Questions & Answers

In the Category: Powers of Congress

#POW89 Ought they be allowed to fix their own wages? It cannot be avoided, for there is none other power to make laws but Congress.
#POW90 May members of Congress be arrested while they are attending their public duty? Their duties are of such value to us that the Constitution does not allow them to be arrested while going to or returning from their home to the Capitol where Congress meets, except in the cases of tr...
#POW91 When is a person guilty of treason? When he makes war against the United States or provides aid and or comfort to others who are making war against the United States. It is punishable by death.
#POW92 If members of Congress while engaged in a debate, that is, in arguing about any law that is proposed to be made, shall say anything offensive to another member, may he be sued for it by the other in a court of law? No, lest this destroy the freedom of debate and make members afraid to speak their mind. A member cannot be held to account in any other place for anything he says on the floor of Congress.
#POW93 If Congress creates a new office or increases the salary for an existing office, may a member of Congress who participated in this process be then appointed to that office? No, not until the whole time for which he was chosen a member shall have expired.
#POW94 How does Congress proceed in making the laws of the land? A member usually proposes that other select members usually with expertise in the area of the proposed law, called a committee, shall consider his explanation for whether a new law, or change of law c...
#POW95 Is it now a law? By no means. The bill thus passed by one body is then sent to the other body. There it is again considered, and, if that body deems proper, is further altered. It is then returned to the body where it...
#POW96 Is it now a law? Not yet. The engrossed bill is then sent to the President of the United States for his approbation. If he approves it, he signs and returns it. The bill is then called an act, and it becomes the law o...
#POW97 What if he does not approve of it? If he does not approve of it, he must return the bill together with his objections, in writing, to the body in which it began. That body must copy the whole of these objections into their journal, and...
#POW98 Suppose the President of the United States should neglect to sign and return a bill sent to him by Congress? If he does not sign or return any bill within ten days after it is sent to him (not counting Sundays), it becomes a law unless in that time Congress shall have adjourned.
#POW99 Why is making a law so complicated? The more laws a nation has, the less liberty will be protected. The founders designed the process for creating laws to be difficult and rigorous in order to protect the people against tyranny by legis...
#POW100 You have said that no laws can be made for the United States but by Congress; may Congress make any laws they please? No. Their power is limited by the Constitution. They have no power except that specifically granted them by the Constitution, which was designed to limit their power. Whatever power is not given to th...
#POW101 What powers are given to Congress by the Constitution? Congress has the power to collect taxes, duties, imposts and excises.
#POW102 What is a tax? Tax is a sum of money which the people are directed to pay to support the constitutional functions of government. Tax is the confiscation of wealth by the government, under the threat of coercion, usu...
#POW103 What are duties? Duties are sums of money which must be paid by persons who bring goods of any kind from another country into the United States. It is paid at certain places called Customs Houses, and is sent onward t...
#POW104 What are Imposts? Imposts are sums of money which must be paid to the government, by persons owning vessels, which enter the harbors of the United States.
#POW105 What are Excises? Excises are sums of money which must be paid to the government, by persons who make certain articles within the United States, in proportion to the quantity or value of the articles manufactured.
#POW106 What do you mean by levying these, and what by collecting them? Laying a tax is determining how much it should be, and collecting a tax is obliging people to pay it by threat of force.
#POW107 What means of force does our government use to collect taxes? Government uses various means of force, but chiefly the confiscation of property or the violence of imprisonment or some other punishment that will bring harm upon property or body.
#POW108 Is it the duty of a citizen to pay taxes? It is the duty of a citizen to pay taxes, so long as it is in keeping with the social compact between the government and the governed.
#POW109 Why is it the duty of a citizen to pay taxes? First, the Bible - the foundation of Western law and civilization - instructs us to render taxes to the ruling authorities. Secondly, citizens have the responsibility to rule the nation, and with the...
#POW110 Should all citizens be required to pay taxes equally? All citizens should be required to pay taxes in the most equitable way possible, and no citizen should be exempt from paying taxes so long as any other citizen is taxed. Fairness requires impartiality...
#POW111 Are all taxes constitutional? No. Sometimes the government abuses its power, and uses taxation as a means to punish its enemies or manipulate the behavior of its citizens. Often this is done through means other than that provided...
#POW112 What is the most equitable, or fair, form of taxation? The most equitable form of taxation is a tax on consumable goods, which is the same tax for all people who purchase those goods.
#POW113 Why is a tax on consumable goods the most equitable, or fair, form of taxation? A tax on consumable goods treats people indiscriminately, and does not take into account prejudices against the certain classes of people, which inevitably leads to strife between classes. Likewise, c...
#POW114 Is a tax on income constitutional? The income tax was ruled unconstitutional, according to the Supreme Court in 1895. However, the 16th Amendment to our Constitution of 1913 declared the income tax to now be constitutional.
#POW115 Is a tax on income wise? Taxes that penalize income are unwise in a nation that desires to create and sustain wealth. In certain cases, taxing income will cause people to be less industrious, which will diminish both the inco...
#POW116 Is a tax on income moral? Graduated taxes that treat people partially, by taxing different people at different rates, are immoral because they treat people unequally. It is the application of unjust weights and measures, which...
#POW117 Is there any other way that a tax may be unjust, aside from partiality? Any wealth that is confiscated to redistribute to others is inherently unjust, and is theft. Likewise, any confiscation of wealth in order to finance governmental powers not granted them by the Consti...
#POW118 Could any government exist without taxation? No government has ever existed without taxation, although certain governments have raised revenue through tariffs or trade or by the taxation of colonies by imperialism rather than by direct taxation...

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