Garvey's Ghost: Black Talk

Willy Williams Just Can't Stop

I wish I were paid to write anything that comes to mind. Mr. Willy Socialism is evil Attempted to answer some of his detractors by pointing to a portion of Article 1 section8 of the US Constitution which he quoted as:

Article I, Section 8 of the U.S. Constitution enumerates just what federal functions Congress has taxing and spending authority. Among them are national defense, post offices and post roads, courts and a few other activities

a "few other activities" such as? Well being one who during myh college years kept a copy of the constitution on my person at all times, I went back and looked at exactly what section 8 says:

Section. 8.


Clause 1: The Congress shall have Power To lay and collect Taxes, Duties, Imposts and Excises, to pay the Debts and provide for the common Defence and general Welfare of the United States; but all Duties, Imposts and Excises shall be uniform throughout the United States;

Clause 2: To borrow Money on the credit of the United States;

Clause 3: To regulate Commerce with foreign Nations, and among the several States, and with the Indian Tribes;

Clause 4: To establish an uniform Rule of Naturalization, and uniform Laws on the subject of Bankruptcies throughout the United States;

Clause 5: To coin Money, regulate the Value thereof, and of foreign Coin, and fix the Standard of Weights and Measures;

Clause 6: To provide for the Punishment of counterfeiting the Securities and current Coin of the United States;

Clause 7: To establish Post Offices and post Roads;

Clause 8: 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;

Clause 9: To constitute Tribunals inferior to the supreme Court;

Clause 10: To define and punish Piracies and Felonies committed on the high Seas, and Offences against the Law of Nations;

Clause 11: To declare War, grant Letters of Marque and Reprisal, and make Rules concerning Captures on Land and Water;

Clause 12: To raise and support Armies, but no Appropriation of Money to that Use shall be for a longer Term than two Years;

Clause 13: To provide and maintain a Navy;

Clause 14: To make Rules for the Government and Regulation of the land and naval Forces;

Clause 15: To provide for calling forth the Militia to execute the Laws of the Union, suppress Insurrections and repel Invasions;

Clause 16: 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;

Clause 17: To exercise exclusive Legislation in all Cases whatsoever, over such District (not exceeding ten Miles square) as may, byCession 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, dock-Yards, and other needful Buildings;--And

Clause 18: 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.

I'm not seeing how this helps Willy's argument. Furthermore there are other sections of the Constitution that directly contradict Willy's point, which was that the taking of public funds to give to some other entity is wrong and that the Federal government does not have the right to do so (he called it theft).

The very next section of the constitution states the following:

Clause 7: 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.

how are appropriations made? Well by the powers described in Section 7 and Section 8. In other words had Willy actually read the document that he chose to back up his argument he would have seen that he had no argument.
In the end Willy's problem is not the mechanics of how public money gets used, it's what it is used for. I think he has an excellent point on that. I definitely do not agree with my taxes going to Israel or Iraq. I don't agree with the massive defence spending that is used to bomb the US' way out of stuff they talked themselves into. But Willy decides to use faulty arguments that most people can see through. And he wonders why he get's asked dumb questions by the press.

Links:
http://www.house.gov/Constitution/Constitution.html
http://www.jewishworldreview.com/cols/williams.html