The first amendement to the US Constitution states
Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.
Each of these rights are owned by the people and Congress cannot infringe upon them. The right to free speech requires a person to act upon it to exercise the right. The government cannot compel you to speak in any way. It is your responsibility to decide to exercise the right. Likewise the right to peaceably assemble is the individual person's responsibility. The government cannot coerce you either to assemble or not to assemble. If you assemble with others then it remains your responsibility for you to be "peaceable" to maintain the right. The government is not responsible to provide you a place to assemble nor is it responsible to transport you to a place of assembly. It is your right to assemble but also your responsibility to put out the effort and identify/reserve a place for assembly and to transport yourself there.
Likewise with Religion. Congress cannot prevent your free expression of religious belief nor can they compel any given religious belief; and yet, it is up to you to even have any religious belief. Your religion is your right and your responsibility. The government does not fund or provide churches for you to attend. If you want to have a church, it's up to you - not the government.
The press has the right to publish freely, and thus they have the responsibility to choose to do so. They cannot be compelled to publish nor can they be prevented, but the government does not publish their work... it is their responsibility to find the means to publish.
So do you have a right to health care? Of course. The ninth amendment states
The enumeration in the Constitution, of certain rights, shall not be construed to deny or disparage others retained by the people.
Therefore anything not overtly stated in the Constitution remains your right, and thus your responsibility. You want the freedom to choose your own health care? Of course. That has been your right since 1791. But recognize that it is also your responsibility to provide for it.
If you ask for government to become responsible for health care then you are ceding your right to health care. You are effectively yielding your right to make decisions about health care to the government because the party that bears the responsibility holds the right. If government is responsible to provide health care then you no longer have the right to freely make decisions about your health care. Government-directed health care is not a right of the people but rather it is a right of the government to coerce and control the people.
If you ask for government to become responsible for national defense then you are ceding your right to defend your nation on your own. In fact, this is a right carved out specifically for the Federal Government. Neither the people nor the states have the right to defend the nation... that right - and it's responsibility - is identified as the government's beginning in the Preamble and also in Section 8 of Article I
Section 8. 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;
So does the next phrase mean that Congress has the responsibility to provide for the general welfare of the US? Of course it does. The key is to understand what "General Welfare" means.
#2 - General Welfare means an equal treatment of benevolence to all, but not to any individual or group
General Welfare means the well-being or benefit to all in equal measure. This means that the Federal Government is prohibited from establishing a policy or procedure that benefits any individual, group, city, region, state, class or any other group of people in any way differently from any other group.
In other words, it is not appropriate for the Federal Government to issue money to one person or any group of people without issuing the same amount to every person. It is not appropriate for the Federal Government to issue regulations that restrict or encourage any business differently from any other business. These points of differentiation are allowed by the state governments and/or the people. Amendment #10 states
The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people.
Another key factor in the US Constitution that supports this philosophical understanding the the phrase "General Welfare" can be found in the last portion of the first paragraph of Article I, Section 8
but all duties, imposts and excises shall be uniform throughout the United States;
This portion emphasizes that General Welfare means that actions by the Federal Government must be beneficial to all the states and all the people, punish none of them, and otherwise cause no harm or preference to anyone.
Thus it is not appropriate for the Federal Government to be involved with any policy that treats senior citizens differently from younger people. It is not appropriate for the Federal Government to provide health care for some people and not for others. It is not appropriate for the Federal Government to collect taxes from any individual or group of people in any way that is different from collecting from others.
#3 - Fair Taxation means either everyone pays the same amount or everyone pays the same percentage
The sixteenth amendment to the US Constitution provided the permission for the Federal Government to gain access to individual people's income regardless of how many people reside in a state or how much money is collected from one state as compared to another state
The Congress shall have power to lay and collect taxes on incomes, from whatever source derived, without apportionment among the several States, and without regard to any census or enumeration.
This amendment, in combination with the proper understanding of general welfare and the requirement that "all duties, imposts and excises shall be uniform throughout the United States " specifically prevents the concept of progressive taxation or creating any exceptions from taxation. In other words, all people who earn an income in the United States are subject to either paying the same amount of money as a tax upon income (for example, every person who earns an income pays $100, regardless of how much they earn) or they must pay the same percentage (for example, everyone pays ten percent - no more and no less - no exceptions based on whether you have a house, give to charity, have children, etc. If you earn an income then you pay ten percent, just like all other people who earn an income).
