Judge Andrew Napolitano explains how we got from a Constitution written expressly to put strict limits on the authority of the federal government (and we must keep in mind that the revolution was all about opposition to a government that exerted overweening powers) to one where many politicians think it’s perfectly all right to dictate what people must buy in his column today. The Supreme Court expanded the scope of the “Commerce Clause” over the centuries, and in the New Deal said that it would mean that Congress could dominate virtually every aspect of the nation’s economy.
Why should anyone worry about that though? Aren’t our politicians interested in advancing “the public good”?
No. Politicians are mainly concerned with their own good, which is usually best advanced by cozying up to special interest groups. And they don’t have more knowledge than other people. Furthermore, while individuals and businesses tend to quickly correct their own mistakes — because they keep losing money if they don’t — politicians let their mistakes continue and grow worse. The losses fall on taxpayers, after all.
All of this is why no one should want government control of medical care, or the market for any other good or service.
