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if the commerce clause and general welfare little clause allow US fed gov to do pretty much anything, as a lot people think (and is our current law)
if this were true, you might have a point...
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As for the general welfare clause, the Supreme Court has ruled that clause has no legal effect. The general welfare clause is not used as justification for new laws.
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well what's the constitutional justification for federal welfare then, for wealth transfer programs?
I mean, I can't find it anywhere in the const., and people who can (to best of my knowledge), point to general welfare thingee.
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I think I was being overly nitty. According to
Wiki you're right: the general welfare clause is the justification for social spending. I was interpreting the phrase "pay the debts" to be a separate clause.
The Supreme Court ruled in US v. Butler (1936) that the general welfare clause constituted an independent power of Congress to spend money on whatever it wants. Probably not coincidentally, this decision was handed down shortly after the implementation of the New Deal and the Court Packing Scheme.