✍️ Isn't the Government Supposed to Help People?
'Promoting the General Welfare' Is Not Optional. It's a Constitutional Duty.
With the recent federal budget slashing support for public services, it’s a good time to revisit a fundamental question:
What is government actually for—and who is it supposed to serve?
The U.S. Constitution says the government exists to “promote the general Welfare.” That phrase appears twice—for a reason.
Throughout history, federal policies and programs have been created in the name of general welfare: Social Security, public education, national parks, infrastructure, health care, and disaster relief. These aren’t luxuries. They’re pillars of a just and functioning society.
Yet we live in a time when millions of people vote for politicians who actively cut the very programs that help them most.
Why does this happen? Sometimes it's misinformation. Sometimes it's fear of “big government.” Too often, it’s political identity taking precedence over economic reality.
And that’s no accident. Powerful interests have spent decades turning people against the very idea of public responsibility—while they quietly benefit from the system they pretend to despise.
So how do we counter that?
By making the case, again and again, that government can and should work for all of us—not just the wealthy and well-connected.
That means understanding how we got here—and how progress has always depended on people demanding something better.
📚 How the Government Has Promoted the General Welfare
The U.S. Constitution mentions "general Welfare" in two locations:
Preamble – “We the People ..."
Article I, Section 8 – "Congress shall have Power to … provide for the common Defence and general Welfare…”
Here are a few examples of programs that were created specifically to serve the public good:
The Living New Deal – Documents how FDR’s New Deal transformed America’s infrastructure and economy.
Social Security Act – Created in 1935, still one of the most popular and successful federal programs.
National School Lunch Act – Ensures millions of children receive free or reduced-price school lunches.
Economic Opportunity Act of 1964 – Laid the foundation for LBJ’s War on Poverty, aimed at reducing inequality.
Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) – A Great Depression program that put millions to work on public land projects.
📖 Additional Background & Historical Context
If you want to go deeper, here are some key historical trends on how the idea of “general welfare” has shifted over time:
Gilded Age & Progressive Era (late 1800s–early 1900s): Extreme wealth inequality and corporate power sparked public demand for labor laws, antitrust laws, and early public assistance—despite fierce resistance, much like today’s battles over corporate accountability and social spending.
New Deal Era (1930s): In response to the Great Depression, FDR expanded federal power to provide jobs, financial safeguards, and new programs like Social Security, reshaping how government could serve ordinary people.
Civil Rights Movement (1960s): The federal government stepped up to fight racial and economic injustice, creating Medicare, Medicaid, the Civil Rights Act, and War on Poverty programs—further affirming its role in protecting equity and opportunity.
Reagan Era (1980s): A sharp turn toward deregulation, tax cuts, and shrinking public programs reframed government aid as a form of dependency, promoting individualism over community responsibility.
Modern Struggles (2000s–Present): Ongoing battles over health care access, student debt, disaster aid, and corporate power. Supreme Court decisions continue to redefine the limits of federal power, especially regarding the Commerce Clause and executive authority.
💡 Final Thought:
“The test of our progress is not whether we add more to the abundance of those who have much; it is whether we provide enough for those who have too little.”
— Franklin D. Roosevelt