BEWARE of the Trickery Behind a “Balanced Budget” Amendment! | Eastern North Carolina Now

    Our federal Constitution is one of enumerated powers only. If you spend 20 minutes to read through the entire Constitution and highlight all the powers delegated to Congress and the President, you will get a complete list of the objects on which Congress is authorized to spend money. THAT is how our Framers controlled federal spending. If it's on the list of delegated powers, Congress may lawfully spend money on it. But if it's not on the list, Congress may not lawfully spend money on it.

    Few people know of the existence of this list of delegated powers - no one in Congress seems to be aware of it. Most of what Congress spends money on is not on the list.

    The solution is to downsize the federal government back to the powers on the list.

    All versions of a Balanced Budget Amendment fundamentally change the constitutional design - they create a new standard for spending: They change the constitutional standard for spending FROM whether the object is on the list TO a limit on total spending - where Congress may lawfully spend money on whatever they want.

    To add insult to injury, the limits on spending are fictitious because the limits can be waived whenever the government votes to waive them.

    So a Balanced Budget Amendment does nothing to reduce federal spending.

    Why the push for a Balanced Budget Amendment? Because such an amendment transforms our federal government FROM one of limited and narrowly defined enumerated powers - the items on the list - TO one of general and unlimited powers. This is because a Balanced Budget Amendment permits Congress to spend money on WHATEVER they want.

    God gave you a brain. You have a moral obligation to use it. Look behind the curtain those agitating for an Article V convention have put up.

    And learn what's on the list. (See Article I, Section 8 of the US Constitution for the list)


    Publius Huldah is a renowned constitutional attorney who writes prolifically and speaks at rallies and before government bodies as an authority on the meaning and intent of the US Constitution. You can read more from her on her blog

    Publisher's note: Contributor Diane Rufino also serves of co-publisher for Pitt County NOW.