Government, Boo! Services, Yay!

The unfolding ecological disaster of the massive oil leak in the Gulf of Mexico has, if nothing else, clearly demonstrated the foolishness of those who demand smaller, less intrusive, and cheaper government, yet also demand all the things that larger government provides.

Every day the oil spill goes on, we hear people like Louisiana's conservative Republican governor Bobby Jindal thunder to the cameras, asking why isn't the federal government doing more to help us?

So, let me see if I have this right...

Big, expensive, and intrusive government is bad. Except when you need its help.

We see the same thing each time a crowd of older Tea Party activists demand lower taxes and an end to expensive government programs ... except for Social Security and Medicare, of course.

We saw it when the terrifying disaster of Hurricane Katrina devastated New Orleans and much of the Gulf Coast. Everybody wanted Federal assistance, largely because no responsible planning and organization had been done at the state level ... but God forbid we should have to pay the taxes that pay for that assistance.

We can't have it both ways.

Bloated and inefficient government is indeed bad, and we Americans have a long-standing distrust of distant governments taxing, spending, and ruling by fiat without input from the citizens (just ask King George III how that worked out). The problem is that it's easy to rail about the evils of big government as long as we don't need the things big government provides, and it's hard to define just how big and expensive a national government needs to be. What are the legitimate functions of the federal government as opposed to state government? And what is an appropriate level of taxation to impose on the citizens to pay for it?

Unfortunately, we're not having that discussion. Instead, we're hearing nothing but overheated rhetoric that lost contact with social and economic reality. We're hearing populist claptrap that gets politicians elected, but doesn't solve problems.

So what do you think? If you want all the things a big, paternalistic government provides, but want lower taxes, tell me how you propose to pay for it. And don't tell me that you'll pay for it by "eliminating fraud and waste" - show me specifically what fraud and waste you propose to eliminate.

Because letting China finance your government is not a good thing.

Think before you demonstrate. Be realistic. Shouting slogans is easy ... coming up with reasonable, affordable programs is hard.

Have a good day. More thoughts tomorrow.

Bilbo