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Showing posts with label government size. Show all posts
Showing posts with label government size. Show all posts
Thursday, December 12, 2013
Thursday, November 22, 2012
Republican Shrinkage
Republicans often repeat the line, "Most Americans want a smaller government."
A classic example of Republicans getting an inch and taking a mile.
Most people simply want efficient provision of services. The number of public workers is not important to most taxpayers. The quality of service per tax dollar is what concerns taxpayers most.
The idea that simply shrinking government for the sake of shrinking government is wanted and/or somehow optimal is false. Taxes, as a share of income, are at their lowest point in 60 years. It's difficult to argue government is wasteful when they have been continually doing more with less decade after decade.
And, whether the service is administered at the federal or state/local level doesn't really matter to most taxpayers. This distinction matters most to the politicos trying to maintain their fiefdoms. Taxpayers just want the service/program - regardless of which agency (state or federal) provides it.
Social Security, Medicare, police and fire protection, sewers, water, garbage collection, snow removal, roads and highways, trains, unemployment insurance, the court and judicial system - people want these services provided fairly and efficiently, they don't care which level of government performs the service. (Today - Thanksgiving - would be a good day to reflect on these programs which we collectively provide for each other.)
Republicans merely cling to this talking-point (we must shrink government) because it positions well alongside their never-ending "bad government" war chant. When it comes to the public sector, according to Republicans, less is always better.
Yet, for most citizens, less government means more inequality. Remember this the next time you hear some conservative blathering on about big bad government. The more government declines, the less services and programs (listed above) they can provide, and thus the quality of life of most citizens also declines.
A classic example of Republicans getting an inch and taking a mile.
Most people simply want efficient provision of services. The number of public workers is not important to most taxpayers. The quality of service per tax dollar is what concerns taxpayers most.
The idea that simply shrinking government for the sake of shrinking government is wanted and/or somehow optimal is false. Taxes, as a share of income, are at their lowest point in 60 years. It's difficult to argue government is wasteful when they have been continually doing more with less decade after decade.
And, whether the service is administered at the federal or state/local level doesn't really matter to most taxpayers. This distinction matters most to the politicos trying to maintain their fiefdoms. Taxpayers just want the service/program - regardless of which agency (state or federal) provides it.
Social Security, Medicare, police and fire protection, sewers, water, garbage collection, snow removal, roads and highways, trains, unemployment insurance, the court and judicial system - people want these services provided fairly and efficiently, they don't care which level of government performs the service. (Today - Thanksgiving - would be a good day to reflect on these programs which we collectively provide for each other.)
Republicans merely cling to this talking-point (we must shrink government) because it positions well alongside their never-ending "bad government" war chant. When it comes to the public sector, according to Republicans, less is always better.
Yet, for most citizens, less government means more inequality. Remember this the next time you hear some conservative blathering on about big bad government. The more government declines, the less services and programs (listed above) they can provide, and thus the quality of life of most citizens also declines.
Saturday, August 4, 2012
Weekend Reading
City Hall: Where The Jobs Aren't
Five Myths About The Middle Class
Government Cutbacks Separate This Expansion From Others
Half Of Americans Die With Virtually No Assets
How Uncle Sam Helped Mitt Romney Build His Fortune
Monopoly Greed
No One Pays The Estate Tax
3 Reasons Why Hosting The Olympic Is A Loser's Game
Wages Aren't Stagnating, They're Plummeting
Water Is The New Gold, A Big Commodity Bet
Five Myths About The Middle Class
Government Cutbacks Separate This Expansion From Others
Half Of Americans Die With Virtually No Assets
How Uncle Sam Helped Mitt Romney Build His Fortune
Monopoly Greed
No One Pays The Estate Tax
3 Reasons Why Hosting The Olympic Is A Loser's Game
Wages Aren't Stagnating, They're Plummeting
Water Is The New Gold, A Big Commodity Bet
Friday, July 27, 2012
Saturday, May 12, 2012
Saturday, May 5, 2012
Republicans Like Big Government
... at least according to their administrations' policies and outcomes.
Maddow Hits Romney For Using 'Overpaid' Firefighters For Photo Op
The Surprisingly Shrinking Government Footprint
Maddow Hits Romney For Using 'Overpaid' Firefighters For Photo Op
The Surprisingly Shrinking Government Footprint
Saturday, January 14, 2012
Wednesday, April 20, 2011
The Republican Gravy Train
Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy
Sunday, February 13, 2011
Bad Journalism Dooms Dying Newspaper
The Journal Sentinel tells us Government's Old Ways Won't Cut It Any Longer. They want us to "start by looking at the way the state governs itself." But, a much better starting-point would be to dispel the myths and misinformation (aided by poor reporting from the Journal) about government size and tax burdens.
Many alarming quotes are used for fodder in the piece. None offer any comparison or a basis for such alarm. "Everyone agree that the taxes to pay for these [services] are too high and must come down." "Wisconsin economic competitiveness is declining due to increasing tax burden." No measurement, no metric is given to support such. Just accept it so we can move forward dismantling the government and privatizing everything.
Wednesday, February 9, 2011
Small People
It seems Republicans continually talk about small government. Yet government has roughly, taking population into consideration, stayed the same size since the 1970s. The Republicans aren't so much interested in a smaller sized government, but rather primarily concerned with steering all branches of government, enabling them to stay in control of the legislative agenda and the missions of the different government departments and agencies.
They want the ability to make the programs they dislike ineffective, yet still use those agencies, and their funding, to pay off cronies and support their pet projects.
Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy
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