Section 8, Clause 1: Power to Tax and Spend
<em>The Congress shall have Power To lay and collect Taxes, Duties, Imposts and Excises, to pay the Debts and provide for the common Defense and general Welfare of the United States; but all Duties, Imposts and Excises shall be uniform throughout the United States;</em>
<u>Its today's relevance: </u>
Without taxes, the government would be unable to meet the demands of society and make improvements necessary for the economic growth of a country as well as to help raise the standard of living.
The taxes collection is a form of raising the revenues' state in order to use it to meet the demands of the society by financing social projects in sectors such as health (social healthcare, medical research, social security, etc.), education (funding, furnishing, and maintaining the public education system), Governance (to pay public servants, police officers, members of parliaments, the postal system, etc.) and by funding other sectors that are important for the well being of the citizens such as infrastructure development, transport, housing, security, scientific research, environmental protection, defense, etc.
Article I, Section 8, Clause 8: Copyrights and Patents
<em>To promote the Progress of Science and useful Arts, by securing for limited Times to Authors and Inventors the exclusive Right to their respective Writings and Discoveries;</em>
<u>Its today's relevance: </u>
Today's world is characterized for an easy digital reproduction and distribution, where anyone can take a content and spread it the way it wants (badly or not), and sell it too. When authors have the copyright of their writings or discoveries, they can protect their work against piracy and control who makes money off of it, legally.
When authors are protected by law that their work will be protected, even if it's just for a limited time, they tend to feel more encouraged to keep creating.
