In the drop down menus under this heading I discuss each of the major federal government departments listed in the federal budget and what the path ahead should be (in my view) from a centrist’s perspective.
But before you check those out, consider the following thoughts.
When our country was founded, the key debate focused on whether we wanted a strong central government or a very limited central government that basically took care of only those things that the individual states could not handle, such as provide for a common defense.
The limited approach won out for the most part, and with the exception of the Civil War, largely continued to be the nation’s mindset towards the Federal Government until the Great Depression, when it just became painfully obvious that the government had to step in and fix things.
Over the last 75 years we have gone through a more mixed ideological time where government has been strongly advocated as not only being able to, but somehow morally responsible to step in and fix problems in society and the economy, as well as vilified as the problem that needs to go away so that the problems can be fixed without government involvement.
As it stands right now, the two party system remains in a stalemate over this question of just how much involvement in our day to day lives should the government be?
Ironically they both have major inconsistencies in their logic, which is yet another reason that I cannot support either party in its entirety and why it is best to remain a Centrist Independent and take the best that both have to offer.
It is an admittedly extreme simplification, but the Democrats seemingly want government to have a say in everything you do EXCEPT in the bedroom, and the Republicans don’t want government to have a say in anything you do EXCEPT what you can do with your body (ie abortion, transgender rights), in the bedroom, and who you can love, marry, etc.
I still to this day have yet to have anyone explain to me the logic behind Republicans saying that they are for small government and getting government out of peoples’ lives, yet wanting to tell them what they can do with their bodies, who they can love, and marry. Isn’t that the most invasive and overbearing kind of government that could possibly ever exist?
And before I get accused of continually hammering the Republicans, yet never seemingly hammering away at the Democrats for anything, and that I must secretly be a Democrat, it really is actually just the opposite.
I started out life as a moderate to liberal Republican growing up in the Northeast and so I’m probably way more emotionally invested in the failings of the Republican Party to live up to its billing than I am the Democrats. But make no mistake, the Democrats’ performance over the last 225+ years, and in particular in recent years has left a lot to be desired as well.
But getting back to this identity crisis of what do we want and expect from our central government? I believe very simply, we have to get back to fundamentals and continually ask ourselves in any topic we undertake…..is this something that the states can handle, have the states had enough time to show they can handle it, or is it something best left up to the nation as a whole (ie federal government)?
It is such a slippery slope asking the federal government to do more, because mission creep starts to settle in, and if you said yes to this, then the next thing and the next thing will be harder and harder to say no to. When will we reach a bridge too far?
So many things can seem very clear in historical hindsight, yet in the moment when making the decisions it can be so agonizing to know which way to go, but if we stick to that guiding principle of questions outlined above….’is this something the federal government should be handling instead of the states?’ then we should be able to do a pretty good job going forward of balancing out the role of the federal government in our society.
It is my belief that at the end of the day the average citizen just wants to be left alone to do their thing (ie “life, liberty, and pursuit of happiness”), treated equally and fairly, with an equal chance to compete and succeed, without fear of crime or war, and if extreme circumstances happened, be able to turn to their government, be it local, state, or federal, for help. That in a nutshell is the ideal American experience we strive for. Sounds simple, right? Oh if only it were so!
Government works at its best when it is in the background, and people don’t even realize what all it is doing for them on a daily basis. Unfortunately this is how it becomes an easy target and a whipping boy for politicians with an agenda. That’s what always bugs me about Libertarians wanting to get rid of government for the most part. Government is not evil in and of itself. Government is your neighbor Joe that works for the city’s highway maintenance dept that drives the snow plow overnight during a snowstorm so that you can get out of your driveway the next morning.
The point is, government in all its forms in our modern day society is very much a critical component to that modern society’s success, and that isn’t necessarily a bad thing or a good thing, but yes it does have the potential to be abused, just like anything else in life.
Perry Waag 