Founders weren't big on big government

When Tom Teune says our Founders were proponents of big government, and then lists some of them, Washington, Hamilton and Madison, why does he not back up that statement with evidence based on what these men said and did?

I'll start with Hamilton, as he appears to be on that list for good reason - he seems to have had no problem with oligarchy, has been referred to as a crony capitalist, and in a letter to Gouverneur Morris even called the Constitution a "frail and worthless fabric" concluding that, "Every day proves to me more and more that this American world was not made for me."

But what of Washington and Madison? Prove me wrong if you can, but I'm saying no, they were not at all fond of an ever-expanding federal government. In his farewell speech, Washington warned against something that is inevitable with big government: huge levels of debt He warned against " the accumulation of debt not ungenerously throwing upon posterity the burden, which we ourselves ought to bear." Think "Obamacare" as just one potential example.

And Madison? In Federalist Number 51, he states that, "In framing a government which is to be administered by men over men, the great difficulty lies in this: you must first enable the government to control the governed; and in the next place oblige it to control itself. A dependence on the people is, no doubt, the primary control on the government."

One need not be a Ph.D. to understand that the larger the government, the more difficult it becomes to control, and today, Washington, D.C., is proof positive of that.

So, Tom, can you provide the title and author of the book(s) you've been reading for inspiration?

John Babush

Big Rock