secretagent wrote:
I don't know what you mean by the Constitution's principles. Perhaps you could expand on that.
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This is one of the best sites on principles I've run across:
Declaration of Constitutional Principles
Address:http://www.constitution.org/consprin.htm
It is very slow reading at first, but when the author gets down to specifics, - good stuff:
"Principles Specific to the Constitution for the United States":
*The term "commerce" as used in Art. I, Sect. 8, consists only of exchanges of goods and services for a valuable consideration. "... among the states" is a restriction to those exchanges that begin in one state and end in another.
It does not include everything that has ever been a part of such an exchange, or that might be a part of such an exchange in the future, or which is a part of an aggregate of such exchanges some of which may begin in one state and end in another, or which "affect" such exchanges.
*The power to "regulate" commerce includes the powers to license those enterprises which engage in such exchanges, and to prescribe the form, size, quality, measure, labeling, scheduling, transport, and routing of goods and services, but not prohibition of the content or terms of such exchanges. It includes the power to impose civil penalties for violation of such regulations, such as fines or loss of licenses, but not criminal penalties, such as the deprivation of life or liberty.
*The power to impose an excise tax may not be used for any purpose then to raise revenue. It is not the power to prohibit an item by imposing a confiscatory tax on it, or by refusing to accept payment of a tax on it and then declaring the item itself illegal because the tax has not been paid. For this reason, the National Firearms Act of 1934 is unconstitutional.
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It goes on in much more detail. Well worth reading.
This sounds constitutional but, by itself, definitely not libertarian.
Libertarians oppose most, if not all, government licensing. It varies with the libertarian - among those who see a need for a minimal government.
And of course to the anarchist libertarians, all government constitutions fail the acid test of libertariansim, since they violate the non-initiation of force rule.