Today, Wednesday, September 17th, is Constitution Day – a day specifically designated by an act of Congress when Americans are supposed to honor the remarkable document that created our system of government.

The date was chosen because the Constitution was approved at the original Constitutional Convention on September 17, 1787. The act that created Constitution Day mandates that all publicly funded educational institutions provide educational programming on the history of the American Constitution on that day.

Let’s see how well the schools have done their job. Ask a recent high school or college graduate to take the following brief quiz. I would be interested to hear how many of the 25 questions he or she answers correctly. And be sure to take the quiz yourself, too. Even if you score 100%, it’s good to be reminded of some of the fundamental principles that our country was founded on.

1. Has the Constitution always guided our country?

1. No. Originally the nation functioned under the Continental Congress and the Articles of Confederation. Eleven years after the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution was written, agreed to, and sent to the states for ratification. When ratified by nine states (as the document itself prescribed), the Constitution was declared to be the new governmental system. That occurred on September 13, 1788. The new government was ordered to be convened on March 4, 1789.

2. What are the three branches of government named in the Constitution?

2. Legislative, Executive and Judicial.

3. Does the Constitution allow the Supreme Court to make law?

3. No. The very first sentence in the Constitution states: “All legislative powers herein granted shall be vested in a Congress of the United States….” Any Supreme Court decision is the law of the case that binds only the plaintiff and the defendant. The meaning of the word “all” has not been changed.

4. Does the Constitution empower the President to make law?

4. No. Executive Orders issued by the President that bind the entire nation are illicit because, as noted above, “All legislative powers” are possessed by Congress. An Executive Order that binds only the employees of the federal government (such as granting a holiday) is proper because the President should be considered to be the holder of power much like that possessed by the CEO of a company. But the entire nation is not in the employ of the President. The President does have a role in lawmaking with his possession of a veto. He can veto a measure approved by Congress (which can be overturned by a two-thirds vote in each house of Congress), or simply allow it to become law by doing nothing within 10 days, “Sundays excepted.”

5. Does the Constitution give the federal government any power in the field of education?

5. No. The Constitution contains no mention of any power “herein granted” in the field of education.

6. Where in the Constitution is there authorization to dispense foreign aid?

6. No such authorization appears in the Constitution.

7. Does the Constitution mandate a minimum age for a Senator?

7. Yes. To be a senator, one must be 30 years of age. He must also be nine years a citizen of the United States and an inhabitant of the state he will serve as a senator.

8. What are the Constitutional requirements for a person to be President?

8. A President must be a natural-born citizen (not an immigrant who became a citizen), must be 35 years of age, and must have lived in the United States at least 14 years.

9. Did the Constitution give the federal government power to create a bank?

9. No. Congress was granted power to “coin money,” meaning it was to have power to create a mint where precious metal could be stamped into coinage of fixed size, weight and purity. There is no constitutional authority for the federal government to have created the Federal Reserve.

10. Can the provisions of a treaty supersede the Constitution?

10. Absolutely not. Thomas Jefferson responded to those who consider treaty-making power to be “boundless” by stating, “If it is, then we have no Constitution.”

11. Does the Constitution allow a President to take the nation into war?

11. It does not. The sole power to declare the nation at war is possessed by Congress. Congress last used this power at the beginning of World War II when war was declared on Japan after the attack on Pearl Harbor. (Germany declared war on the U.S. the next day.) A congressional vote to authorize the President to enforce UN Security Council resolutions should never be considered a substitute for a declaration of war.

12. Can you name any of the four crimes mentioned in the Constitution?

12. The four crimes mentioned are: Treason, bribery, piracy and counterfeiting.

13. Should the Bill of Rights be considered part of the original Constitution?

13. Many do hold that view because if the promise to add a Bill of Rights had not been made during the ratification process, some states would not have ratified the Constitution.

14. According to the Constitution, how can a President and other national officers be removed from office?

14. The President and other high officers of the federal government can be impeached by a majority in the House and tried by the Senate. Impeachment does not constitute removal; it should be considered the equivalent of an indictment that must be followed by a trial. Two-thirds of the senators “present” must approve removal at the subsequent trial to effect removal.

15. What authority does the Constitution give to the Vice President?

15. The Vice President stands ready to take the office of President if a president shall die or become incapacitated (as defined in the 25th Amendment). He is also the President of the Senate and has the power to break a tie vote should one occur.

16. How many amendments have been added to the Constitution?

16. There are 27. The first ten (the Bill of Rights) can be considered part of the original Constitution. Amendment 18 was repealed by Amendment 21. This means that, in 220 years, only 15 other amendments have been added. The process was deliberately made difficult to keep anything dangerous or silly from being added to the Constitution in the heat of passion.

17. How is an amendment added to the Constitution?

17. Congress can propose an amendment when two-thirds of both houses of Congress vote to do so. Any proposed amendment must then be ratified by the legislature or a convention in three-quarters of the states. Amendments can also be proposed by a federal constitutional convention called by two-thirds of the states. Any amendment arising from a constitutional convention must also be ratified by the legislature or a convention in three-quarters of the states.

