Providing charity is not the proper role of government

Letter to the Editor:

It appears from letters to the Sanders County Ledger  from Jan. 22 that there are some folks upset with State Senator Jennifer Fielder’s article of Jan. 12 on “Charity Versus Taxes.” I think those people are misconstruing the point that Senator Fielder was trying to make.

So, in support of Senator Fielder, I am submitting a condensed version of the famous speech by Senator Davy Crockett to Congress on the proper role of government.

Crockett served nine years in Congress. While Crockett was in Congress, a fire broke out in Georgetown, a suburb of Washington, and many of the Congressmen, including Crockett, helped fight the fire.

The next morning Congress voted $20,000 to assist those whose homes were destroyed. Crockett voted for it.  Later, Crockett was scolded by a constituent named Horatio Bunce for using other people’s money as charity.  Bunce challenged Crockett to find where in the United States Constitution Congress is allowed to spend one penny of other people’s money for charity. Crockett couldn’t think of any such provision. Bunce told Crockett he had a right to help with his own money, but not other people’s money.

In another situation, when Congress wanted to give a substantial sum to the widow of a distinguished naval officer who had just died, Crockett took the floor and said, “Mr. Speaker, ... Congress has no power to appropriate this money as an act of charity. Every member upon this floor knows it. We have the right, as individuals, to give away as much of our own money as we please in charity; but as members of Congress, we have no right to appropriate a dollar of the public money.” The bill was defeated and Crockett offered to donate a week’s salary to the widow as a gesture of private charity.

The proper role of government must be reduced back to the genuine principles of the Constitution.  So help us God.