There should be separation of government and business. There should be no bailouts or government subsidies for any business (for example, subsidies for green energy companies). Elimination of this practice is the easiest path to save on wasted tax dollars. The infringement of government into the business realm began early in American history. Case in point, the national bank dispute arose during the George Washington administration. The national bank was proposed by Treasury Secretary Alexander Hamilton, and it was adamantly opposed as being unconstitutional by Secretary of State Thomas Jefferson. Washington would side with Hamilton and a national bank was chartered. Later, the constitutionality of the national bank was taken up by the Supreme Court in McCulloch v. Maryland in 1817. The Court incorrectly, in my opinion, ruled the national bank was indeed constitutional. In McCulloch, the Court held that the federal government could do what was necessary and proper to carry out its taxing powers and to stabilize United States currency. Nevertheless, was a national bank the best solution or the least evasive method for the federal government to carry out its taxing power? No.

A decade later, President Andrew Jackson was determined to end the national bank despite its popularity. In fact, when Jackson took matters into his own hands by removing federal funds from the national bank and dispersing them among smaller state banks, his actions were censured. Jackson agreed with Congress’s act to censure him because he realized he overstepped his executive powers since dealing with treasury funds was a legislative task. Still, Jackson prevailed when Congress decided not to renew the national bank charter when the southern coalition was joined with western support. The bank was one of several sectional fights. But Jackson proved a national bank was not a necessary and proper solution to help the government deal with taxing issues or for stabilizing currency. Actually, the debate over the national bank and how to handle federal treasuries extended into the Van Buren administration and his Treasury Act also had little impact on the economy. The Treasury Act divorced the treasury from all banks with no ill effects on the economy or for the government to collect taxes. Thus, the national bank was not the least evasive method to achieve the government’s taxing objective. Despite these types of egregious power grabs by the federal government, they still insist on injecting themselves in economic manners to pick winners and losers in industry.

Interestingly, Alexander Hamilton would govern much differently than he would defend the Constitution anonymously in the Federalist Papers. He would become the first progressive in American history and that is why he has become the democrats favorite Founding Father and why there is a popular Broadway play in his honor.