As evidenced by Clause 14 in Congresss constitutional Article I, Section 8-limited powers, the feds do have the constitutional authority to take care of veterans imo.
But regarding INTRAstate commerce, regardless what FDRs state sovereignty-ignoring activist justices wanted everybody to think about the scope of Congresss Commerce Clause powers (1.8.3), a previous generation of state sovereignty-respecting justices had clarified the following. The states have never delegated to the feds, expressly via the Constitution, the specific power to regulate, tax and spend for intrastate commerce.
State inspection laws, health laws, and laws for regulating the internal commerce of a State, and those which respect turnpike roads, ferries, &c. are not within the power granted to Congress [emphases added]. Gibbons v. Ogden, 1824.
Congress is not empowered to tax for those purposes which are within the exclusive province of the States. Justice John Marshall, Gibbons v. Ogden, 1824.
From the accepted doctrine that the United States is a government of delegated powers, it follows that those not expressly granted, or reasonably to be implied from such as are conferred, are reserved to the states, or to the people. To forestall any suggestion to the contrary, the Tenth Amendment was adopted. The same proposition, otherwise stated, is that powers not granted are prohibited [emphasis added]. United States v. Butler, 1936
Note that the only race and sex-related rights that the states have amended the Constitution to expressly protect, expressly giving Congress the specific power to strengthen such rights, are voting rights as evidenced by the 15th and 19th Amendment. And since many of the federal support programs that you mentioned are clearly out of the scope of voting rights, Congress actually has no constitutional authority to regulate, tax and spend for such issues.
Congress is essentially stealing state revenues in the form of unconstitutional taxes, using those stolen revenues to win votes from special interest groups who benefit from such federal spending imo.
Also note that there is nothing stopping the states from taxing and spending for such programs, state programs ultimately depending on what the legal majority voters of a given state want.
Remember in November !
Patriots need to support Trump / Pence by also electing a new, state sovereignty-respecting Congress that will not only work within its constitutional Article I, Section 8-limited powers to support Trumps vision for making America great again for everybody, but will put a stop to unconstitutonal federal taxes and likewise unconstitutional, but vote-winning inteference in state affairs.
Note that such a Congress will also probably be willing to fire state sovereignty-ignoring activist justices.
I’m a big fan of States Rights and their sovereignty as it was outlined in our constitution.
Unfortunately, many states are addicted to the money from the Feds and will adhere to the Fed’s insane rules and regulations in order to continue getting those funds.
Many complain about the “Unfunded Mandates” but IMO, it’s the “Funded Mandates” that are killing our Republic.
The States need to learn to “Just say NO”.
For all intents and purposes Federal Tax dollars are mostly passed through the Fed’s bureaucracy to be re-distributed to each State with “Strings” attached for their compliance.
Compliance to rules and regulations that are not set forth by Congress, but by an endless number of Government Bureaucrats that think they are doing what is best for any number of aggrieved, disadvantaged, misunderstood groups whether real or imagined.