In /Bailey v. Drexel Furniture Co.
<http://supreme.justia.com/us/259/20/case.html>/ (1922), the Supreme
Court reviewed a federal excise tax on profits from sales of child-made
products. The Court said "the so-called tax is a penalty to coerce
people of a State to act as Congress wishes them to act in respect of a
matter completely the business of the state government under the Federal
Constitution"* *(p 39), and:
...Grant the validity of this law, and all that Congress would need
to do, hereafter, in seeking to take over to its control any one of
the great number of subjects of public interest, jurisdiction of
which the States have never parted with, and which are reserved to
them by the Tenth Amendment, would be to enact a detailed measure of
complete regulation of the subject and enforce it by a so-called tax
upon departures from it. ...such...would...break down all
constitutional limitation of the powers of Congress and completely
wipe out the sovereignty of the States. (p 38)
This line of decisions was overturned when the Supreme Court was packed
with supporters of the New Deal in 1937. It provides a useful insight
into the change of thinking that occurred and how it affects us today.
*
*
-- Jon
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Constitution Society http://constitution.org
2900 W Anderson Ln C-200-322 Austin, TX 78757
512/299-5001 jon.rol...@constitution.org
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