Why I'm 'wasting' my vote

"With respect to the words general welfare, I have always regardedthem as qualified by the detail of powers (enumerated in theConstitution) connected with them. To take them in a literal andunlimited sense would be a metamorphosis of the Constitution into acharacter which there is a host of proofs was not contemplated by itscreators."

James Madison, the principal author of the Constitution, said this toexplain the so-called "general welfare" clause of the Constitution.Today both parties ignore the original intention of the general welfareclause. And this is precisely why I cannot vote for either party.

Madison and the Founding Fathers envisioned a limited government,along the lines of Henry David Thoreau, who said, "That government isbest which governs least."

Think about it. If the general welfare clause of the Constitutionallowed unlimited federal powers, why bother with Article I, Section 8,which sets forth the specific powers and duties of the federalgovernment? The Founding Fathers left to the states all responsibilitiesnot specifically enumerated in the Constitution.

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This means the Supreme Court correctly interpreted the Constitutionwhen it initially rejected much of Franklin Delano Roosevelt's so-called"New Deal." This means the Supreme Court correctly rejected Congress'first attempt to pass an income tax, ruling that this, too, violated theConstitution.

Think about the concept of Social Security. The government,determining its citizens too irresponsible to plan for the future, takespart of a worker's paycheck. Then, when that worker retires, thegovernment "returns" the money, but at a paltry rate of interest.

Remember when President Clinton said of the budget "surplus," "Wecould give it all back to you and hope you spend it right. But ... ifyou don't spend it right, here's what's going to happen."

In Philadelphia at the Republican National Convention, Republicancandidate George W. Bush declared that the federal government shouldtake no more than a third of one's income. A third! How about zero? Readthe Constitution. The Founding Fathers allowed duties and tariffs tofund the limited obligations of the federal government.

The Soviet Union collapsed under 100 percent socialism. But, throughMedicare, Medicaid, and other government programs, government paysroughly 50 percent of our health-care tab. In 1965, Congress passed theMedicare Act. In the 20 years before the Act, a one-day stay in thehospital increased threefold. In the 20 years following the passage ofthe Medicare Act, a one-day stay in a hospital increased eightfold. Fullsocialism doesn't work, nor does semi-socialism. Government involvementin health care increases the prices, decreases innovation, anddiminishes accessibility.

What about government welfare for the poor and the needy? EconomistThomas Sowell estimates that bureaucratic red tape and costs burn up 70cents for every dollar intended for the poor and needy. Contrast thiswith organizations like the United Way and the Salvation Army, whereover 85 percent of the donated dollar gets down to the intendedbeneficiaries.

Did the Founding Fathers envision an intrusive, heavy-handed InternalRevenue Service that collects a disproportionate percentage of taxesfrom "the wealthy," often the hardest-working and most innovative ofAmericans?

Did the Founding Fathers envision a Congress that pays farmers not togrow crops?

Did the Founding Fathers envision a government-operated Amtrak, runless efficiently than private sector rail companies?

Did the Founding Fathers envision taxpayer funding of sports stadiumsand arenas?

Did the Founding Fathers envision Congress, through the use of theinterstate commerce laws, deciding to pass laws mandating minimum wages,or dictating work rules from the Potomac?

Did the Founding Fathers envision a Department of Education attachingstrings to federal funds earmarked for education, a function that shouldbe local in nature?

Did the Founding Fathers envision the federal erosion of the SecondAmendment, a provision providing a right to keep and bear arms?

Did the Founding Fathers envision a federal government that hiresteachers and police officers, a function the Founding Fathers expectedlocal authorities to handle?

Did the Founding Fathers envision the federal government to answerquestions such as abortion or school prayer, given Thomas Jefferson'sdeclaration of a wall separating church and state?

Richard Nixon said that, to capture the presidency, a Republicancandidate runs to the right in the primaries, and then to the center ina general election. But "the center," misled by a"distribute-the-wealth" media, misunderstands Economics 101 and theintentions of the Founding Fathers.

I intend to vote for Libertarian Party presidential candidate HarryBrowne. Many say I waste my vote. You've heard the argument -- vote thelesser of two evils. But at his brother Robert's funeral, Ted Kennedyquoted his late brother: "Some men see things as they are and say 'why.'I dream things that never were, and say 'why not.'"

I say "why not."