Budget? We don’t need no stinking budget!

Government spending is out of control, and most of it is unconstitutional

With drama around the raising of the debt ceiling looming once again, it felt an appropriate time to discuss government spending. The American people tolerate quite a bit of spending by the federal government, much of it wasteful, much of it unaccounted, and, perhaps to the surprise of most, much of it unconstitutional.

You may recognize my play on words in the title as a mimic of the line from Mel Brooks’ Blazing Saddles (which took and modified a quote from The Treasure of the Sierra Madre). In Brooks’ film, a corrupt state Attorney General named Hedley Lamarr hires some Mexican bandits as part of a posse set for attack. As one of Lamarr’s henchmen hand the bandit a badge, the bandit throws the badge and sneers, “Badges? We don’t need no stinking badges!” Even in the original, the implication, as with Congressional spending, is the same: we don’t need to have authority nor show any sign of authority to do what we do.

For at least a dozen decades, Congress has been spending beyond what the Constitution permits. Technically, we could go back to the first president and first Congress to see unconstitutional spending. Washington, despite the fears of the founders, writings in both the Federalist and Anti-Federalist papers, and the Constitution, petitioned Congress not just once, but twice for a standing army. The Constitution only provided for the militia and the navy, and specified how armies could be raised when necessary:

The Congress shall have Power…

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

U.S. Constitution, Article I, Section 8
 

No army was to be funded for more than two years. Yet here we are, over 200 years later, with no Amendment to the Constitution establishing a standing army, funding annually a standing army. I use this simply as an example of what we the people have wittingly, unwittingly, or tacitly permitted for far too long.

The Constitution is rather specific in naming purposes for which Congress may raise and spend money. Going back to Article I, Section 8, we read the following with regard to taxing and spending:

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;

To borrow Money on the credit of the United States;

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

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

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

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

To establish Post Offices and post Roads;

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;

To constitute Tribunals inferior to the supreme Court;

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

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

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

To provide and maintain a Navy;

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

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

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;

To exercise exclusive Legislation in all Cases whatsoever, over such District (not exceeding ten Miles square) as may, by Cession 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

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.

U.S. Constitution, Article I, Section 8

There are actually very few reasons for which Congress is permitted to “lay and collect Taxes, Duties, Imposts and Excises,” the primary of which are “to pay the Debts and provide for the common Defence and general Welfare of the United States.” The “general Welfare” is very much misunderstood and abused. Here it is clear that the welfare is that of “the United States,” not individuals, not business, not foreign countries. We the people need to be clear on this and hold our representatives accountable to work within these Constitutional parameters. The other specifics mentioned are to establish Post Offices and Post Roads, to raise and support armies for a term no longer than two years, to maintain the Navy, and to pay for functioning of the government. There are no other purposes for which the federal government is authorized to raise or spend money.

Joseph Story, Associate Supreme Court Justice from 1812 to 1845, wrote the following regarding this issue:

The power of taxation is not, however, unlimited in its character. The taxes levied must be (as we have seen) either to pay the public debts, or to provide for the common defence and general welfare of the United States. They cannot be levied solely for foreign purposes, or in an aid of foreign nations, or for purposes not national in their objects or character.

Story, Joseph A.. Familiar Exposition of the Constitution

Government is taxing and spending far more than what the Constitution itself permits. This is not an issue regarding one party or the other - this is a problem with both parties.

To look at some of the other unconstitutional spending we the people are funding (setting aside for the moment the fact that most of the agencies, bureaus, commissions/centers, departments in our government also violate the Constitution in that they are operating as unelected legislative bodies rather than simply enforcing the laws enacted by Congress) consider the recent omnibus bill. This bill sets out almost $2 trillion in spending, most of which violates the Constitution:

• $45 billion to aid Ukraine - the government is not authorized to give money (or equipment, for that matter) to foreign countries

• $38 billion in funding for natural disaster relief - once again, this is not within the purview of the powers granted to the federal government - the story “Not Yours to Give” (https://fee.org/resources/not-your-to-give/) helps illustrate

• Increases to Pell grant awards which would give $7,395 to approximately 7 million students (that’s roughly $50 billion) - which article in the Constitution authorizes the federal government to help people pay for college?

• $8 billion for child care for low-income families - again, which article includes this within the scope of the federal government?

• Over $10 billion for homeless assistance and community development - not the responsibility of the federal government

There is much more, especially for supporting agencies that should not exist, at least, not in their present form. None of these are purposes for which the Constitution authorizes government spending. Why do we allow it? Worse, Congress passes bills all the time that spend money illegitimately. Subsidies for favored businesses and organizations, tax rebates for purchasing favored products, pet projects for individual states, medical assistance via the Affordable Care Act and Medicaid, purchasing and providing COVID-19 shots and tests to the general population, paying damages to those injured by vaccines, providing “social security” and/or other subsidies for individuals in the country illegally, the list goes on and on. None of this is legal. None of this is Constitutional.

Despite the unconstitutionality, whenever the issue comes around of raising the debt ceiling, politicians hue and cry about how the government will shut down and the country will default on its debts. Why should we be in such a position when simply spending within our means and only for Constitutionally approved purposes would avoid it? Imagine if you could simply vote yourself a credit increase and call your credit card company to tell them they can’t deny your charges because your limit is now higher? How ridiculous a concept is that? In many ways, we are the government’s creditors. Should Congress vote on raising their own borrowing cap, or its that something on which we should have the final say? To them, it does not matter how much they spend, because they never feel the consequences - we do.

We the people need to insist our representatives work within a budget, and if they can’t, then they should not get paid. The irresponsible and unconstitutional spending must end. They may feel that they don’t need a budget nor authority to spend, but we know they do. It’s time to close the bank of we the people until they stop spending our money so negligently and nonchalantly.