Early in the days of the Republic, our forefathers granted authority to the federal government to establish a common currency — dollars and cents. They gave the federal government the power to tax; to raise revenue; to pay the common bills; to do all those things that the federal government had responsibility to do.
As time wore on, it became apparent that the federal government needed to increase revenue. So, an amendment to the Constitution was passed that gave the federal government the authority to institute an income tax; to raise more common dollars and cents to pay the common bills out of a common fund.
As time wore on, the federal government spent more and more of that common revenue on things that, well, were not so common at all. They spent the common funds on frivolous pursuits, on things for which there was no Constitutional authority for them to spend, and on their friends or helping special interest groups. Let’s be clear, common funds were being spent on things that did not benefit the common people, but only benefitted the special interests. Our common funds were no longer spent on common interest.
When will we return to common dollars spent on common goals? When will return to common cents?
(Previously published in A Collection of Monkeys (2018))
Comments