Tag: Smaller Government

What Does ‘Small Government” Really Mean?

From the VOMITORIUM

This is a combination of two drafts that I was saving for a rainy day….it is a question that needs to be answered…….ever noticed that thew bobble heads all get worked up when someone mentions the term “smaller government”…….you get the meaningful nod and the right on fist pump….these are pin heads!  They have no idea what they are agreeing with in the first place….they are only acknowledging a slogan repeated enough times will become “their” truth……….

Let’s us start with the beginning…….

We all want our children to be educated, we want safe neighborhoods and good passable streets…..but the problem is that many think that this stuff will just materialize out of thin air…..that it will not take revenue and work to provide these things to the population, but rather a well placed prayer will do just fine…..

We hear daily the talking points of how we need to spend less and a need for smaller government…..but what does that mean?  Or better question, how does the country live up to its contract with the people?  And why does smaller government mean the people have to pay the price for such a dream?  Maybe we should nullify the social contract that Federalism promised?

Most of the pencil necks that believe in small government also are champions of state’s rights……a recent article in the HufPo……..

In every U.S. state, Americans are struggling to get by in large part because their state governments aren’t doing enough to ensure they have a livable wage or the benefits necessary to make life affordable, according to the Economic Security Scorecard, a report released Tuesday by the nonprofit Wider Opportunities for Women.

The scorecard, which ranks states on effectiveness in promoting policies that provide economic security — including a livable minimum wage, quality jobs that offer benefits like paid sick leave and government programs offering child care assistance and housing help — gave no state an “A.” Four states received the report card’s lowest grade of “D+.”

The report’s findings indicate states are focusing on individual policies like raising the minimum wage or guaranteeing housing preservation, which can be easily “undermined” when they aren’t combined with other initiatives aimed at boosting economic security overall, Shawn McMahon, Wider Opportunities for Women’s acting chief executive, told The Huffington Post. The result is a piecemeal system that leaves many states unaffordable for struggling residents, putting the nation’s economy at risk.

“Individuals and families need more than one element of economic security to actually be secure,” McMahon said. “When a state ignores certain areas of policy, both the individual citizens and the state as whole will likely at some point in the future pay the price.”

What it looks like to me is that smaller government means a total disregard for federal law and the undermining of everything coming out of Washington……the GOP plan is to win as much in state elections as possible which will cripple the national government until they can find a hook that will help them win nationally……..with all their flowery talk of patriotism and national pride….the reality is………….the country means nothing to them!

Do We Need Limited Government?

College of Political Knowledge

Is it a smaller government or a limited government?  Which is the one that all conservs are screaming about?  One day it is a smaller federal government and the next it is more limited government……which shall it be?

Let us look at limited government……by definition our government is a limited form of government…..the real definition, not some tag line in a candidate’s debate performance or some PC slogan that misinforms the voting public…..in today’s political world it is the later….for not one of these people has any idea of what is meant by “limited government”.

Limited Government is a precept of constitutionalism. It states that a government’s power over its citizens has limitations. The governmental authority is prescribed, restricted, and limited by law or by the constitution. An individual’s rights and liberties are protected against governmental power even if that power is exercised in the name of a majority of people. In a limited government, there exist minimal governmental intervention in personal liberties and the economy.

The type of federalism that we have was the founders brain child and by the very definition it is a limited government….hence the three branches….that are employed to keep this government from over extending its reach and thus keeping the size of government contained…….

What all these yahoos are yelling about is SPENDING…not necessarily the size of government….although they try to equate spending with the size….I wish that were possible I would be a well hung political historian….

We cannot call a government limited if one part accuses another of intruding into the lives of the citizens while they are intruding into the lives of citizens……it is that simple.  One cannot oppose the government for imposing ….say health care and at the same time you propose to keep women from their personal decisions…..and then call yourself a warrior for a more limited government….sorry….. just not kosher.

Are They Serious?

It is about time for the budget game to begin again…..the GOP has been pushing the over 400 days with NO budget…the Dems are pushing that there is NO partner for serious negotiations……those are just the opening shots.

