[SoFloFreeper]

Mr. Clement pushed back, noting that the government has had every opportunity to say, “Fear not, states, if you don’t want the new money, then that’s all you’ll lose.” Yet they didn’t, and the fact of this power’s existence is inherently coercive.

Excellent argument.

[Tublecane]

“Fear not, states, if you don’t want the new money, then that’s all you’ll lose.”

That’s misleading. It’s not exactly “new” money. For some states it could be, when there’s a net redistribution of funds to their state from others. But in most cases, theoretically at least, it’s their own money they’re being led around on a leash to earn back. The feds tax their citizens, then make the governments stand up and beg to get it back.