by While there’s some disagreement about whether Congress should be raising taxes only to pay debt or whether they can also fund entitlements, no one disagrees that they are over the line when they try to coerce states to do things using financial incentives:
Congress today often uses its spending power not in pursuit of the general welfare, but rather as a means of purchasing regulatory compliance from the states with promises of spending. The Supreme Court upheld such tactics in 1987 when it approved Congress’ threat to withhold highway funds from South Dakota if the state did not raise its drinking age to conform with the rest of the nation.
Congress and the executive branch routinely deploy such bribery, as when the Obama administration promised states the possibility of funding if they adopted the administration’s preferred national educational curriculum in its so-called “Race to the Top” initiative. Another example includes the various “incentive payments” that HUD doles out to organizations that adopt the disastrous “housing first” approach to homelessness.
The Constitution Provides Answers to Our Federal Debt Problem