18. Does the Constitution say anything about illegal immigration?

18. Not directly. But Article IV, Section 4 assigns to the federal government the duty “to protect each of them [the states] from invasion.” It does not specify that the invasion must be military. When 20 million enter our nation illegally, it is an invasion that should be repelled by the federal government.

19. What is the process mentioned in the Constitution for adding new states to the union?

19. By a majority vote in each House of Congress, a new state can be added to the union. This was done twice in 1958 to welcome Alaska and Hawaii as the 49th and 50th states.

20. Is the term of a President limited by the Constitution?

20. Yes. In 1951, Amendment 22 was added to the Constitution to limit any president to two terms. The only president who served longer than two terms was Franklin Delano Roosevelt, who held office during a fourth four-year term. He died in April 1945 shortly after beginning his 13th year in office.

21. Which part of the federal government holds “the power of the purse”?

21. The House of Representatives. Article I, Section 7 states: “All bills for raising revenue shall originate in the House of Representatives….” If a majority in the House (218 of its 435 members) refuses to originate a bill to raise revenue for any particular purpose, no funds can be raised for that purpose.

22. Does the Constitution provide a method for expelling a member of Congress?

22. Two-thirds of each house has the authority to expel any of its members for cause even though the member has been elected by voters.

23. What does the Constitution say about financing an army and a navy?

23. Congress can raise an army but “no appropriation of money” to fund it shall be for longer than two years. And Congress can provide for a navy without that same restriction regarding funding. Why? The men who wrote the Constitution feared the possibility that a standing army housed within the nation might arise and seek to take power. But they did not fear that a navy would try to do so, because a navy and its weaponry did not reside within the nation, only at sea or at coastal seaports.

24. How many times is the word “democracy” mentioned in the Constitution?

24. The word “democracy” does not appear in the Constitution. Our nation is a Constitutional Republic, not a Democracy. The Founders feared Democracy (unrestricted rule by majority) and favored a Republic (rule of law where the law limits the government). James Madison wrote: “…. Democracies have ever been spectacles of turbulence and contention; have ever been found incompatible with personal security or the rights of property; and have in general been as short in their lives as they have been violent in their deaths.”

25. Does the Bill of Rights grant the people free speech, freedom of the press, the right to possess a weapon, etc?

25. No. The Declaration of Independence, which provides the philosophical base of our nation, states very clearly that our rights are granted to us by our “Creator.” The various rights noted in the Bill of Rights were not granted by government. The purpose of the Bill of Rights is to prevent the federal government from suspending any of those God-given rights, including the right to possess a weapon. Those who claim “Second Amendment rights,” for instance, make a big mistake with such a statement. If the right is granted by the Second Amendment, meaning by government, it can be taken away by government. If the right is granted by God, only He can take it away.

It wasn’t as easy as you thought it would be, was it? I wonder how well the President and the members of the Congress would score on this quiz, both Democrats and Republicans alike.

What would this country be like if the Constitution were fully and honestly enforced today? Would the US Economy be suffering from the current meltdown, or would the US be at war? Would better money management principles be in use when spending our income tax dollars? I hope some day we’ll come a lot closer to finding out than we are today.

RECOMMENDED READING: This recommendation is not meant to imply you are a dummy. This book just avoids getting overwhelmed by the difficult, scholarly academic language that tends to put you to sleep, or into a tailspin, or diving into a dictionary every 3 seconds.

Constitution For Dummies

U.S. Constitution For Dummies

Here is a way to get rid of the IRS and never have to file another income tax return; or corporate return for that matter! Every dime you earn would be in your paycheck; no taxes withheld. It’s within your power to make it happen!

There is a tax bill before Congress right now that would abolish the IRS and get rid of income taxes, corporate taxes, death taxes, estate taxes, etc. It is called the FairTax Act and I am here to tell you it is not only fair, it would solve our country’s economic problems overnight. Here’s a snapshot of how it works.

First I do want to say that The FairTax is resisted by a vocal minority precisely because it will do what it claims in eliminating the IRS, the more than $300 billion in tax return filing costs, and the corruption of the current system. Make no mistake, that adjustment will be hard for tax lawyers, special interest groups, lobbyists who make millions from our current tax system and those in Congress who see the current tax code as a way to get your campaign contributions to buy your votes.

What is the FairTax?

The FairTax is a retail consumption tax that is charged when you buy something new. It is a transparent tax. That means that the tax will be on your receipt in plain English so you can see it.

Right now you are paying those taxes when you buy something, but they are hidden in the cost of the item by all of the goods and services that go into making that item from raw materials to packaged product. Those are called embedded taxes because they are hidden from your view. Under the FairTax Act, you would be paying the same price for a loaf of bread but the loaf would have a lower shelf price and the tax would be added at the cash register and printed on your receipt.

Is the FairTax actually fair?

Yes, the FairTax is fair. In fact, it is really much fairer than the current income tax. You can control how much tax you pay simply by deciding what items you are going to buy.

Wealthy people spend more money on more expensive items than other individuals. The FairTax taxes them on these purchases. Tourists and illegal aliens, who pay no taxes now, would be paying their fair share every time they buy something. Someone who deals in cash and never reports it on an income tax return would now pay taxes on their income when they spend it at the cash register.

