pendennis

Those words are in the preamble, which only summarizes the broad purpose of a document. The actual articles, sections, and amendments are what define the constitution. And so far, no one has defined "general welfare". The term is very nebulous at best, nonsensical at worst. Based on philosophical individualism, there is no "general welfare". What's good for you doesn't mean that's good for me.

SteveR Loc: Michigan

Money is not exactly "parked there." Each stockholder is an individual owner of the companies in which he or she owns stock. They have a voice in the running of the company at stockholder meetings. If they don't attend they can vote by proxy. As part owners, no matter how miniscule a percentage that might be, how well they do depends on the performance of the company. Dividends may be paid or some companies, like Amazon, pour earnings back into the growth of the company. This added value to the company, in turn, adds value to individual stocks. It's the same as if you owned your own business. All your equity would be tied up in the business and you'd have to live off the profits. Same with stocks. You would also hope that, perhaps, over time, the business would grow in value and when it came time to retire you could sell it for a nice profit. Same as stocks.