Colin

“That’s something we don’t get involved in.” Liiiiiike governance? The Preamble to the U.S. Constitution sets forth the fundamental purposes of the government, stating, "We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defence, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America." The mention of "promote the general Welfare" directly addresses the government's role in the welfare of its people. The Declaration of Independence states that governments are instituted among people, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, and that the government's purpose is to secure the rights of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. James Madison, known as the "Father of the Constitution," wrote in Federalist No. 51: "If men were angels, no government would be necessary. If angels were to govern men, neither external nor internal controls on government would be necessary." This reflects on the need for government to manage the affairs of people. Thomas Jefferson, in his first Inaugural Address, stated: "A wise and frugal Government, which shall restrain men from injuring one another, which shall leave them otherwise free to regulate their own pursuits of industry and improvement, and shall not take from the mouth of labour the bread it has earned. This is the sum of good government.”