The Government - then and now

[JerrySeinfeld]

There was a time just a couple of hundred years ago (mostly in the US mind you), when government was viewed as a necessary evil.

Governing bodies were part time administrative jobs designed to oversea a very small handful of things - policing, roadways, national defense.

Since then, it has ballooned, uncontrollably and without regard to who is in power, into a massive, nanny state all encompassing all promising Obamatron (or Trudeauatron if you're in Canada), with mega programs, mega bureaucracyies, mega unions, mega tax collection mega cencorship, mega accomodation and mega intrusion on our lives.

WHere is it headed? Is it stoppable? What about when (as in the USA RIGHT NOW) you make the transition to greater than 50% of your citizens relying on the government for something. The US is about to cross that line. AFter that - is it stoppable? In places like Scotland - 75% of the GDP comes from government spending. My God, that's gotta be close to USSR and probably bigger than Red China. Canada's is smalled, but growing, and the US just grew massively in that direction.

Am I the only one who thinks government - regardles of party - government should shrink back to a part time administrative jobs designed to oversea a very small handful of things - policing, roadways, national defense?

Just wondering.

Edited June 17, 2009 by JerrySeinfeld

[jdobbin]

There was a time just a couple of hundred years ago (mostly in the US mind you), when government was viewed as a necessary evil.

There are many who now believe government is unnecessary and that includes roads, policing and defence.

[Bonam]

Am I the only one who thinks government - regardles of party - government should shrink back to a part time administrative jobs designed to oversea a very small handful of things - policing, roadways, national defense?

No, you're not the only one. Government is bloated and will continue to expand inexorably. To understand why, you have to look at our culture. More and more people don't understand the concepts of responsibility or self-reliance. People in the West don't remember what it was like to not be free, and so don't value freedom, and don't understand the responsibility that staying free entails. Instead, they just want free stuff. Free healthcare, free education, free daycare for children, welfare, employment insurance, pension, etc. They want the government to tell them what they can or cannot do, and what they can or cannot say, because they find certain things offensive (check the threads on discrimination, abortion, children's services, etc). Even the right wing has for the most part forgotten the ideas of small government and self-responsibility - instead they too want big government, they just want that government to do different things than what the left wants it to do.

Government should confine itself to endeavors which are necessary but unrealistic to be done in a private manner. Like you said, policing, defense, infrastructure (though some of that can be done privately too), a few other things. I'd add fundamental scientific research to the list as well.

It won't happen though, the power and social role of government is ever increasing in all western nations.

[Cameron]

YES BONAM!

I agree completely with your post!

Personal responsibility has gone out the window. You hit the nail on the head.

There is a generation of "someone else will take care of it" out there.

[JerrySeinfeld]

YES BONAM!

I agree completely with your post!

Personal responsibility has gone out the window. You hit the nail on the head.

There is a generation of "someone else will take care of it" out there.

Yes there is. BONAM good post.

[eyeball]

There was a time just a couple of hundred years ago (mostly in the US mind you), when government was viewed as a necessary evil.

Governing bodies were part time administrative jobs designed to oversea a very small handful of things - policing, roadways, national defense.

I'd say you've more accurately described the civil service that like the rest of us follows the leadership, direction or dictatorship of a government. Occasionally you can take a government out of power but you can rarely ever take the power out of a government.

Since then, it has ballooned, uncontrollably and without regard to who is in power, into a massive, nanny state all encompassing all promising Obamatron (or Trudeauatron if you're in Canada), with mega programs, mega bureaucracyies, mega unions, mega tax collection mega cencorship, mega accomodation and mega intrusion on our lives.

Ultimately though it is only because the power of governments have ballooned. The same can and should be said about how corporate power has likewise uncontrollably balloned and intruded on huge swaths of humanity (mostly outside the US mind you). I'd say the growth of power is just as uncontrollable a monster here. Theoretically in places like Canada and the US its us, the people who are suppose to govern and control the governments that accommodate this growth.

WHere is it headed? Is it stoppable? What about when (as in the USA RIGHT NOW) you make the transition to greater than 50% of your citizens relying on the government for something. The US is about to cross that line. AFter that - is it stoppable? In places like Scotland - 75% of the GDP comes from government spending. My God, that's gotta be close to USSR and probably bigger than Red China. Canada's is smalled, but growing, and the US just grew massively in that direction.

It's probably unsustainable at the very least.

Am I the only one who thinks government - regardles of party - government should shrink back to a part time administrative jobs designed to oversea a very small handful of things - policing, roadways, national defense?

Just wondering.

I'd be more worried about powerful governments (especially those like the US or China) who only had cops, soldiers and highways workers to manage. I suppose it makes sense they'd need control of all the roadways so they could transport all their soldiers and cops about. The logical question is why would a government need to do this? If federal and provincial/state governments pulled out of the processes and services that most human societies rely on it stands to reason that municipal region/county level processes would naturally evolve and start assuming and asserting their power with things like taxes and control over natural resources. The only thing we'd need lots of soldiers and cops for is to stop people from relying on each other. I can certainly see how corporations might benefit from this... an unnecessary evil if there ever was one. In fact I'm quite certain this is already happening in many places around the world right now.