How much our country has changed in less than 50 years!

John Kennedy said, famously, – “Ask not what your country can do for you, ask what you can do for your country”; what a long way Democrats and liberals have come from this idea in less than 50 years. Kennedy might have said - ‘Look not to government to make your life better, look to yourself to take advantage of what this great country provides’.

The federal government did not create the states, the federal government was created by the states – that’s why we are called the “United States of America”. Nonetheless the federal government has evolved in a way that it controls the states by offering tax money to states who comply with government mandated rules and laws. When you take money from the piper, you must play the tune he requires.

If Democrats succeed, they will take so much money from all of us for more and more government programs that a growing majority will become dependent on government for even the most basic things in our lives. If Democrats have their way, we become victims of government and then we may ask “what will happen to us when government can no longer take care of us?” Is there an end to this Democrat hoax; yes when the government finally bankrupts itself with excessive spending and collapses.

It is questionable whether the economy can continue as it is with excessive spending there is now and, even less so, under a future Democrat controlled government in which spending will likely increase beyond the equivalent of a ‘critical mass’. Even now 44% of our national debt is owned by foreign countries; half of that by China and Japan. The dollar has been devalued to just about 60% of what it was before ‘9/11’ and another devastating attack like that will start a chain of events that will cause the national debt to increase beyond our imagination. The world is worried more than we are; otherwise why are foreign traders choosing to trade in Euros instead of dollars and oil producing countries are also contemplating a change to Euros. What does this mean? It means that there is a growing loss of confidence in the ability of the United States make good on its debts.

Democrats mislead the country attributing our financial condition to the Iraq war but in reality it is our inability to control our desire to ‘do good’ that will be responsible for any future financial calamity. Unfortunately Democrats are aided in this lack of discipline by Republicans eager to portray themselves as ‘good guys’ too. In reality history has shown war is good for the economy, as long as we win. It creates jobs and new technology. More importantly, fighting wars (along with securing our borders) is one thing for which the Constitution authorizes Congress to spend our money. The Constitution does not authorize spending tax money on an ever-growing list of social programs such as universal health care, false 'global warming' measures, welfare ‘give-aways’, low-cost housing, largesse to special interest groups and their causes and benefits to illegal aliens.

A reading of the Constitution makes clear that Congress and the Executive branch are not constitutionally empowered to expand the federal role into the many areas of our lives that government has usurped. Congress is only authorized to make all laws necessary to carry out the powers enumerated in the constitution and that is the limit of congressional powers; the 10th Amendment states that all other powers are reserved to the states and to the people.

In another commentary we will take a look at the “enumerated powers” actually granted to the federal government.