Big Government v. Small Government

In the great wide world of politics the spectacle of people arguing past each other is not only common but par for the course. No one seems to use the same words for a particular meaning nor have the same meaning for specific words.

Endless are the examples I could put before you, but one such is particularly relevant today. That is "Big Government" and "Small Government".

Before I begin to define those two ideas, it is vital that you, the reader, understand that we are really talking about three ideas.

"What?" you say, "Three ideas...but you only used two phrases."

"Yes I did and I am glad you pointed that out because it is at the heart of the confusion. Just as we live in a three dimensional world with height, width, and depth; the ideas regarding the size of government also encompass three dimensions: Reach, Power, and Cost. (Note: these are my words and may or may not be similar to the political ideas of other commentators...confusing isn't it?)

Reach of Government

The Founding Fathers all (or mostly all) came from an English background. Hence they were familiar with the ideas of Nobility and Kingship. Although the Magna Carta had come into existance hundreds of years before, there was always a struggle between King and Parliament over who had control over this or that area of society. The King may want to go to war but Parliament had to approve and fund the venture. Sounds kinda like our system today doesn't it? Maybe Jefferson etc. looked at that seperation of powers and thought, "Huh, keeps the King from running amok, Might work here."

Anyway, since Kings, Presidents and Members of Congress tend to be type A personalities, they are always looking for ways to increase their own power over others. "I know what's good for you and the country" is a very common thought. Anytime anything goes wrong, they want to pass a law. Imagine how bored Congress would be if all they had to do was agree on a budget because the rest of the country was doing fine without their input thank you very much.

The framers of the Constitution understood this kind of pride and greed, so they designed a system where the responsibility and power for the making of laws, the enforcing of laws and the interpretation of laws were seperated. Thus each group could act as a brake upon the others' desire to bring more things under their own control. The natural jealousy, envy and averice of each group would be made to fight against the other. It might surprise you but gridlock in D.C. is not only good but EXACTLY what the Founders wanted. "The fewer laws passed the better", they thought.

They also wanted to spread the power around even further so they came up with the idea of Federalism. Surprisingly, this means pretty much the opposite of what you may think. Federalism is the idea that the Federal Government should have as little Reach as possible and everything else stays with the states. After all, the States were individual entities at the end of the Revolutionary War. Each was its own little country. Agreeing to one united government was a big step and not completely popular. Virginians wanted to keep New Hampshireites from telling them what to do. Almost nobody wanted to let the Rhode Islanders join but then that would mean breaking the set and it just didn't seem right.

Naturally, some people are going to support this ever growing influence of government, sticking its fingers into everyone else's pies. Those people like it mostly because it is their finger and my pie. Some are going to want to slap that hand. I myself don't like my children dipping into my Chocolate Cream pie let alone some bureaucrat in D.C. I don't know where HIS hands have been.

Nearly everyone agrees that the government at any given level is better at some things than the individual. While I fancy myself a fairly good hand-to-hand combatant I certainly could not take-on the amassed power and might of that terrible aggressor Liechtenstein should they ever decide to invade East Bakersfield. So I have to accept that the US Army is a pretty good idea. Thus there must be some amount of Reach.

The second axis or dimension is Power.

Here I would like to introduce you to Kenneth C. G. Eddy. Now Kiff (as he is known) is only four, but he has discovered that to get what you want from a store (unless you are an OWS member or have 30 or so friends to distract the clerk) you need to have money. So Kiff decides to open a lemonade stand. Over the course of a bright saturday morning he rakes in $35. Not bad for a tiny tot. But then just before noon a code enforcement officer from the City Health Inspector's office arrives. After enjoying a large refreshing glass of Lemon Flavored Heaven he shuts down Kiff's stand, confiscates all the fixin's as well as the money and issues a ticket to Kiff's bewildered parents. Officer Nofunnick (all names have been changed to protect the innocent and prevent lawsuits- but since this is entirely fictional the odds of being sued are fairly slim) tells the family that Kiff did not gain the proper permits nor pass an inspection. Therefore he must be stopped, punished and prevented from ever being a nuisance to society ever again. After his mother asked if that could be done to the Dad (it couldn't) she questioned whether losing all the money, lemons, sugar AND paying a fine was really fair. Couldn't they just close and get a warning?

This scenario illustrates Power. How far does the govenment have the right to go in enforcing the laws passed under Reach? Must they protect the innocent consumer from being poisoned? Probably. Do they need to break a toddler's heart and prevent him from going to Disneyland? Not unless they have a contract with Six Flags but that is another matter.

Congress enjoys great latitude in proclaiming for itself how much power the Government has. Should they wish to eradicate the use of Marijuana all they would have to do is pass a law (and get it through the courts) that the police are to shoot on sight anyone possessing or under the influence of cannabis. Admittedly this is the extreme end of the power scale but some things are important to get done. At the other end is an official note saying, "Don't do that anymore you naughty naughty boy." Pretty wide gap but then officers need some leeway for dealing with situations on the street.

Each of America's citizens have to consider where we believe the appropriate level of Power should be for each and every law and then talk to our representatives about our opinions. Then we can sit back and enjoy watching them do what they want anyway.

The third dimension we need to discuss is Cost.

