Economics with Dr. Hendrickson: The Economics of the Constitution
It was this private property system, supported by the nation’s founding documents, that allowed for America to rise to the position it is in today.
By Scott Cross
EiC’s Note: Welcome back to Economics with Dr. Hendrickson! Throughout the 2025-26 academic year, Dr. Hendrickson, with the help of Scott Cross, will explore different economic topics. If interested in attending his lectures, contact us at [email protected].
The 2025-26 school year began with the first episode of Economics with Dr. Hendrickson, where the show’s host detailed the economics surrounding one of America’s most important documents: the Constitution. Dr Hendrickson points out that the Constitution, and its partner document, the Declaration of Independence, hold that the purpose of government is to preserve and protect the God-given rights of individuals. The government serves the people rather than the people serving the government. This idea, Dr. Hendrickson says, was a revolutionary concept for the time. (READ MORE: Understanding the Appeals Process)
Within the Declaration of Independence specifically, the author, Thomas Jefferson lists a variety of grievances against the British government including restricting international trade, taxation without representation, and bureaucracy. Thus, when the Constitution when penned, the preamble states that the government is to “promote the general welfare.” This means that whatever few things the new government does, these things would be available to all Americans impartially, not just to some ruling class of bureaucrats.
“This was a repudiation of special interest politics” says Hendrickson. During this time, the government had a comparatively restrained ability to collect taxes. This was reflected in an equally restrained spending budget. The government was only expected to perform a limited number of tasks, an amount that has progressively increased to the present day.
The Concept of Property
The Founding Fathers saw a constant tension between government power and individual rights. This justifies their attempt to create a limited government where the rights of the people were superior to the powers of the government. This is partly what has helped America throughout its history: it was a limited government that was friendly and promoted private property. “The concept of property was foundational to our system [of government].”
This system of private property allowed for what the economist Ludwig von Mises called “consumer sovereignty.” Bureaucrats and elites did not determine what the economy produced. Rather, producers had to curb their actions and produce what consumers demanded. If they failed to do this, no one would buy from them, and they would go bankrupt. Thus, the consumer was sovereign in determining what was produced in the new American economy. (READ MORE: Trump Threatens to Revoke Transgender Right to Arms)
Dr. Hendrickson highlights it was this private property system, supported by the nation’s founding documents, that allowed for America to rise to the position it is in today.
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About the Author
Scott T. Cross is a content editor for Checkpoint News from Columbiana, Ohio. As a senior student at Grove City College, Scott is majoring in Economics with a minor in Music. He is a research fellow at the Institute for Faith and Freedom.
During the summers of 2023 and 2024, Scott interned as a Research Assistant at the Allegheny Institute for Public Policy in Pittsburgh. There, he co-authored numerous published Research Briefs analyzing and advocating for public policies that promote private property and roll back the ever-increasing scope of government power. Scott also appeared on multiple radio broadcasts to discuss his research. During the summer of 2025, Scott worked under economics professor Dr. Caleb Fuller, conducting economics research as part of the Koch Internship Program
On campus he serves as Vice President of the Mises Society, an organization he co-founded that seeks to promote fellowship and the ideas congruent with the Austrian School of Economics
Scott has won a Don Lavoie Fellowship through the Mercatus Center, is a Röpke-Wojtyła Fellow through the Ciocca Center, and is a member of both the Omicron Delta Epsilon international honors society in economics and the Mortar Board National Honor Society, Additionally, his work has been published by the Mises Institute.
Following Graduation, Scott intends to pursue graduate studies in economics.
LISTEN MORE BY SCOTT CROSS: Progressivism vs. Progress
Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed are those of the writer alone and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of Grove City College, the Institute for Faith and Freedom, or their affiliates.
Cover Image: The Institute for Faith and Freedom (cropped).