Concerns of the Founders

While drafting the Constitution, our Founders had several concerns that have turned out to be prophetic.

They understood that future generations would be tempted to give up their freedoms for the promise of safety and lack of want, in other words, a "welfare" state where the government provides for its citizens from cradle to grave.

Only by working hard and receiving the rewards of our own labors can a free people pursue true happiness. This is because a person grows in maturity and realizes his own worth by taking care of himself and his own family.

Truly helpless individuals (the Bible specifically mentions widows and orphans, but there are others who may be "needy", at least temporarily) should be helped, not by the Federal government but by family, neighbors, friends, church members, or community organizations. When government becomes involved in such matters, it always makes a mess of things because of bureaucratic inefficiency and the lack of personal concern for fellow human beings.

The able-bodied are exhorted to work in order to provide for themselves and their families: "If a man will not work, neither let him eat"(II Thessalonians 3:10). Giving money to a person capable of taking care of himself robs that person of dignity and ambition to better himself. The current welfare situation breeds multi-generational laziness and discontent. Why not encourage personal excellence through the gaining of a work ethic instead of dependence upon government handouts?

"If we can prevent the government from wasting the labors of the people, under the pretense of taking care of them, they must become happy." --Thomas Jefferson