Nobody likes to talk about budgets because none of us (at least the people who will acknowledge knowing me) have all the money they want. Therefore we have to make and keep budgets. I say keep because eventually the credit cards and payday loans WILL catch up to you.

The U.S. Government is not so dissimilar to a regular household, no matter what Mr. Keynes may say. Because most of us live in the real world, we worry about how much the Government is spending and how our country is going to keep from going bankrupt. I wouldn't mind them repossessing some places like San Francisco and Madison, Wisconsin but if they even look at Hershey, Pennsylvania I WILL GO TO WAR!

Our leaders spend money in a wide variety of ways. From actual cost of running (staff salaries and benefits) to Equipment (we'll talk about baseline budgeting and the $500 hammer later) to benefits programs to Social programs to international aid.

Most of us have in some way been recipients of some form of Government hand-out. Now don't get mad and start yelling about taxes and rights and fairness and all that crap. In the end, if the IRS didn't take my money in the first place, then I could decide if I wanted to pay the artist-who-paints-his-body-with-curdled-milk-and-lets-wild-cats-lick-him-clean or not. Somehow I just don't think that is a good use of our resources as a nation.

The arguments about Cost are as varied as the programs that exist. Every person who lives on Government subsidy does not want to see their program cut. Natural and understandable. What many fail to realize is that those who pay for most of those programs may not want to do so. As a result they push back and say, "Do we really need a Department for the Regulation and Control of Anteater Reproduction?" Couldn't anteaters just go out on awkwards dates and fumble into a relationship without Government help like the rest of us?

The Players

So you now know about Reach, Power and Cost. "So what?" you say. Now you need to look at the game program to see who the players are and what they are doing.

(read in announcer's voice)
At the far Right of the stadium...stadium. We see...see...Capt. Libertarian.

The Left and Right referred to in politics comes from the fact that Democrats sit on the left hand side of the Senate chambers and Republicans sit on the right. That's it, there's no deeper meaning.

So on the furthest right you would find someone who wants Government to have the smallest amount of Reach, the least Power, and the lowest Cost. The Libertarian wants government out of his hair so that he can get about messing up his life with impugnity. He thinks that no one else can possibly know better than him. Kinda like me. So leave me alone you Men in Black.

On the extreme other side of the room would sit Comrade Communist. He wants absolute control of everything (Power) of everyone (Reach) including all the money (Cost). He also thinks he knows better than anyone else but wants the power to force others to do everything his way. Yea, like that Chernobyl thing worked out so great.

All the others persuasions of political belief fall somewhere between these two. Some may want the Government to have only the smallest possible Reach but have all the resources they need (Cost) and Power to accomplish their jobs. Others don't mind being taken care of throughout their entire lives (Reach) but don't want to pay the taxes (Cost) or endure the TSA agent who likes to perform strip searches just a little too much (Power).

So, some major political figures of today.

Barack H. Obama II -Socialist.
Despite what he says on the campaign trail he governs and lets his administration run like a good old fashioned Soviet Apparatchik. Please be aware, ALL politicians lie. Anyone saying otherwise is running for office. He knows where the money is and is doing everything he can to bring it all home to Papa. Tax the rich, regulate the middle-class, bribe the poor. His government has created more laws and regulations than there are things to regulate (some things are covered by 2-3 laws, imagine that). All things under his control with absolute ability to force compliance and unlimited resources. Sounds like my kind of Summer job!

Mitt Romney- Big Government Republican
In his heart of hearts Mitt believes in pure Communism. WHAT!!??? Yes he does. Under the Mormon belief system, Christ will return and reign on the earth personally. All things will be under the control of the Leader. BIG GOVERNMENT. Look up true Communism. Everyone living a perfect Utopian life in harmony with everyone else, working for the good of all. Pretty sweet if you ask me. Too bad nobody here can live that life very well. Until that glorious day arrives though, Mitt has shown that he is not adverse to some level of control and the required spending. His famous RomneyCare in Massachewsits (you try and spell it on the fly while thinking of something else) contained the same mandate as ObamaCare. But at least he doesn't want to kill people for having yellow teeth. If we hooked a solar cell to that man's chompers we could light up Vegas for a week.

Rick Perry- Small Government Republican
I don't know Perry as well as I should. His success in Texas (where they shoot ya for bein' too pushy) leads me to believe he is to the small side of Reach and Power. Otherwise he'd be on the underside of Boot Hill.

Herman Cain- Small Government Republican
Cain's claim to fame is his name in the pizza game. Say that five times fast!
Currently he is offering a simplified 9-9-9 tax plan that resonates with those who are concerned with Cost. Some of the Big Government people worry that it will strangle their ability to fund pet projects. They are right and that's the point. There is a racial issue surrounding Cain. There are those who think that he isn't representing his People and forgot where he came from. Personally, I only like homemade pizza anyway so I don't care.

Ron Paul- Libertarian
Ron wants to cut- DEEP. He says we should kill the Department of Education, defund International Aid and slash $1 TRILLION from the budget. I think Cost may be his particular concern, just sayin'.

Well, now that you have a clearer understanding of the debate, it is upon you to decide who is closest to your own views and support them. Right or wrong, you can only kvetch if you get involved.