The Commerce Clause
“If we were to accept the Government’s arguments, we are hard pressed to posit any activity by an individual that Congress is without power to regulate.”
In a 2003 column, Walter Williams explored the abuses of the Commerce Clause in the U.S. Constitution. The Commerce Clause’s original intent was to encourage free trade between states. It’s current interpretation serves a far removed purpose: Federal economic planning.
Nancy Pelosi, when recently asked by CNS News “Madam Speaker, where specifically does the Constitution grant Congress the authority to enact an individual health insurance mandate?” replied: “Are you serious? Are you serious?” The CNS piece follows: “Currently, each of the five health care overhaul proposals being considered in Congress would command every American adult to buy health insurance. Any person defying this mandate would be required to pay a penalty to the Internal Revenue Service.”
It is unfortunate that our schools have not imparted to our citizens enough of a rudimentary understanding of the context of the Constitution to recognize a flagrant violation of their own protection when they see it. An overly loose interpretation of the Commerce Clause grants vast and unwieldy power to Congress to arrange its citizens’ interactions and modify their behavior in nearly an infinite variety of ways. A Supreme Court check to such power may be the only recourse..
