AMMENDMENT TO THE CONSTITUTION

OF

THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

The purpose of this proposed amendment to the Constitution of the United States of America is to define commerce which the federal government may regulate in accordance with Article 1, Section 8.

1. Commerce among the several states (hereafter called interstate commerce) which may be regulated by congress in accordance with Article 1, Section 8, is hereby defined as the actual exchange of goods or services between two or more states;
   
   
2. Goods or services may not be regulated as interstate commerce prior to an actual exchange of the goods or services between two or more states, nor after the last exchange of the goods or services between two or more states;
   
   
3. Goods or services may enter and leave interstate commerce many times but may only be regulated by the federal government while in interstate commerce. Wholesale and retail sales within a state (intrastate commerce) may not be regulated by the federal government. Private exchanges of goods or services by individuals not engaged in business is not commerce and may not be regulated by the federal government.
   
   
4. The method of payment shall not be deemed sufficient to bring intrastate commerce into interstate commerce (e.g. the use of a credit card drawn on a bank in another state to pay for intrastate wholesale or resale transactions for goods or services shall not make the transaction interstate commerce) nor shall the method of payment cause private exchanges of goods or services by individuals not engaged in business to become interstate commerce. The use of payment methods involving interstate commerce (e.g. credit cards drawn on a bank in another state) may in and of itself constitute a service in interstate commerce which may be regulated, however, the goods or services purchased by such methods may not be regulated by the federal government unless such goods or services qualify as interstate commerce as defined in paragraphs 1, 2 and 3 of this amendment.

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Discussion

The Constitution of the United States was intended to provide for a federal government with only the powers necessary for the orderly functioning of the nation. The federal government was not intended to have the unlimited powers it has assumed over the intervening years.

This is clear in the wording of the 10^th Amendment: “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”.

So how does the federal government get away with taking money you work hard for and giving it to someone who has done nothing to earn it? By claiming that poverty affects interstate commerce and it is thus within the powers granted to the federal government by Article 1, Section 8 of the Constitution to take your money and redistribute it for the betterment of interstate commerce. This is also the rational for federal gun control, drug regulations and just about anything the government does other than defending the shores of this nation and delivering the mail.

Now please note that I am not taking a position in this essay as to the need for welfare, or gun control or the regulation of drugs, etc. What I am saying is that these are matters for the states to address in accordance with the constitutions and laws of each individual state. As long as states do not deny citizens their rights under the federal constitution nor violate their own constitutions, it should be up to states to regulate guns within their borders, or decide which drugs are to be regulated and how within their borders. It should be up to the states or local governments to decide if and how citizens should taxed for welfare or medicaid or any other purpose within their borders. Not only would this be more efficient, it would give the people being taxed a more direct line to the government taxing them.

If you agree, please forward the above amendment to your congressman and senators. Forward it to your local newspaper and to the national media. Send it to your friends and link to this blog. This is an issue that at the very least can be used to get the attention of those in power by threatening to take their power away. Perhaps this will appear on the White House citizens initiatives site, who knows. Please feel free to let me know what you think.