Posted on 09/11/2009 2:19:18 AM PDT by Halfmanhalfamazing
Three decades ago, young stars of constitutional law like Larry Tribe were advocating a constitutional right to welfare. For reasons that are probably obvious, the idea has faded from sight over the past 20 years. A right to welfare sounds out of place in a world in which a Democratic president has successfully campaigned to "end welfare as we know it." Admittedly, advocates of constitutional welfare rights did not merely; or even primarily, mean the right of single unemployed mothers to receive government stipends; they had in mind a broader set of rights to protect basic "welfare" in the general sense of human needs. But constitutional welfare rights do appear to be out of rune with the zeitgeist, and arguments on their behalf have been scarce.
In The Second Bill of Rights, Cass Sunstein, a University of Chicago law professor who is one of today's academic stars, reopens this debate. He makes a surprisingly plausible case for resurrecting this idea with some modern twists. Recalling FDR's proposal for a "second of bill of rights" protecting basic human needs, Sunstein urges Americans to recognize a new list of constitutional rights, including access to a good education and health care, and the opportunity to work at a fair wage--in essence, economic rights in addition to the largely political rights enshrined in the country's founding documents.
But Sunstein is ambiguous on the nature of these proposed new rights. It's not clear whether these rights would be enforceable in court; in any event, the "Second Bill of Rights" is only a metaphor because Sunstein does not advocate an actual constitutional amendment. If they aren't enforceable and aren't written, what they amount to is a conscious commitment to make these rights part of our conception of America, with the expectation that doing so will force the political system to make good on that commitment.
What about their beloved separation of church & state? Welfare was an explicitly Christian concept.
Contact your Congress critters to let them know your strong opposition to Sunstien! Keep the pressure on and don’t let up!
Liberals don’t have to follow the new separation of church and state. How many times do you hear god in Obama’s speeches?
This administration reminds me more and more each day of a Monty Python skit...
Well he said I quite a bit, does that count?
I wonder how long it will actually take them to destroy the middle class? When the Democrats started “helping” the middle class I knew it would only be a matter of time.
It seems as if every two bit hippie bedbug with a doctorate has been spewing their venom over these last seven months and to make matters worse, half of them have jobs in Zero’s administration.
This is starting to remind me way too much of “Atlas Shrugged” where the bureaucrats base wages on need instead of achievement and expect the successful to pay the difference. This only works but for so long until those who do achieve refuse to be played as suckers and that’s when the real fun starts! These politicians produce nothing more than misery for the people they are supposedly trying to “help.”
welfare is such a loaded word isnt it? caring for the poor, widows and orphans — but i believe Christ would never approve of it the way it is where we require nothing in return of recipients (man should work for his daily sustenance according to bible) and create entire systems to enable their slothfulness and enslave them to the provider. he would see right through all the crap to the true wicked intent of the one providing.
>inalienable economic rights
Oh, such as the right to hold property, and the right to keep the fruit of one’s labor?
>inalienable economic rights
Oh, such as the right to hold property, and the right to keep the fruit of one’s labor?
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LOL!! No, no, no!
We’re talking about the right to seize others’ goods and to demand the fruits of others’ labor.
Jeez, sparky, get with the program - “Join the 20th Century”, as they used to say.
Gee.....seems that just by being in this country, you already have achieved all those “rights”. Its one thing to provide access—is another thing to mandate success.
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