Economic freedom is also an indispensable means toward the achievement of political freedom.” Milton Friedman, 19621 Have you ever wondered how a federal government that is supposed to have limited power can now involve itself in essentially any aspect of our society? The answer comes down to two words: commerce clause. The Constitution gives Congress the power, under Article I, Section 8, “to regulate commerce with foreign nations and among the several States.”2 Under the Articles of Confederation, each state had been free to issue its own currency and set its own tariffs.3 The purpose of the commerce clause was to promote commerce and trade by breaking down these barriers. But over the years, the Supreme Court has adopted an expansive definition of “commerce” to justify virtually unfettered federal intrusion into the conduct of state and local governments, and to defend the establishment of massive bureaucracies and their imposition of seemingly endless regulations on private enterprise.
