“I know my rights, I know the law, and what I say I saw, I saw!”

I may not be a movie buff, but even I know that this line comes from the Shirley Temple movie The Little Princess.

This 1939 quote applies to most Americans today. We know our rights. We know the first amendment, and we argue about what can be included in free speech. People join the NRA to defend their right to own guns. Characters on television continually seek refuge in their fifth-amendment rights.

But do we know the tenth amendment?

The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people.

Who cares? I do. If my state treads on my freedom, I can move to a different state. Consider the Great Migration (1910-1970), the mass movement of African Americans north. They knew how to escape Jim Crow laws.

Even now, we can choose to live in a state where it’s easy to run a home business or where there are fewer restrictions on home schooling. If I want to drink large sodas, I’ll stay out of New York City.

But if the federal government enacts oppressive regulations, where can I go to escape? Does the Constitution give Congress power to regulate health insurance, or was this a power reserved to the states?

I promised not to post again until I had read the entire Constitution. I kept my promise. I only found three places in the Constitution that might give Congress power to regulate health insurance. They are as follows:

1. The Commerce Clause (Article I, Section 8.3)
2. The General Welfare Clause (Article I, Section 8.1)
3. The taxing power (Article I, Section 8.1 and Amendment XVI)

If you found another relevant clause, please comment.