Government exists to promote the general welfare of a nation.

[editor's note: This is the fifth in a series of six articles to be published that express my views on the nature of the Federal Government, and Congress in particular. The six principles are:

1) The Constitution is law, not a living document
2) The Constitution guarantees a government of fixed and limited powers
3) A democratically elected representative government is a right. Being a representative is not
4) Government is not a wealth transfer system
5) Government exists to promote the general welfare
6)Government does not exist to protect you from yourself

end editor's note]

Government exists to promote the general welfare of a nation.

Maxim: Social engineering and pandering to the interests of a targeted group or region is not a legitimate goal.

Your representative does not represent your local interests at the national level, he represents you at the national level. This is more than a trivial difference in semantics. The nature of a representative was a topic of much debate in the early years of the Republic. In one of the few instances where he was wrong, Thomas Paine aligned himself with the former position, while Edmund Burke championed the (correct) latter.

Burke had learned as a Member of Parliament that it was sometimes necessary to vote in a manner that was contrary to the opinions of his constituents who might not be in possession of all the facts and the true state of affairs. Said Burke, "Your Representative owes you, not his industry only, but his judgment; and he betrays, instead of serving you, if he sacrifices it to your opinion...Parliament is not a Congress of Ambassadors from different and hostile interests; which interests each must maintain, as an Agent and Advocate, against other Agents and Advocates; but Parliament is a deliberative Assembly of one Nation, with one Interest, that of the whole; where, not local Purposes, not local Prejudices ought to guide, but the general Good, resulting from the general Reason of the whole." As right as he was, unfortunately for Burke, this position ultimately cost him his seat.

It might be tempting in reading the above quote to conclude that he was making a comparison between the British Parliamentary system and a federal system, a Congress, like ours (Burke said the above in 1765, prior to the American War for Independence). This reading would be wrong. A "Congress of Ambassadors" would more closely align with the Committee of the Whole during the Constitutional Convention. In that body, the members were free to express their ideas and concerns from the standpoint of "would this benefit (or harm) the people in my State." In fact, this is the very reason that the Committee of the Whole was formed. It was the only way to ensure that any member could speak his mind and vote in a non-binding, non-impugnable manner while working out the details of the final form of the federal government. However, once that government was formed, it became the expressed duty of the elected members to look out for the general welfare as Burke had rightfully concluded.

In their eternal quest to remain bureaucrats for life, however, Congressmen continually try to get the most benefit for their local district. In fact, voters have come to expect, through the creation of the entitlement society foisted on America by the atrocious 'New Deal' and other such legislation, that Congress exists primarily to secure as much of the pie as possible for the home district, even when that means limiting or reducing the amount of pie available for every other district.

This egregious "give-me-more mentality" frequently leads Congressmen into passing legislation that hurts America in favor of his local district. Examples of this abound, from Congress' eternal bickering over BRAC recommendations to pork-barrel funding of bridges to nowhere. Often they resort to the borderline childish tactic of attaching an earmark to legislation which, due to previous "protect my job" rules, is considered a "must pass" resolution. Thus, a recent defense authorization to provide our brave servicemen the tools necessary to do their job came with an amendment to fund a sugar-cane research facility in New Orleans and the relocation of a brand new railroad bed in Mississippi 100 yards away from its current position. Both provisions were placed in this "must pass" legislation because the respective Congressman were unable to obtain the funding during earlier debates on a transportation bill.

Congress must remember the words of Thomas Paine: "Government is not a trade which any man or body of men has a right to set up and exercise for his own emolument, but is altogether a trust, in right of those by whom that trust is delegated, and by whom it is always resumable. It has of itself no rights; they are altogether duties." Congress must remember that their duty is to the Country, not to their district.