My Own Political Party

James Madison, the fourth President of the United States, is often regarded as the Father of the United States Constitution. He also authored, with John Jay and Alexander Hamilton, the Federalist Papers. James Madison opposed the proposal to put Congress in the role of promoting the General Welfare:

If Congress can employ money indefinitely to the so called General Welfare they may take the care of religion into their own hands. They may appoint teachers in every state, county and parish and pay them out of their public treasury. They may take into their own hands the education of children, establishing in like-manner, schools throughout the union. They may assume the provision of the poor. Were the power of congress to be established in the latitude contended for, it would subvert the very foundations and transmute the very nature of the limited government established by the people of America.

How telling these words our. How far from the original ideas of the founding fathers we have come.

Madison also noted:

The government of the United States is a definite government, confined to specified objects. It is not like the state governments, whose powers are more general. Charity is no part of the legislative duty of the government.

According to Madison, the federal government should not be involved in charity (and I believe that includes welfare, social security and medicare/medicaid), but these “powers” should be left to each individual state.

Congress has become so involved in redistributing tax money, that it has lost sight of what its real function is.