on the size of government

I’ve been shying away from political posts, but that Imperial IPA loosened my tongue a bit…so this is a comment I left in response to this.

After reading your post I’m amazed that at the end you still refer to Bush as a Republican president, as he is only republican in the disappointing social values perspective that your party embraces for votes alone (else why such hypocrisy in your leadership).

As far as your issues with government size, I partially agree. There are huge shortcomings in the system. Government handouts, welfare abusers, unjustified wars, sweetheart deals, they’re all problems.

But, the general anti-government, ant-tax stance is wrong. And it doesn’t matter what percentage of Americans make their honest wage off government funding.

You are correct about the transfer, but you should be thankful for it, as that transfer is keeping you out of the company store. My belief is that Democratic voters have the primary goals of preservation of the middle class and the progress of the American economy (as well as an unalignable array of social goals).

Government is able to provide a buffer against major economic shifts (such as the baby boomer problem and our market’s wholesale shift to a service industry) both by providing meaningful employment and by training and education. It is also able to provide protection for smaller players against more powerful entities. Completely contrary to the objectivist Republican ethos, regulation actually promotes competition.

cheers.