[quote=markmax33] I think there are several documents showing the founding father’s intent of article 1 section 8, none of which the judges considered.[/quote]
They did consider intent, though they are not bound by intent. There was no unanimity among the authors. Read the entire decisions.
Alexander Hamilton, a signatory of the Constitution wrote:
The clause confers a power separate and distinct from those later enumerated [,] is not restricted in meaning by the grant of them, and Congress consequently has a substantive power to tax and to appropriate, limited only by the requirement that it shall be exercised to provide for the general welfare of the United States. … It results that the power of Congress to authorize expenditure of public moneys for public purposes is not limited by the direct grants of legislative power found in the Constitution.
I think his intent was pretty clear. My point is not that the court’s decisions have been perfect. Only that they are not without basis. They have not been the decisions of a 3rd grader.
