In the Constitution’s Commerce clause, the Congress is granted the power
To regulate Commerce with foreign Nations, and among the several States, and with the Indian Tribes;
In the same document’s Fifth Amendment, the Federal government may not confiscate property:
nor be deprived of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor shall private property be taken for public use, without just compensation.
The 14th Amendment extends this prohibition to the States.
No State shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States; nor shall any State deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law;
Both the Commerce clause and the takings clause are perverted by the field of economics. The Constitution grants specific, limited powers, or forbids infringement of the citizen’s rights and privileges. Government’s scope is limited. Economics takes as its subject the full compass of human activity. By interpreting “commerce” as any economic activity, or “public use” as any economic benefit, the intent of the Constitution is reversed: the power of the government becomes unbounded.
It is not solely the Court’s responsibility to interpret, or misinterpret, the Constitution. It is also ours. If we permit our representatives in Congress assembled, or in our State and local assemblies, to engorge the government on our rights, we have only ourselves to blame.