What should be the role of government?

If the Framers had wanted a central government with as little power as right wingers today desire, they would have stayed with the Articles of Confederation and Perpetual Union.

Originally posted by no1marauder
If the Framers had wanted a central government with as little power as right wingers today desire, they would have stayed with the Articles of Confederation and Perpetual Union.

One could even say that the Articles of Confederation were the Founders' experiment with "Tea Partydom" -- and they found it sorely lacking.

Originally posted by whodey
With tax dollars collected every year, about $850 billion goes toward Medicare/Medicaid every year and about $750 billion goes towards social security. Then you have spending for defense which is about $700 billion. The next greatest expense is the department of labor at about $150 billion.

So there you have it. About $1.6 trillion goes toward the nanny ...[text shortened]... t would seem that they are desperate to keep the engine running that drives the welfare state.

Right you are!! These poor misunderstood billionaires in America deserve a few more Bentleys! Perhaps we should lower there taxes to 0. As far as all these Social Security recipents that have worked all there lives, and now want to retire, OFF WITH THERE HEADS! They don't deserve to live anymore anyway. Just because they paid into Social security for decades, why should they deserve anything!? They can get off there wrinkled old butts and pull there own weight. This is America!...and we don't tolorate any lazy asses here!🙄

Originally posted by bill718
Right you are!! These poor misunderstood billionaires in America deserve a few more Bentleys! Perhaps we should lower there taxes to 0. As far as all these Social Security recipents that have worked all there lives, and now want to retire, OFF WITH THERE HEADS! They don't deserve to live anymore anyway. Just because they paid into Social security for decades ...[text shortened]... tts and pull there own weight. This is America!...and we don't tolorate any lazy asses here!🙄

Last week households and small businesses making over 250,000k per year were called "millionaires and billionaires".
Now, you're just calling em' "billionaires". You people on the far left are really silly.🙄

Originally posted by no1marauder
If the Framers had wanted a central government with as little power as right wingers today desire, they would have stayed with the Articles of Confederation and Perpetual Union.

We don't want to turn back the clock all the way to the 1700's. Just turning it back to the turn of the 20th century will due. You know, right before the advent of the federal income tax which feeds the beast.

Originally posted by MacSwain
To raise and support armies, but no appropriation of money to that use shall be for a longer term than two years[/i]

Looks like we gave up on that one long ago.

Originally posted by Melanerpes
[/i]Other examples:
Give everyone access to affordable healthcare = "GENERAL welfare"
Have a system in place to ensure that no one in the nation starves = "GENERAL welfare"

now you might define "GENERAL welfare" in a way that differs from the way that I define it. My point is that the founders had many differences of opinions about these sorts of ...[text shortened]... s vague and let the people decide these issues through the democratic process they set up.[/b]

Good points---those would qualify as promoting the general welfare.