A Rebellion From Within

“Wise and frugal government, which shall leave men free to regulate their own pursuits of industry and improvement, and shall not take from the mouth of labor the bread it has earned – this is the sum of good government.” Thomas Jefferson feared that government infringement upon the people’s right to the freedoms of commerce and of trade, would eventually destroy our republic. Free market capitalism and American democracy are forever and permanently linked. One cannot exist without the other. America is the only government, known to man, specifically designed to limit its own influence. Our elected leaders are subject to the approval of the public and beholden to the will of their constituencies. Virtually every word written in the U.S. Constitution demonstrates the Founder’s intent to protect the American people from tyranny. Freedom of commerce was considered to be as essential to our democracy as any of the more celebrated liberties.

Article 1, section 8 of the U.S. Constitution, enumerates the specific and limited powers granted to the federal Congress. The Senate and the House of Representatives are allowed the ability to create all laws deemed “necessary and proper” for carrying into execution these limited powers. This “necessary and proper” clause was worded as such, due to the Founding Fathers’ belief that the Constitution should not be rigidly structured. In the rapidly changing world of late 18th century America, the Founders were keenly aware of the role modernity would play in the evolving perceptions of contemporaries and wished to leave room for discretion. However, the Founders still deemed it necessary to add what is known as “congressional limitations” to the text of America’s Constitution. Article 1, section 9, clearly enumerates the limits of federal power that the Founding Fathers viewed as essential to the survival of the Constitution; it acts as a prelude to the Bill of Rights.

Of the seven enumerated limits of Congress listed in article 1, section 9; three are dedicated to issues relating to commerce: 1. “No tax or duty shall be laid on articles exported from any state.” This was added to insure free trade for American merchants and to promote a global U.S. economy. 2.”No preference shall be given by any regulation of commerce or revenue to the ports of one state over those of another.” This clause was inserted to limit the ability of the federal government to influence the votes of any state or geographic region via the power of the purse. 3. “No money shall be drawn from the treasury, but in consequence of appropriations made by law.” This was to affect a more virtuous government where representatives’ votes could not be bought with taxpayer funds and to insure that its elected officials would be held accountable for their actions.

Clearly, the Founding Fathers sensed the direct correlation between the people’s right to freedom of commerce and the perpetuation of American democracy. When a government controls the commerce of its citizenry, these citizens then become its subjects; those who control the money, by default, control the people. It is worth noting that nearly every world dictator who has successfully overthrown a democracy has achieved this by one of two methods - by war, or by the implementation of socialism. When a people’s livelihood is dependent on the whims of government, democracy cannot long endure. Human nature dictates that people will not bite the hand that feeds them. This subjection to the government's will, is exactly what the Founders had feared. It is this scenario that encouraged the Founders to limit the government’s control over commerce and trade in America.

Is it any wonder then, that in the year 2010, the Tea Party Movement is flourishing in America? The Obama Administration’s policy of oppressive taxation on commercial industry, coupled with massive entitlement spending, is an existential threat to our democracy. As American private sector employment is rapidly diminishing, the scope of our government is multiplying. Excessive burdens on our commercial class are allowing for a de facto public takeover. Due to the policies of the Obama Administration and our current congressional leadership, the private sector can no longer compete with its public counterpart. This leaves small businesses and corporations at the mercy of our federal government and eliminates their ability to create jobs and to invest in future enterprise. With the unemployment rate at nearly 10%, more and more Americans now look to their government for aid. If this trend is not reversed in the near future, it will irreparably damage our nation. America may become a true welfare state with its people beholden to its government and its traditional work ethic negated.

Obama-Care, the Dodd financial reform bill, cap & trade and many other initiatives, all foretell the end of commercial freedom in America. While the Obama White House will tell you these are necessary measures designed to nurture the American people, the Constitution will tell you otherwise. In the words of Alexander Hamilton, a chief architect of our Founding document, “The power over a man’s subsistence, amounts to the power over his will”. The White House has initiated a constitutional rebellion; the people must now subdue it. They must vote into office, at every level of government, true representatives of the people. Freedom of commerce is a constitutional right that must prevail to sustain our democracy.



Jeremy Pitcoff

Smithtown Republican Committeeman