Big government mindset must always be resisted

You may remember when U.S. Rep. Pete Stark, D-Calif., said approvingly at a public meeting that "The federal government ... can do most anything in this country."

That was outrageous, and with our nation facing a $15 trillion debt, many Americans wonder if there is much respect left in Congress for constitutional limits on federal power. But sadly, it is not only in modern times that some lawmakers have believed in a nearly omnipotent government.

Historian Burton Folsom Jr. unearthed the following remark, made on the floor of the Senate on May 14, 1943, by Sen. Happy Chandler, D-Ky.:

"All of us owe the government; we owe it for everything we have - and that is the basis of obligation - and the government can take everything we have if the government needs it. ..." He added, "The government can assert its right to have all the taxes it needs for any purpose, either now or at any time in the future."

So the battle against that mindset, and for limited government, goes on.

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