Friday, April 30, 2010

James Madison on the Welfare State

1-I cannot undertake to lay my finger on that article of the Constitution which granted a right to Congress of expending, on objects of benevolence, the money of their constituents.

2-The government of the United States is a definite government, confined to specified objects. It is not like the state governments, whose powers are more general. Charity is no part of the legislative duty of the government.

P.S. I'm getting more and more convinced that Madison was the most libertarian of the Founding Fathers, far surpassing Jefferson, Hamilton and others.

1 comment:

Richard Thornton said...

Did he call himself a "libertarian?" "Libertarianism" almost seems like some type of religious cult; maybe he is the real messiah?