That Pesky "General Welfare" Clause

Here's my audience last night for the following speech: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tcOntgnvYu4&feature=related.    

Does our United States Constitution allow for government health care? Many people are carelessly --or disingenuously-- using the phrase “promote the general welfare” to justify confiscating taxpayers’ hard-earned money, while claiming that opponents of government takeover of health care are greedy or uncompassionate. If the authors of the Constitution intended to collect taxes for health care, it’s odd that this was not undertaken by the first five Presidents, who were all considered Founding Fathers. It’s odd that Benjamin Franklin, who helped found the first hospital on this side of the Atlantic and was one of its primary fundraisers, did not advocate using federal tax dollars for health care. Our third president, Thomas Jefferson had this to say about the general welfare clause: “...Congress has not unlimited powers to provide for the general welfare, but were to those specially enumerated and that, as it was never meant they should raise money for purposes which the enumeration did not place under their action,...consequently that the specification of powers is a limitation of the purposes for which they may raise money.” (letter from Thomas Jefferson to Albert Gallatin, June 16, 1817, 30 years after the signing of the Constitution.) Our fourth president James Madison, the “Father of the Constitution,” wrote in a letter to Edmund Pendleton in 1792, “If Congress can do whatever in their discretion can be done for money, and will promote the general welfare, the government is no longer a limited one, possessing enumerated powers...” 

So what are these “enumerated powers”? What does our Constitution say is the US government’s job? Army. Navy. Immigration laws. Regulation of international trade. Protection against pirates. And only about fifteen other jobs, listed in Article I, Section 8. Then, just to make certain that there was no confusion, the 10th Amendment 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.” That’s us. We the People. Government works best when its closest to the people it represents. Nationalized health care puts medical decisions in the hands of bureacrats in DC, moving power from the people directly to the executive branch who will appoint said bureacrats.

According to Lenin, socialism is a transitional stage between capitalism and communism. Reagan warned in the 1960’s that socialized government health care would allow socialism to gain a foothold; find the Youtube clip under “Reagan health care.” And then reread your Constitution. It’s time to remember that ours is a constitutionally-limited government of the people, by the people, and for the people. If general welfare is provided, rather than promoted, we might well be asked to provide subsidized cabbage, heat, and clothing for all. It’s been done. But mountains of cheap cabbage in the streets of China stink; Mao suits are ugly and oppressive, and so is socialism. Thanks, but no thanks; however well-intentioned ‘progressives’ may be, we the people prefer liberty.

High Taxes Means Lost Jobs for Snohomish County

Boeing announced today that they will be building their second 787 production line in South Carolina.  Governor Gregoire's 'no more concessions for Boeing' strategy was the height of foolishness and conjures up images of the proverbial ostrich. While some of our elected representatives were holding fake townhalls (ticketed only) on Initiative 1033 and Referendum 71, South Carolina's governor called a special session and their legislature hammered out additional tax incentives to lure Boeing to their state. Why? That famous "three-letter word" that now-VP Joe Biden told us was the top issue: "J-O-B-S."  In Snohomish County, 14% of the jobs are directly related to Boeing, another 2.5 jobs are created by each of those Boeing jobs, and 22% of the total salary in the county comes from Boeing. Snohomish County is struggling: 67,000 of us are out of work, and 6000 more homes are about to get their foreclosure notices. Seems like our Governor and State Legislature would be doing everything possible to promote job-creation here.  Boeing seems an obvious place to start, but apparently special interests control not only the pursestrings but the legislative process.  The Republicans in the Washington State Legislature proposed bill after bill to try to answer Boeing's requests but these bills never got the chance to be voted on; they were buried in committee, by the Powers That Be.  

It's not as if Boeing hasn't been patient. In the 1960s Boeing told the state to lower taxes or they would leave.  Warnings were given each decade and in 2003 Boeing asked for and was promised four things: workforce training, infrastructure improvement, unemployment insurance reform, and reform of workers' compensation insurance.  Workforce training means education; has it improved to acceptable levels? We have a high school graduation rate of 70.9% in Snohomish County; NEAP test results show 38% of Washington State 8th grade students score above proficiency in math.  Do your own experiment: ask recent high school grads what the tax is on $200 at 8%.  Most of them can't do it, as my husband found in 'mock interviews' he conducted last week. Would you want to hire these kids to build an airplane?

