Government Handouts Don't Work: Again

In the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, everyone felt sorry for the storm's victims, including the government. The result: billions of dollars in aid which, as it now turns out, didn't all get used for, um, necessities. That's right, can you believe it? The government gave people free money and instead of spending it on, food, clothing, and shelter; they spent it on strip clubs, Hawaiian vacations, and, most surprisingly, alcohol. Yes it's true, massive, unneccesary government handouts after Hurricane Katrina got wasted, although it shouldn't really come as a surprise. Sadly, free Government handouts have been getting wasted in this fashion since, well, the day they were first given out.

Since the dawn of the Populist/Radical Left-Wing movement in the United States some 100 or so years back, it has become commonplace to believe that problems can be solved by having the government simply throw money at them. As a result, the government gladly finances people's lives and, in an almost humorous way, expects them to do the right thing with the 5-figure check (or fully-loaded debit card) that they get handed -- which is completely absurd. Tell me, would you trust an anonymous stranger enough to give him X amount of dollars because he promises that he'll spend it on something worthwhile? Not unless you're either dumb or loose with your cash.

People, sadly, are not the ever-benevolent beings that big-government socialists would have you believe, especially when you plop a big chunk of change right in their laps. They are bound to use and abuse the gift given to them by the government, and even more likely to become dependant on it. Even the Hurricane Katrina victims, folks who genuinely needed money to purchase things that they had lost in the floodwaters, abused the privilege of government welfare. If these people, who, lets face it, are a bit more desperate and 'in need' that your average welfare recipient, spend their government check on a 6-pack of Bud, the ordinary citizen will too.

This misuse of money by Katrina victims once again proves that government simply cannot be the man with the open wallet, willing to give money to anyone who claims to need it. The reason is simple: it's not right for my tax dollars to help pay for Joe Smith's liquor and strip club binge. I, like most Americans, work hard for my paycheck; and to see the government take part of it away to help the someone pay for Saints tickets isn't just disgusting, it really ought to be a crime.

Oppose Gay Marriage - But Constitutionally Please!

Earlier today, as expected, the proposed Constitutional Amendment to ban gay marriage failed, and rightfully so. Don't get me wrong, I'm opposed to gay marriage, it's just that a Constitutional Amendment is not the right way to solve the problem. If you're wondering why, you need look no further than a Constitutional amendment that's already in place, the 10th. Marriage, you see, is an issue of States' Rights, and has to be banned at a State level as opposed to the National one.

The 10th amendment states simply that powers not delineated to the Federal Government are reserved to the States. Marriage falls under this category. Marriage licenses are issued by State governments, not the Federal Government; and that's because the power to do so has been reserved to the States under the 10th Amendment. So, if you get a marriage license from the State, doesn't it make sense that you would get a marriage ban from the State as well?

The way to define marriage as a union between a man and a woman is to either introduce a bill in the State legislature or to simply have a Statewide ballot measure. Simply put, make a new State law to define marriage, something that 45 States have already done, but leave the Federal government out of it. In fact, if Congress were to pass the Federal marriage amendment, it would, technically, be unconstitutional; because marriage, via the 10th amendment, is an entity over which Congress has no jurisdiction.

The United States is supposed to have a Federal system of government, which means the States and National government share power. In the last 75 years this has, most unfortunately, not been the case. The Federal government has slowly but surely gobbled up power, and is now at the point where it can blackmail the States into compliance. Of all the things you may think are wrong with this country today, this surely disturbs our Founding Fathers the most as they lie in their graves. Consequently, however old and unfashionable it may be, I try to beat the States' Rights drum when appropriate, and the Federal marriage amendment is clearly one of those times.