Seattle Press on Line - Understanding the Constitution

Sandy Bradley's Potluck

Understanding the Constitution

By Sandy Bradley

Mar 07, 2001 -- Mr. President, it is the job of Republicans to be Republicans, and the job of a public official appointed by the Supreme Court to uphold the constitution which said Court espouses. Correct me if I'm wrong, but don't Republicans in general try not to tax and spend, but leave unto Caesar what is Caesar's, to the states their rights, to religion its separation?

The framers of the Constitution, in their wisdom, realized that the federal government should have limited powers and responsibilities, and that many of the functions which are essential for a healthy society should not be included in those powers. They provided a method to allow independent funding of entities which by some stretch of the imagination serve the public good, however one might define "good." The mechanism the Federal Government provided was tax-free status for non-profit organizations. That way, people could tax themselves to benefit the causes they personally find most appropriate, and the government would respect their contribution by staying out of the non-profit business, and by allowing donations to non-profits to be tax deductible. This deduction subsidizes those non-profits, and allows the donor to exercise independence in working towards the creation of a society of their own individual vision. It's as basic as freedom of the press; it's Freedom of Visionary Action.

True, many "faith-based" organizations do very good work and should have more money. Providing that support is not the job of the Federal government. Part of what we do through those organizations is to work towards changing how we act on our own values, and sometimes how we work towards changing how "our" government properly represents those values.

Even if the funding were doled out by some Supremely unbiased Court, small inequities would inevitably lead our independent pursuit of good into the service of the government, rather than vice versa. Those deemed "most moral" will get the funds, so the way to get funded will be to most loudly espouse the "morality: favored by the administration.

Volunteerism is another way we support those non-profits. It's as important as money! Does that mean that the government will start providing volunteers? They could double as infiltrating enforcers to assure that the government's support is not squandered.

Is this a power-grab? The government might be feeling powerless, having abdicated to corporate big business. It's government, after all--It has to be boss of something! Sorry, W, but the task of doing what's right for my community is so important, I can only entrust it to myself.

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William H. Huff	May 17, 2001	Hampstead, MD	Activist
quaerere dat sapere quae sunt legitima vere [to inquire into them is the way to know what things are truly lawful]. Visit www.lexrex.com - where tyranny is fragile! And you can read and learn your American Constitution.