Is it Time to Say Goodbye to Big Government, Again?

In his 1981 Inaugural Address, President Reagan announced that “government is not the solution to our problem.” In fact, he went so far as to say that, “government is the problem.” That, “from time to time we’ve been tempted to believe that society has become too complex to be managed by self-rule, that government by an elite group is superior to government for, by, and of the people.” Reagan continued by posing this question, “if no one among us is capable of governing himself, then who among us has the capacity to govern someone else?”

President Reagan’s words never have seemed truer than today when we are looking at those in positions of power in our government and realizing that they are not even capable of governing themselves let alone the rest of the nation. Former Florida Republican Congressman, Mark Foley, is a prime example. As a member of the United States Congress, Foley was one of the top opponents of child pornography, serving as chairman of the House Caucus on Missing and Exploited Children, and introducing and passing numerous legislations on sex offender laws and allowing youth-serving organizations access to FBI fingerprint background checks. However, in September of 2006 ABC News broke the story that Foley had been corresponding with several former Congressional pages. Foley had asked the underage boys for photos and had many inappropriate conversations with them through email and instant message. For many in the country this was shocking and horrific on many levels. There was the initial shock of the act itself, and then it became about more than that. This was a man who supposedly stood for what was moral and just in the world. He was a Republican that defended the rights of children. He spoke out against people that did the things that he was being accused of doing. In this world, where even child advocates, ministers, and scout leaders have to be looked at suspiciously for child abuse and exploitation, who can we trust and if government is not the solution to our problems then what is?

We have long since forgotten the words of President Reagan, and we have once again returned to an era of Big Government. According to a study done by Chris Edwards, Director of Tax Policy Studies for The Cato Institute, “There are 1,696 subsidy programs in the federal budget, which dispense hundreds of billions of dollars annually to state governments, businesses, nonprofit groups, and individuals. The number of subsidy programs is rising rapidly, with a 44 percent increase since 1990,” and “a net 271 new programs have been added since 2000, which is the largest increase in programs since the 1960s.” There is no question that many of these programs are wonderful and that they are money well spent. It is hard to look at area schools and then turn around and say, “yes, go ahead and cut the education budget.” However, the numbers don’t lie. According to research done by The Heritage Foundation, “Federal spending jumped by 7.4 percent, climbing from $2.47 trillion in Fiscal Year 2005 to $2.65 trillion in Fiscal Year 2006. This $182 billion increase was about two times faster than needed to keep pace with inflation. Entitlement programs alone grew by almost $100 billion. Federal government outlays now consume about 20.3 percent of GDP.”

So what do all of these numbers really mean? Well, it is simple. Our federal government is big, and it is spending money as if there is no tomorrow. The federal government has added 271 programs in the last six years; many of which are viewed as unnecessary and even potentially invasive by many Americans. We currently have Republicans and Democrats fighting over personal and private matters as well as matters of public policy. There are also many life-long Republicans and life-long Democrats realizing that things have to change if we want to bring this nation back to what our founding fathers intended it to be. A government “for the people, by the people, and of the people,” not a government run by a few noisy politicians.

http://www.heritage.org/

http://www.cato.org/
http://www.reaganfoundation.org/
http://newswithviews.com/baldwin/baldwin330.htm

*written for the Cass Conservative - November 2006