Since both of you approach this through the prism of 'General Welfare' however, from two different sections of the Constitution, let me explain to you both why you are both wrong in one post....
The Federal Government has continued to expand its power using misinterpretations of the US Constitution as its defense. The General Welfare clause is one of the most commonly misinterpreted and seemingly vaguest of all of the clauses in the Constitution. There is much that can be written on the subject, however, the meaning of the ‘General Welfare’ clause is easy to grasp with just a few observations. The first is the common definition of both general and welfare. The second is to which body or entity this clause applies.
Common Definitions:
General: “involving, applicable to, or affecting the whole”
Welfare: “the state of doing well especially in respect to good fortune, happiness, well-being, or prosperity.”
Source: (
Dictionary and Thesaurus - Merriam-Webster Online)
So, the US Constitution states that the US government will promote the state of well being, happiness, and prosperity for the whole. Those in defense of the expansion of Federal power (and what are now defined as Federal “welfare” programs and entitlement programs) stop there and are satisfied with this generic application of such a definition. However, in order to completely understand the meaning and intended purpose of this clause, you must define who or what makes up the “whole”. In other words, to whom does the General Welfare clause apply?
Article 1, Section 8:
“The Congress shall have Power To lay and collect Taxes, Duties, Imposts and Excises, to pay the Debts and provide for the common Defence and general Welfare of the United States; but all Duties, Imposts and Excises shall be uniform throughout the United States;”
This section specifically defines to which body or entity the general welfare clause is to apply. Since the United States is specifically made up of the States themselves, this clause applies to the States as a whole and not the People. The US Constitution addresses specific entities throughout the document. The People as an entity are only addressed twice in the main body of the US Constitution and in no case does the General Welfare clause apply to the People specifically. However, the Constitution does specifically define the rights which are to be retained by the People, as you can see in the following constitutional amendments. Notice the 10th Amendment.
Amendment I
“…or the right of the people peaceably to assemble.”
Amendment II
“…the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed.”
Amendment IV
“The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures,…”
Amendment IX
“The enumeration in the Constitution, of certain rights, shall not be construed to deny or disparage others retained by the people.”
Amendment X
“The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people.”
Amendment XVII
“…elected by the people thereof…”
“…That the legislature of any State may empower the executive thereof to make temporary appointments until the people fill the vacancies by election…”
Is it a Power?
Looking at the two occurrences of “General Welfare” within the US Constitution, it is important to observe that in neither case does the phrase itself delegate any power. The first occurrence is in the Preamble to the US Constitution where the purpose of the Union and US Constitution is stated. The second occurrence is in article 1, Section 8 relating to the taxation authority of congress as stated before. Article 1, Section 8 is where all congressional authority is enumerated. It was understood that congress had no power that was not specifically enumerated in the US Constitution. A broad reading of the General Welfare clause would render the enumeration of powers pointless. There would be no specific limitation to Federal power. Instead, it would only require an argument that any action was for the general good. This was not the intention by those who created the document. To answer the original question, is the general welfare clause an enumerated power? No, not in either occurrence.
US Consitution General Welfare | What Does General Welfare Mean? | University of Common Sense
And I leave you with the words of a founding father:
“With respect to the words general welfare, I have always regarded them as qualified by the detail of powers connected with them. To take them in a literal and unlimited sense would be a metamorphosis of the Constitution into a character which there is a host of proofs was not contemplated by its creators.”
– James Madison, Letter to James Robertson April 20, 1831