Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette
Definition seems clear
The Preamble to the Constitution states: “We the People of the United States, in order to form a more perfect union, establish justice, insure domestic tranquility, provide for the common defense, promote the general welfare, and secure the blessings of liberty to ourselves and our posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America.”
The 1828 Webster’s English Dictionary has the following definition: “Welfare, n. [well and fare, a good faring; G.] 1. Exemption from misfortune, sickness, calamity or evil; the enjoyment of health and the common blessings of life; prosperity; happiness; applied to persons. 2. Exemption from any unusual evil or calamity; the enjoyment of peace and prosperity, or the ordinary blessings of society and civil government; applied to states.”
This seems to me to support the concept that the federal government has a prescribed interest in the health of all citizens. Clean air, water, other factors of daily life and providing quality medical care are all a part of “promote the general welfare.”
The current situation in Washington, D.C., arguing if health care is a government function or not, appears to me to be clear if you read the Preamble in light of the times it was written and the words used.
BILL OWENS Little Rock