Davy Crockett’s “Not yours to give” speech in Congress

Thanks to my friends at Ramparts 360 for re-posting this story from the life of Colonel Davy Crockett, who received this rebuke from one of his constituents after voting to give $20K in charity to some local D.C. families affected by a fire:

The people have delegated to Congress, by the Constitution, the power to do certain things. To do these, it is authorized to collect and pay moneys, and for nothing else. Everything beyond this is usurpation, and a violation of the Constitution.

Go read the entire thing, and remind yourself that our current Federal Government has done exactly as that poor farmer feared it would do — but to an extent that he never could have imagined.