 Infrastructure improvement: are you spending less time in traffic than you did six years ago? Neither is Boeing--and shipping time is money.  Reform of workers' comp: why does it take three times longer to recover from a leg injury here than in another state? Go figure. Let's ask the business owner who filmed one of his employees on workers comp carrying a bathtub into a house and putting a roof on a house. Labor and Industries threatened the employer with a lawsuit if he released the video. Your tax-dollars at work.  Perhaps this begins to explain why Washington residents finally reached Tax Freedom Day on August 17 this year, a full month later than last year, according to Evergreen Freedom Foundation.  Yes, that's the day you got to begin earning money for your budget...instead of government's budget for their wish list.  Unemployment insurance reform: ours is sixth-highest cost in U.S, over double the SC cost. 

It doesn't have to be this way.  When your elected representatives' wish list doesn't bear any resemblance to yours, it's time for a change. If a job is at the top of your list, or a good education for Washington's kids, or lower health care costs, it's time to back legislative candidates who will make it happen. Do your State Representatives really represent you?

Smaller Government = More Liberty and Prosperity

Hello, I’m Elizabeth Scott and I’m running for State Representative, for the 21st Legislative District which includes all of Mukilteo, and parts of Edmonds, Lynnwood, Mountlake Terrace and south Everett, roughly from I-5 to the water, and from the Edmonds ferry to the northern edge of Mukilteo.

These are exciting times. Citizens are becoming informed and involved, because they see that government spending is unsustainable. Tax Freedom Day this year came on August 17, a full month later than last year; this is the day when you got to start earning money for your budget, not the government’s.  I am running because I want to be part of the solution: smaller government will solve our state’s problems with the economy, education, and health care. My District is in Snohomish County, where 14% of the jobs and 22% of the salary are directly related to Boeing, and 2.5 jobs are lost for every Boeing job lost; you would think that the State Legislature would be scrambling to find ways to make Washington a good home for Boeing, but Chief Executive magazine ranked us the 40th-best state for business, due to our high taxes. I will fight for lower taxes, starting with restructuring the B&O tax and L&I. I’ll propose a Blue Ribbon Commission of business leaders to recommend how we can simplify regulation and red tape. Texas, due to their lower taxes, created more jobs in 2008 than the other 49 states combined. Washington can thrive again with smaller government, which history proves will create jobs and bring in higher tax revenue.

Speaking of the future, did you know that the high school graduation rate in Snohomish County is 70.9%, according to the Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction?  Worse, many of those who graduate and go on to community college find that they must take remedial math or English classes, or both. So the taxpayers are paying for it twice. Our state constitution says education is of ‘paramount’ importance, but after several decades of good intentions but broken promises, it’s clear that government’s incessant meddling isn’t working.   This is because government works best when it’s closest to the people it represents.  I will fight to give principals more freedom to make personnel decisions and to control their budgets and curriculum. Parents know what they want: they want their kids to learn reading, writing, and math, but this Legislature is failing to help kids learn these basics and instead brings up more extras for schools to be burdened with, without funding for the new requirements.  I have a Master’s Degree in Teaching English as Second Language; I taught college ESL for ten years in China, the Middle East, and three states, including at Edmonds Community College and three others in this area. I know what works in diverse classrooms; I sometimes had over a dozen languages represented in one class. Our teachers and principals want to see our students succeed. Let’s give them the freedom to use their creativity to make that happen.  

We also need patient-centered health care reform that lowers costs and increases privacy.  We should attach health care to the person, not the job, because many people are falling through the cracks when between jobs or starting a new one; a combination of health savings accounts and catastrophic insurance coverage would facilitate this change.   We can lower costs by allowing purchase of health care across state lines, greatly increasing competition; by a lawsuit abuse reform plan which would lower costs for doctors so they can charge less; and by allowing different levels of coverage, as we have with car insurance, and smorgasbord plans so people can choose what they want covered. For five years, I worked in countries that had government-run medicine and I do not want that experience again.  I will fight to increase health care options, because I believe that YOU are the best judge of what you need, and government has no business standing between you and your doctor. 

I have a record of teaching people how to fish, instead of handing them a fish.  We’ve heard enough of these career politicians’ empty promises. Only 23% of our elected representatives in Olympia have even held a job that wasn’t funded by taxpayers, but I’ve worked long hours in jobs ranging from farming, to fast food, to childcare, to researcher, so I know that money doesn’t grow on trees or in taxpayers’ pockets. It’s time for a return to responsible spending, lower taxes, individual responsibility, and a prosperous America. Our state constitution says ‘all political power is inherent in the people.’   We the People demand that government be returned to us. 

I’m Elizabeth Scott and I’m asking you to hire me to represent you in Olympia. I'll bring your kind of common sense. 

www.elizabeth4state.com