The new law in Arizona addressing immigration enforcement has produced the predictable response from the drive-by media. The Denver Post tells us, "that the U.S. Constitution gives the federal government, not states, authority over immigration"
The U.S. Constitution, Article 1, § 8 states:
"The Congress shall have Power ...To establish an uniform Rule of Naturalization"
Below that passage, one also finds:
"To coin Money, regulate the Value thereof, and of foreign Coin, and fix the Standard of Weights and Measures; To provide for the Punishment of counterfeiting the Securities and current Coin of the United States;"
The Denver Post's insightful legal analysis got me thinking. May is a property tax month here in New Jersey, the land of effective government. This May I could try something new.
I have access to a high-quality color printer. With good paper, I could print excellent reproductions of $100 bills. Unless you look really closely, the only way to tell my $100 bills from the official ones would be that mine would have a picture of J.S. Bach instead of Ben Franklin.
Following the legal advice of the Denver Post, I should be able to print up some $100s, take them to city hall and pay my taxes.
After all, the U.S. Constitution gives the federal government, not states, authority over currency. Therefore, New Jersey does not have the power to determine whether my J.S. Bach $100 bill is valid and has to accept it.
The U.S. Constitution gives the federal government, not states, authority over counterfeiting. Therefore, New Jersey does not have the authority to report me to the Secret Service for printing my own bills.
Denver Post, it ain't happening.