Sangamon County Libertarians
Springfield, IL
sangamon
State/National Party News
Check out the footage from the Non-Intervention Rally on March 20, 2010
States Rights
States Rights and Responsibilities
Written by: Lex Green
Rights and privileges are misunderstood by legislators and citizens alike. The application of law from various jurisdictions using conflicting interpretations only confuses citizens and sets the stage for the erosion of rights in spite of intent. The very purpose of civil government is for the protection of our individual rights. Municipal and state laws should constrained to that purpose as much as possible as well. Going beyond that mandate can immediately bring our rights as citizens under attack.
The relationship of state government to the national government in our federal system must not be mistaken. To allow the national government the right to tell state citizens what they can or cannot do violates the contract between the states that is the foundation of our country. The purpose of national intervention into the affairs of citizens is only allowed in the case that state law becomes abusive of the rights of citizens. As long as the state is not abusive of rights, it is in compliance with the federal contract and national interference is not needed. Ultimately, that was the reason for the 14th Amendment.
The 1875 Civil Rights Act was declared unconstitutional by the Supreme Court in 1883 because of the over reaching application of national power, ostensibly through the 14th Amendment. Here is an excerpt from that ruling referring to individual rights as positive rights:
“Positive rights and privileges are undoubtedly secured by the Fourteenth Amendment; but they are secured by way of prohibition against State laws and State proceedings affecting those rights and privileges, and by power given to Congress to legislate for the purpose of carrying such prohibition into effect: and such legislation must necessarily be predicated upon such supposed State laws or State proceedings, and be directed to the correction of their operation and effect …”
In other words, if the state has not passed law abusive of individual rights, the federal government does not have standing to interfere in the affairs of its citizens. To do so would violate the respected order of jurisdictional limits.
It is unfortunate that, after the Civil War, many states did not adequately protect the rights of former slaves. In fact, many abuses of national power can be traced to an inadequate response by the states to maintain the sanctity of individual rights. However, national government encroachment into these areas results in law that coerces rather than protects. The results may help some citizens, but it is almost always at the loss of rights of others.
The current health care law is a prime example of national law that oversteps state jurisdiction and results in the loss of rights of state citizens. By mandating an imaginary “right” to health care, the labor of healthcare providers and the property of taxpayers are unfairly infringed. If, indeed, such a right did exist, the state should respond by protecting that right. But it is hard to protect a right that doesn’t exist, and national encroachment just makes things worse.
These types of actions by the United States Congress infringe on the rights of citizens to be secure and free in their own lives. It also infringes on the responsibility of municipalities and states to protect those rights. If Congress oversteps its constitutional bounds in this manner, it is the right and responsibility of the states to overrule Congress and protect the Life, Liberty and Property of state citizens. If the state doesn’t do its job on behalf of its citizens, then we may find we have come to Liberty’s end.
Lex Green is the State Chapter coordinator for the Illinois Tenth Amendment Center.
Taxes
Taxes - Inflation - Interest - Leaves you with debt, little ability to save and leads to dependence. Here is a short article from James Harris a writer at Liberator online.
The Income Tax: Then and Now
As the dreaded April 15 approaches, it's worth remembering that the income tax, which is now mind-boggingly complex and afflicts vast numbers of Americans, originally was extremely simple and was intended to tax only the very wealthiest citizens.
There were only four pages in the original 1913 1040 form: a one-page 1040 form, two pages of worksheets, and one page of instructions.
Today, just the instructions for the 1040 runs... 175 pages.
You can see the original 4-page form here, courtesy of the Tax Foundation.
And what about tax rates? Economist Mark J. Perry of the free-market blog Carpe Diem tells us:
"Individual income tax rates started at 1% in 1913, and the maximum marginal income tax rate was only 6% on incomes above $500,000 ($11 million in today's dollars). The personal exemption was $3,000 for individuals ($66,000 in today's dollars) and $4,000 for married couples ($87,500 in today's dollars)..."
This means, of course, that almost no one in America was expected to have to pay the federal income tax -- since the average income in 1913 was only about $750.
How things have changed. Tax revolt, anyone?
From Lex Green
We The People of the several States created a federal government to serve as our limited agent, delegating to the federal government only those limited and few powers listed in the Constitution, and no others.
We recognize the federal government has seized unlimited power over virtually every aspect of Americans’ lives in violation of the Constitution of the United States, specifically with respect to the Tenth Amendment.
We call upon freedom-loving citizens everywhere to stand with us, as candidates for state and federal office, to pass meaningful and sensible legislation to restore the most critical check and balance deliberately designed into our constitutional republic: that of strong, sovereign states.
We pledge to limit and restrain all federal government exercise of power that exceeds in any way the plain language of those few powers listed in the Constitution and to nullify all others that exceed such limit.
When we restore the balance of power between the states and the federal government according to the Constitution, our country will enjoy the dynamic blessings of liberty and prosperity.
Your Illinois Tenth Amendment Candidate
Springfield, IL
sangamon
