Article 1 - The Legislative Branch

Source:

Congress Declares War on Mexico May 13, 1846. May 13, 2010

http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0510/37146.html

Constitutional Connection:

Article 1, Legislative Branch, Section 8, Clause 11

(Clause 1) "The Congress shall have Power..."
(Clause 11) "To declare War..."

Explanation of Connection:

            On May 13 of 1846, Congress voted almost unanimously to delcare war on Mexico, and from it they gained millions of square miles on the American western frontier, but lost the lives of more than 13,000 U.S. soldiers.

            This article clearly demonstrates Article 1, Section 8, Clause 11 of the U.S. Constitution. Congress was given the individual right to declare war by the Constitution. And just under 160 years ago, this is exactly what they did as they diligently "subscribed" the U.S. to a war against Mexico. 

            I do feel that there should be a specific branch in our government that is designated the power to declare war against other national powers. Simply because, it is something that citizens of our country should not have power to decide on because of the lack of eduactaion in some people in these areas. Not many people are fully updated on what is going on with our country on an international perspective today. And even out of those who may be some what imforned, only a few can present an intelligent, wise, and well-thought out opinion on whether or not we should put our country into the dangers of war. However, Congressmen and women are educated on this level, which is why I truly support this particular clause in the U.S. Constitution.

           

Article 1 - The Legislative Branch

Source:

Bill Seeks to Let FDIC Borrow up to $500 Billion. March 6, 2009
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB123630125365247061.html

Constitutional Connection:

Article 1, The Legislative Branch, Section 8, Clause 2
(Clause 1) " The Congress shall have Power......"
(Clause 2) "To borrow money on the credit of the United States...."

Explanation of Connection:

            Senate Banking Committee Chairman, Christopher Dodd, is moving to allow the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. to temporarily borrow as much as $500 billion from the Treasury Department. This would give the FDIC access to more money to rebuild its fund that insures consumers' deposits, which have been affected greatly by a string of bank failures. There have been recorded, 25 bank failures in 2008 and 16 as of March in 2009. Some bank failures have a bigger impact on the fund than others. These failures can cost the fund as much as $10+ billion and as little as $100 million or less.


            This article from the Wall Street Journal clearly demonstrates Article 1, Section 8, Clause 2 of the U.S. Constitution. Congress is given the right to borrow money if needed on the credit of the United States. If Congress feels that there is a significant enough reason to borrow any money on behalf of the U.S., they may. This is one of the many revenue rights they are given. In this article, Congress looks to borrow $500 billion from the Treasury Department, in hopes of to help the FDIC rebuild its fund that insures consumers' deposits.


            I do feel that it is necessary sometimes for the U.S. as well as other nations to borrow money in order to fix a problem in their country that they do not have the sufficient funds to fix themselves. However, this right can be abused, and many argue that the U.S. has already abused this right by borrowing trillions of dollars from China. Also, the U.S. currently has a line of credit with the Treasury of $30 billion. So, I do agree that this right can be easily stretched and abused, and I feel that in order to limit this power bestowed upon the Congress, rules must be laid down that declare under which situations Congress may borrow money and how much. We must keep in mind that when we borrow money from other countries, their is a limit that we must respect. That limit has not been respected with China, and this can easily cause conflict and/or war. 

Article 1 - The Legislative Branch

Source:

Obama Pushes Middle-Class Tax Cut. September 12, 2010
http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0910/42101.html

Constitutional Connection:

Article 1, The Legislative Branch, Section 8, Clause 1
"The Congress shall have Power To lay and collect Taxes, Duties, Imposts and Excises, to pay the Debts and provide for the common Defence and general Welfare of the United States"


Explanation of Connection:
            
            Obama, as well as Democrats in in Congress fight for the extension of the Bush-era middle-class tax cuts. The president and his party want to prolong the cuts for individuals who earn less than $200,000 a year and for couples making less than $250,000, but the GOP leadership — including House Minority Leader John Boehner and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell — want that extension to include the upper-income brackets, arguing the economy is too shaky to raise taxes on anyone. Congress is in a huge uproar and battle between the majority (Democrats) and the minority (Republicans) because of this tax proposal.

            This article clearly demonstrates Article 1, Section 8, Clause 1 of the U.S. Constitution. Congress has the sole responsibility of producing laws and regulations regarding the enforcement of taxes. In this article, Congress is clearly exercising this ability of theirs by proposing the middle-class tax cut. President Obama has delivered many speeches regarding the proposal of the tax extension, however, as much as he may try to influence the public, the final decision remains in the hands of the Legislative Branch, or Congress.

            If Congess did not have the power to regulate and control taxes amongst the U.S., I could imagine the government losing tremendous amounts of money, and services that benefit us as citizens will greatly decrease, which will result in a society lacking the things it needs to survive. This article means a lot to my family in particular because we fall under the $250,000 salary limit. I have heard my father discuss with my mom, many of times the possibilty of this proposal being enacted, and how it can benefit my family. So I feel that in some way this article does relate to me. The small population of individuals who argue against this article, who appear to the Republicans (minority) argue on behalf of the rich. However, the amount of money that Obama and his party are asking for from this population of people wouldn't put a dent in their pockets. As you can see I am for the proposal, and I truly hope this tax cut is enforced.