In Search of an Easy Life
With regard to the role of government in our lives, the “people” rarely desire “effective solutions.” Governing is hard, especially when society seeks to balance the legitimate needs and competing interests of nearly 320 MILLION persons simultaneously [now 335 million]. Large numbers of persons would happily accept a “benevolent” dictator (or all powerful state), so long as its dictates improved their current station in life and they did not have to work for it. Governing is hard because, as with life generally, it requires quid-pro-quo. The value of what we receive in life is directly proportional to our own contributions to that life (and to the lives of others). In government, it becomes exceedingly difficult, if not impossible, to equitably, effectively, and efficiently compare benefits versus costs when the benefits often flow to parties unrelated to or far removed from those, who must bear the costs.
Those who seek to benefit from government’s largesse must either contribute something of value (e.g. taxes) or give up something (e.g. rights and privileges) in order to balance the scales. It goes without saying that there is no free lunch, and he who writes the checks makes the rules.
One, who is tired of “corporate welfare,” should look to decrease the demands of the Nanny State with its excessive government spending. [The National Debt stands in excess of $35 Trillion, and budget deficits in excess of $1 Trillion annually are projected into the foreseeable future.] Government cannot create wealth, and so long as it must conscript wealth from a limited and shrinking producer class, those infamous “One Percenters” will have a big say in what government does. Unfortunately, the average voter contributes little to the “general welfare” (or less than none after direct benefits are netted). Therefore, the only “trade” that many citizens can make is to surrender their supposedly inalienable rights, individual liberties, and personal freedoms.
Americans collectively have proven themselves too willing and eager to surrender the rights, which define us as Americans, so as to place ourselves at the mercy of the state. The Ward cannot dictate the actions of the Master, but many fear being masters of their own lives. Effective change would require dismantling the bureaucratic alphabet agencies with their bloat and inefficiencies; however, those whose personal powers, influence, and wealth are derived directly from those fiefdoms will not surrender without an intense fight.
The “power” of government should be returned to the local levels:
Do you want the benefit of a road, school, or government program? Then you, as an individual citizen and taxpayer, must be personally “invested” in that activity or program.
Only then can individuals weigh the benefits against the burdens and make a truly informed decision. As it is, the presumption is that government “must” provide certain programs and services either because such things have always existed or because some other group or body received a similar benefit or service. There is a concurrent presumption that someone ELSE will always foot the bill. There is little consideration given to efficiency and efficacy. As a country, we have come to expect something for nothing, or at least too much for too little.
As an example, parents of grade school children may decry the educational system; however, few of them fully appreciate the fact that government pays more than $10,000 annually toward the education for each child. Would the parents’ perspective, appreciation, and personal involvement change if they were required to pay that $10,000, or some appreciable portion thereof, for the benefit of their own child(ren)?
As it is, the presumption is that the state is supposed to educate minor children according to the standards of the best educational institutions but without the burden of paying tuition. (This hardly addresses the presumption by some persons that the state should act in loco parentis in many aspects of child rearing.) Such beliefs are entirely unreasonable. but they are duplicated millions of times every day with regard to nearly all government services and programs.
Government is not a savior. It is at best a crutch and enabler. At its worst, it can be a weapon whereby self-serving political classes force the surrender of rights, liberties, and freedoms in order to impose compliance and conformity. Entrenched compliance assures the perpetual power of those, who hold the reins of government, and in holding those reins, they possess an air of legitimacy, which allows them to rob the nation’s wealth. The temptations and lust for power are simply too great for mortal men to resist. It is for this reason that our Founding Father’s envisioned a federal government of limited and specifically enumerated powers. That government has evolved into a Leviathan, which constantly pulls against its weakening fetters.
The only effective solution is for the people to live their own lives in such a way that they reduce dependency upon government. The answer is for persons to receive value and benefit from their own lives, as opposed to relying upon coerced charity and forced takings from disfavored “others.”
Assuming responsibility for living one’s own life prudently and productively is the hard answer, but it is in the end the only effective solution.
[NOTE: Originally written September 1, 2015.]
