Here is the background: The USDA has established a new Christmas Tree Promotion Board for promoting “sales of fresh Christmas trees.” The board is composed of 11 producers and one importer of Christmas trees.
At issue is a 15-cent charge per Christmas tree sold by producers and importers who produce more than 500 trees annually. Would the fee be passed on to consumers - like a tax?
The Christmas Tree Promotion Board is modeled after the folks who brought us “Got Milk” commercials and “Beef. It's what"s for dinner” ads. Those cost $1 per cow, by the way.
So let's see how this works: People buy Christmas trees. The government charges 15 cents for selling those trees. Then it uses the money to create a federal program to promote the sale of Christmas trees.
“I cannot undertake to lay my finger on that article of the Constitution which granted a right to Congress of expending, on objects of benevolence, the money of their constituents ...” - James Madison