The Debate on the Role of Government for Simpletons

Tom over at Fort Boise makes the debate on the role of government all very simple for his audience:

Whether you agree or disagree with my political views, can we at least agree that we live in a time of disagreement? See how you feel about the following statement:

Government has a proper and legitimate role in our lives.

If you think that’s obviously true, you must be some kind of flaming liberal. If you think that’s laughably (sic), obviously false, then you’re an anarchist. Or the mighty John Galt.

In between, there are those who merely pretend that the very idea is ludicrous when it’s convenient, and go ahead and run (or manipulate) the government in a way that provides for their own self-interest, or bloviate about the horrors of government on TV and radio for entertainment purposes.

 

Get that?

Either you believe in a role of government honestly, you’re a sincere nut, or insincere scumbag who manipulates the government to your own ends, or merely pretends to be against government to earn a big fat paycheck on Cable Television. 

Yes, Tom’s view of the world comes in full-color cynivision, at least when it comes to the other side of the aisle.

 But, “I’m from the government and I’m here to help,” are words that will always have a welcome ear on the left. Because the left believes that they are making some contribution to the world by taking other people’s money and spending it to address problems that money will never solve.

Is there a role for government? Yes, it’s protecting our borders and protecting us from those who would do us harm. There are the legitimate roles laid out for the government in Article 1, Section 8 of the Federal Constitution.

There are legitimate roles for government in the construction of roads, and the maintenance of legitimate infrastructure. There is a role for state and local governments in education, as has been the case since the Founding era.

Perhaps, I can best define what I don’t think the government’s role should be:

It’s not government’s job to ensure that I have a nice retirement. It’s not their job to be my nurse maid, and take care of my health care. It’s not government’s job to protect me from the consequences of my own bad decisions. It’s not the government’s job to usurp the proper role of the family or the community. It is not their proper function to make us charitable or to decide that we should live in high density housing near the bus line. And quite frankly, it shouldn’t be any of the government’s business how much money I earned last year and who paid it to me. 

It is not that I want government to do nothing, but to do the right and necessary things. Our current state and federal government is a serpentine mess of departments and groups with sometimes redundant purposes. It is better to do a few things well, than many things poorly.

Read more at Adam’s Blog