[geeks] Taxes

[Michael Parson]

On Fri, 23 May 2008, Phil Stracchino wrote:

> Sridhar Ayengar wrote:
>> Jonathan C. Patschke wrote:
>>> On Fri, 23 May 2008, Michael Parson wrote:
>>> 
>>>> This is the only tax proposal out there written by economists, not
>>>> politicians.  It removes the power of taxation from the government and
>>>> gives power back to the citizens, which is why the Congress doesn't
>>>> like it.
>>> 
>>> I have a better tax proposal:  limit the scope of the national
>>> government to what the Constitution defines and lower the taxes to
>>> support that.  Without entitlement programs, a standing army, regulation
>>> of intrastate commerce, and all the other 'services' the national
>>> government forces upon us, they could probably be funded solely though
>>> bake sales.
>> 
>> Isn't "regulation of interstate commerce" one of the activities the 
>> Constitution specifically requires the Federal Government to perform?
>
> It is indeed.  Article One, Section Eight.
>
> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Article_One_of_the_United_States_Constitution#Section_8:_Powers_of_Congress
>
> "... To regulate commerce with foreign nations, and among the several states, 
> and with the Indian tribes; ..."

And it is the clause in the Constitution that is most often abused to
justify the federal government's involvement in things that should
be left to the individual states.  For example, they classified
'tourism' as inter-state commerce, so anything that might make a state
less attractive to tourists would give them the right to come in and
intervene.

-- 
Michael Parson
mparson at bl.org