CONSTITUTION - Uncategorized - Independence Institute

Supreme Court’s Order Great for TABOR 0
- July 4, 2015
For a video in which Rob and Justin Longo talk about the Arizona Legislature case and why it is good for TABOR, click here. A slightly abbreviated form of this article first appeared in the Denver Post. The U.S. Supreme Court’s recent order in the case against Colorado’s Taxpayer Bill of Rights (TABOR) is a
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The Most Radical Decision Ever?0
- June 29, 2015
This article first appeared in The American Thinker. A complete commentary on the same sex marriage case would take far more than a single short article. Accordingly, I offer only some discrete thoughts: * A big expansion of federal power. Many libertarians believe the courts should use the Fourteenth Amendment to protect rights unenumerated in
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The Supreme Court Uses Magna Carta to Curb Federal Property Grabs 0
- June 24, 2015
This article was first published at CNSNews. The Fifth Amendment provides that “private property” shall not “be taken for public use, without just compensation.” When I wrote my book, The Original Constitution, I had to address the question of whether the Fifth Amendment phrase “private property” referred only to real estate or whether it included
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The Underselling of Magna Carta 0
- June 12, 2015
This article first appeared at CNSNews. The exhibition on Magna Carta at the British Library in London is certainly worth seeing. The document was sealed on June 15, 1215, which means that (allowing for intervening changes in the calendar) its 800th anniversary arrives on June 25th of this year. The exhibition includes an array of
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The Necessary and Proper Clause Grants Congress No Power 0
- June 1, 2015
In a recent post, I pointed out that, despite superficial appearances, the Constitution’s Necessary and Proper Clause—clarifying that Congress has authority to make laws “necessary and proper” to carrying out its other enumerated powers—actually grants Congress no power. The Necessary and Proper Clause is representative of one of four related kinds of provisions found in
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Evidence on the Powers the Constitution Leaves Exclusively to the States 0
- May 18, 2015
This column also appears at CNSNews. The Constitution enumerates the powers of the federal government. But has anyone listed the exclusive powers of states—the realm the federal government may not invade without violating the Constitution? When discussing state authority, the Founders usually pointed out only that the federal government’s powers were, as Madison said, “few
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