"I never said that. I mere pointed out what value and meaning it does have."
I don't see how that you can think that you've described what power that the "general welfare" clause has. You seem to have written it off as conveying absolutely no meaning or power.
Also, pay attention to the lay and collect taxes as well as pay debts clauses. Note that our Constitution makes no mention of which taxes to lay and collect or of which debts that can be paid. I mention those things because it is clear that our Constitution empowers government with unenumerated powers, which is the only reasonable way to read the "common defense" (air force, national missile defense) and "general welfare" (social security, soldiers pensions) clauses.
I don't see how that you can think that you've described what power that the "general welfare" clause has. You seem to have written it off as conveying absolutely no meaning or power.I don't see how you think it's somehow a test of my interpretation (which is, lest you forget, the interpretation of the people who wrote it) that I make it a grant of power, i.e., that I agree with you. I have no intention of making it anything other than it is: the justification for the power to tax, just as promoting the progress of science and the useful arts is the reason for the power to grant patents and copyrights. I don't have to ascribe anything more to it and I don't want to, because that's not what it says.
it is clear that our Constitution empowers government with unenumerated powers
Quite the contrary. It's clear that it does no such thing. It gives the government a few powers and the power to do things necessary and proper to the other things. Calling your debunked position "clear" won't change the reality of the situation. Your person interpretation is at odds with the plain meaning of the text, the other clauses in the same document, and the later statements of the authors (and not just while they were trying to get it ratified). You took the wrong side. Get over it.
which is the only reasonable way to read the "common defense" (air force, national missile defense) and "general welfare" (social security, soldiers pensions) clauses.
Your "only reasonable way" makes large portions incoherent. Why grant other powers? In paticular, why grant the power you claim was granted over the whole country over an area "not to exceed ten miles square"? And why reserve powers not granted to the federal government for the states when there are no such powers?