#4 - There is no such thing as "The Economy", there are multiple economies.
The common practice of referring to economic hardships with a single overarching label of "The Economy" reveals a significant misunderstanding of the term. Economies exist between people, not within governments. Each state has the power to enact laws that may affect the economies between its citizens. Likewise county and city governments may also enact legislation that affects economic conditions. The Federal Government should not be actively engaged in the economies of its people or states other than to create a stable currency of common exchange.
#5 - The Federal Government is only supposed to control land for the purposes of military bases or locating Federal offices.
The Louisiana Purchase was certainly allowable as a private venture, but the use of Federal funds to do it placed the Federal government into the new position of being a deed holder for land outside of its Constitutional authority. The Constitution does not provide for the Federal Government to own or control any land in any state or territory other than for military bases and for Federal offices. Lands used for highways, parks, or otherwise under Federal control should be returned to their rightful owners - the states (or territories) in which they are located.
#6 - Federal budgets have a built-in limit of two years, maximum.
The Constitution identifies the House of Representatives as being the branch of government that initiates all Federal spending and budgets. No representative has a term of greater than two years. Logic dictates, therefore, that the longest duration that a Federal budget could be in effect is two years. In fact the Constitution dictates that Congress is allowed to budget no longer than two years for military spending. Any Federal budget that extends beyond two years is a falsification because no subsequent Congress is bound by the budgets of previous Congresses.
#7 - There is no requirement to re-elect any Representative, Senator or President
The Constitution does not prohibit the re-election of the people's and states' representatives, but neither does it require re-election. The practice of referring to new Congressional representatives as "Freshmen" implies a longevity not found or implied within the Constitution. There is no need to ever re-elect any person to Federal service. It would likely serve the freedoms of the people well to never re-elect any person to Federal office. Eliminating re-election would reduce the abuse of power inherent in incumbents being able to campaign while simultaneously serving in office. No Constitutional amendment is required to pursue this option - the supervisors of the US Constitution (We The People) simply need to agree to cease extending the contracts of our representatives.
#8 - Representatives were originally intended to actually know the majority of the people they served.
The Constitution originally established a ratio of one representative for every 30,000 people. It does not mandate that ratio and Congress has long ago taken steps to alter the number of representatives to an exact maximum of 435. This means that as the population grows, each person has less and less power (less and less personal proportion of representation) within the Federal Government. It is not reasonable for a single person to effectively represent the needs and interests of 450,000 people. Although the House chambers would be overwhelmed with the physical space requirements for re-establishing a one-to-thirty-thousand ratio, the interests of the people would be much better served. There is no requirement that Congress physically meets more than once a year and housing Congressional offices within their local districts would ensure greater accountability to having them truly represent their constituents.
#9 - The Federal Government has only three primary responsibilities: Provide National Defense, Oversee Equal Justice, and Ensure Free Trade.
The Constitution clearly defines these three roles and empowers each branch with either primary responsibility or tertiary oversight. The Executive Branch is primarily responsible to provide National Defense, the Judicial Branch is primarily responsible to oversee equal justice, and the Legislative Branch is primarily responsible to undo the restrictions on trade established within and between the states.
#10 - The Federal Government may not collect or record any information about a person without a warrant.
The Fourth Amendment states
The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no Warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by Oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized.
This implies that without a warrant the Federal Government cannot collect nor maintain any specific information about any single individual person. The Federal Government cannot dictate how a person is to be able to live and direct their own life, nor how they establish or maintain their own housing. The Federal Government has no right to any paperwork or personal documentation regarding a person nor any property that the person owns or controls. The rights of the people to control these things can only be yielded to the Federal Government if the Federal Government pursues and obtains legally issued warrants.
So how can the Federal government be involved in providing housing for anyone? Providing food? What about knowing how much you have earned or knowing anything (ANYTHING) about your medical history? Such things are not the purview of the Federal government. Should the people or the states wish to devise a mechanism to provide these things to anyone, they have the right to do so, but the Federal government must not play any role in it, nor do they have any right to the documentation of these things without first issuing proper warrants.
