Where in the Constitution or Bill of Rights does it say "the government is responsible for...?

Question

Where in the Constitution or Bill of Rights does it say "the government is responsible for making up for individuals' short comings"?

I must have missed that part while memorizing it for my criminal law classes.

For the slow:

"Shortcoming: an imperfection or lack that detracts from the whole; also : the quality or state of being flawed or lacking"

Example being people who don't work hard enough to earn a living wage because 'its too hard' or don't feel like going to work today so they get fired, people on disability who could easily work a desk/computer job, people who don't save money and much rather buy a new car then save for retirement, ect...

Answer 1

I am thirty-five years old, but have only recently learned the lessons of IndividualResponsibility. For most of my life, I've blamed others (family, employers, politicians, government) for my problems, and I've been very unhappy most of the time. But have finally come to accept that I am responsible for my life and my happiness, and that has resulted in a dramatic improvement in my self-confidence and sense of well-being.

Here is a summary of what I've accepted:
I am responsible for my own emotions. Others may do bad things to me, and may even hurt me, but if I let it eat me up inside, the blame rests with me.
I am responsible for my own economic security. TheyCanFireMe, but if I am not prepared for that, it is my fault for not planning ahead.
I am responsible for my own career. If an employer is not providing me with the opportunities I want, or is mistreating me in some way, I can JustLeave. If nobody wants to hire me, it is up to me to make myself more hire-able, or to create a job for myself.
If I don't like the way things are, it is my responsibility to seek out or accept leadership roles so that I can change things. I don't expect anyone else to accept my suggestions and implement them.
If I am not communicating well or am getting along with another person or some group of people, I accept that I am half of the problem.
I am responsible for the consequences of my actions. I will not blame others for not reacting properly to my actions, and I will not assume a "no-fault" lack of responsibility on my behalf.
Choosing to follow someone else's orders is a choice. If I carry out harmful orders or adhere to harmful policies, I am responsible for the harm caused.
I do not have control over others, and I am not directly responsible for their actions. I may have some influence, and I may actively oppose others when the matter is important to me, but in general it is not my responsibility to provide unwanted advice, judge others' actions, correct their mistakes, nor to punish them.
If someone who is working for me is not acting as I wish, it is my responsibility to either try to convince them to act as I want, or to dismiss them. Other peoples' mistakes are their responsibility, but if I allow those mistakes to continue or to jeopardize the attainment of my goals, that is my mistake.
When working for someone else, it is my responsibility to understand what my duties and assignments are, and to obtain the information and resources necessary to do my assigned job. It is my responsibility to inform the boss if I cannot perform the assigned task, and it is my responsibility to come up with alternatives. If I don't like the assignment, I should graciously ask for reassignment or I should graciously resign. It is also my responsibility to share my honest opinions with my employer. (See HelpYourManager.)
I am responsible for managing my time. It is my responsibility to prevent myself from taking on too many responsibilities. When others ask for my help, the choice is mine. If I offer help, I do so freely and without expectations that the person(s) helped will repay me for my kindness. If I can't help, it is my responsibility to clearly say "No."
Care and support of the people and things that matter to me is my responsibility. I cannot expect others to share my interests or desires to help others.
I am responsible for protecting my legal rights. I can't expect others to look after my interests.
I can't change the past, but it is my responsibility to evaluate current conditions and to plan for the future.

I finally feel like a grown-up. I wish I'd figured this stuff out twenty years ago.

I know some will look at the above and roll their eyes. Like everyone else, I've been subjected to all those self-help empowerment gurus that tell everyone to take control of lives, and I have generally ignored it or thought that I already knew all those things. It wasn't until the last year or so that I really got it. So I share my experience in the hope that others may learn the lessons through a quicker and easier method than I did.

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Answer 2

The 10th amendment specifically states that everything not in the Constitution is left to the states. This clearly means that welfare and other social programs are to be handled by the states individually and can not be handled by the federal government.

The "promote the general welfare..." clause clearly has no relation to a welfare state. If the founders had wanted a welfare state they would have created welfare programs when the wrote the Constitution. They didn't, the welfare state didn't come into existence until the 1930s, 150 years after the Constitution was ratified. FDR's "New Deal" was unconstitutional and is solely responsible for our current entitlement society.

Answer 3

No it does not seem within the charter precisely however "advertise the commonplace welfare" does. I think that enabling persons to die for the reason that they're deficient and are not able to find the money for or have entry to well being care is morally unsuitable. The Institute of Medicine estimates that roughly 18,000 Americans die upfront each and every 12 months for the reason that they lack well being coverage. That's like six nine/11s each and every 12 months.

Answer 4

The constitution says, for example, that governments are instituted "to insure domestic tranquility." This has ceased existing in New York, since the revolts of the Liberal onslaught that began with "Brown v Bd of Educ." in 1954.
Everything since then has been domestic turmoil and havoc.
When the students revolted at Columbia in 1968, black bodies hurled over the turnstiles in the subways, just as they hurtle over basketball courts. When a million dollars was spent for "anti-hurtling" turnstiles, they soared over them ON THE FIRST DAY they were installed. And the subway begging began then too (called "panhandling" for who-knows-what reason). I see them on their knees sometimes, crawling from one end of a police-less car to the other end. The plainclose cops ran away (not from guns or knives, but from shrieking girls and ***** PHD's). Together with the graffiti vandals (now using ----believe it or not-----ACID to desecrate glass, and aluminum) they are relentless, and have not stopped for 30 years. The police reaction has been largely to RETREAT, with occasional spurrings forward, together in packs. They are outnumbered and defeated, just as the white population in general has been, and is likely to remain.

Answer 5

I think the jist of the question revolves around opportunity costs. In a market economy their are costs associated with the choices you make.

Health care is a good examples of this. Plenty of people can afford it, but are unwilling to accept the opportunity costs. Those costs include (but not limited to): TVs, DVDs, ipods, clothes, fancy houses and cars, cigarettes, alcohol, credit card debt, etc. etc. In other words, instead of purchasing health care people are purchasing other goods and services.

The government should not provide universal health care because it rewards nonacceptance of opportunity costs.

If that's not what you were looking for then too bad. That's how I respond to the question.

Answer 6

Right in the Preamble it says, "in order to form a more perfect union, provide for the common defense and promote the general welfare for ourselves and posterity do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America." While the actual words, "The government is responsible for," do not appear, those words communicate that those are the responsibilities conferred upon the government by the Constitution.

Answer 7

Nowhere. But where in the Constitution does it say that you can't drive 55 in a 35? The Constitution bends to the needs and the will of the people.

Answer 8

Context please?
I'm sure none of us want the government to make up for short comings so a little explanation may help.

Answer 9

...or for that matter, the shortcomings of businesses. The government continues to hand out gazillions in farm subsidies and other types of corporate wellfare and pork barrel spending.

Answer 10

It doesn't. It just states that our govt must promote the general welfare.

Accountability is going the way of the Dodo