And yes, the government would still get as much tax revenue as they do now, but it would cost us a lot less to run the government. In addition your Congressional Representatives who spend millions of your tax dollars to buy the votes of special interest groups by voting for insane programs, like studying the mating habits of wooly wingas, would stop. (A wooly winga is a made up name for an animal in case you were wondering.)

The FairTax would have a positive effect on the U.S. economy.

With the penalty for working harder and producing more removed, American businesses will experience a new era of economic growth and business expansion. Hidden taxes are history, Americans are able to save more, and businesses invest more. The FairTax, as proposed, would bring U.S. companies back home as it would no longer be an advantage to have U.S. companies in foreign countries hiring workers for low wages that Americans should be doing here at home for a fair wage. In addition, other international investors will want to invest here to avoid taxes on income in their own countries, which would further spur the growth of our own economy.

The FairTax would have a positive effect on wages and prices.

Americans who produce goods and earn wages are currently required to pay significant tax and compliance costs under the current federal income tax. These taxes and costs both reduce after-tax wages and profits and are then passed on to the consumers of those goods and services in the form of price increases.

When the FairTax removes income, capital gains, payroll, and estate and gift taxes, the pre-FairTax prices of these goods and services will fall. The removal of these hidden taxes may also allow wages to rise. Exactly how much prices will fall and wages will rise depends on market forces. For example, in a profession with many jobs and too few to fill them, wages will likely increase more than in fields where there are too many employees and not enough jobs.

Workers would bring home what they earn.

It would put more money in the pockets of every U.S citizen by eliminating the income tax. There would be no deductions from what you earn to pay federal taxes, Social Security or Medicare. If you earned $100 you would get paid $100. Business would no longer be burdened with paying additional taxes on employee wages for Social Security/Medicare.

The FairTax has a positive effect on Social Security/Medicare.

Under the FairTax Act there would be plenty of money available for both these programs. Like all federal spending programs, Social Security would operate exactly as it does today, except that its funds come from a broad, progressive sales tax, rather than a narrow, regressive payroll tax.

Employers would continue to report the wages they pay to each employee to the Social Security Administration simply for the determination of benefits. The move to a reformed Social Security system is eased while ensuring there is sufficient funding to continue promised benefits.

In the meantime, Social Security/Medicare funds are no longer triple-taxed like they are under the current tax system: 1) when payroll taxes are initially withheld; 2) when those withheld payroll taxes are counted as part of the taxable base for income tax purposes; and 3) when the promised benefits are finally received.

The FairTax protects low-income and lower-middle-income families and individuals.

Under the FairTax Plan, poor people pay no net FairTax at all up to the poverty level! Every household receives a monthly prebate check that is equal to the FairTax paid on essential goods and services [groceries and medicine], and all wage earners are no longer subject to the most burdensome tax of all, the payroll tax.

The FairTax protects senior citizens.

Seniors do very well under the FairTax. Low-income seniors are much better off under the FairTax than under the current income tax system. Some people incorrectly believe that people who live exclusively on Social Security pay no taxes. They may not know it, but they are paying hidden corporate income taxes and employer payroll taxes whenever they buy anything. Under the FairTax, seniors pay $0.23 out of every dollar they choose to spend on new goods and services. Plus, seniors, like everyone else, receive the monthly prebate check, in advance of purchases, for taxes paid on the cost of necessities.

Yes, The FairTax CAN really be passed into law!

Do you have the right to vote in this country? Passing the original 16th Amendment and the income tax wasn’t easy, and repealing the income tax and the 16th Amendment won’t be easy either. That is why the FairTax has undertaken to build a grassroots movement and grassroots alliances to support the effort. But this will only happen when the American people rally behind the effort, throw off the yoke, and demand that their congressional representatives correct 90 years of wrongs done by the income tax.

What you can do RIGHT NOW to make sure this bill gets passed.

First, go to the website www.FairTax.org and sign the petition to let Congress and the President know that you want this bill passed into law.

Second, while you are on the website, look at the congressional scorecard to see whether your state congressional representatives support this bill. If they don’t, write them a letter and tell them that you think they should vote for it and that you will be watching this scorecard to see how they stand come election time.

Third, buy The FairTax Book: Saying Goodbye to the Income Tax and the IRS by Neal Boortz and Congressman John Linder. Read it so you understand what this bill actually says. The book is easy to understand. Then give it to a friend to read and ask them to pass it on.

Fourth, if you hear anyone, especially a politician, saying that the FairTax Bill will hurt the poor, or help the rich, or hurt senior citizens, then politely tell them that they either (A) have not read the FairTax Bill and understood it, or (B) they are intentionally misleading the public, so they must have a personal vested financial interest in keeping the current tax code in place.

Fifth, pass this article on to everyone you know and encourage them to join the grassroots movement to get this bill passed into law. Remember, our politicians serve us, we don’t serve them.

Sandra Simmons, President of Money Management Solutions, specializes in helping business owners and individuals manage their money to acheive financial freedom. Claim your FREE Debt Reduction Solutions Guide

© 2008 Sandra S. Simmons. All Rights Reserved.