Jefferson Smith (Jimmy Stewart), was appointed to fill a vacancy in the Senate. He is anxious to please his superiors and vows to follow their lead. After he discovers a plan to uproot the young boys camp, however, he becomes adamantly opposed to a bill presented by his own Senator. He then exercised his right to filibuster. During the filibuster he, he requested a quorum call. This is according to the Article 1 Section 5.

This section also has come into play over the recent appointment of Senator Roland Burris of Illinois. According to Section 5 if two-thirds desire him to be out, they can vote him out. Therefore if he claims at any time that it is unconstitutional for him to be removed from office, you can know that it IS constitutional.