[ilbob]

So now that we have some background, my question for discussion: Could the United States continue as we know it if the Commerce Clause were interpreted more narrowly? If everything from the USDA to FDA to medical devices to gasoline in your fuel tank were suddenly regulated by the state instead of the Feds, would quality of life improve or would we see life become more complex and regulatory?

I don't think that it would change all that much. A lot of things are legitimately interstate commerce, and could still be regulated by the feds. Most drugs and medical devices are only made in one or a few states but are used in every state so its a good bet there is a lot of interstate commerce there.

The dramatic change is that the DOL would be out of business, as there is not even a remote chance that job safety has anything whatsoever to do with interstate commerce. Some might object to that.

Yeah, but what happens when you take your California approved Oxycotin to Texas and they say it is an illegal opiate and that your 30 day is sufficient to charge you with trafficking?

No much different than when you take your Texas legal gun to CA and become a felon for it. Its almost certain that were the court to make a rational decision about the commerce clause that the states would come up with some way to make it work. They were able to make it work before 1933.