Most all the GOP wants a smaller national government and most programs returned to the states for implementation……but the part of the equation that both sides leave out is that all the programs are tied together……if the GOP wins the argue through the next election then the states will be screwed!  Why?  Good question.  Almost ALL governmental people in the states have run on the ever popular no new taxes or tax cuts….all that will have to go…..if the people of any given state want police or firemen or teachers or health care or…..well you get the point.

If all this happens there is NO state that can provide the services that we all have come to depend on….the only way is to raise taxes….oh they may call them service charges but a tax is a tax……so if you bitch about your local government…just wait until these fiscal conservs win the battle……if your officials stick to their promises of NO New Taxes then you and your community are in for a very dismal future….

Crime will rise……education will suffer the most and in an era that education is one of the most important programs for this country…….all services will most likely become privatized and if your area has dealt with this issue then you know you will be paying hard and through the nose……..

Again if this happens then there will be NO need for the government in Washington….we can go back to every state fending for itself…..back to the days of the Confederation……back to the days of ever person for themselves and screw the less fortunate….and that is not what the Founders intended.

So I ask again, “Are they serious?”  Are you serious in your pursuit of a smaller government?

Less Government = Less Taxes

2010 Mid-Term Election Series

Lecture #4

Hear that?  That is what we call bullsh*t in the analytical business……and that other sound is laughter coming from the backrooms of Washington….

The political atmosphere in the country nowadays, thanx in small part to the millionaires running the Tea Party, are convincing the people and the voters that less government equates to less taxes….may I see a show hands of those that believe this premise?

Cool!  Let us go with that shall we?  Let us say that the Tea Party gets their deluded dream of less government and less taxes….a dream of all Americans….Now think about the states, your state……..states depend on cash from the government for many of their most basic programs….your stuff like education, police, fire, infrastructure like roads,  etc….with that money drying up…where will they find the cash to keep the levels of proficiency that they have now?

A little secret……just for you…..TAXES……

Local and state taxes will go up, property taxes will go up…if not then your services that you DEMAND will cease to be offered…..crime will rise, roads will go to crap and education will suffer, except for one week a year when people talk a good plan and have NO idea how to make it work….they have NO workable plan…….

Less government equals less taxes is only a campaign slogan……it has not worked in 40 years…..and in this day and age it will not work now…..

By all means…listen to the babbling of politicians, and I use the term loosely…..give us less government and less taxes….then distribute lots of toilet paper because the results will make you just sh*t…….

Why The Fear Of A Socialist?

College of Political Knowledge

Subject:  Government/Socialism

Lecture #5

Since the election of Obama in 2008, the American people have been told of the approach of socialism and that they need to be afraid of the change coming.  Politico after politico, spokesman after spokesman has strutted up in front of the cameras and with a straight, dead pan face said that the Dems under Pelosi, Obama and Reid are moving the country toward socialism……

This is the question that has plagued me for a couple of years….I have tried to show the public that there is NOTHING socialistic about the Dems …..So, I have been trying to find someone, anyone that can accurately tell me why we should be afraid of Obama or that matter a socialist and to answer it rationally…..so far…I got NOTHING…I have gotten close but NO cigar (Oh wait……..cigar would mean Cuban and that would mean a “revolutionary” and that would equate to Fidel….ergo…socialistic) (silly…right?….you would be surprised at the people that think like that)……Since “revolutionaries have beards then maybe it is the beard that we should fear……

Maybe it is the system that we should fear…..you know the size of the government……but with a little knowledge socialism is the mid point of a society moving toward a stateless state….the withering away of the need for a central government…..is that not similar to the demands of the “Righteous Right”?  They want the size of government to become so small that it is only needed for such things as national security……sounds similar to me.

I reiterate again and again….Obama is NO socialist…..to be afraid of socialism is just emotional BS….for one,  if socialism was to come to America, it would mean the end of some type of Federalism….that is NOT going to happen….why?  Politicians!  The political establishment would not give up their stranglehold on the country for any reason…Please do NOT equate socialism with state capitalism…they are NOT the same thing!

It is beyond time for the American people to stop getting the information from some idiot trying to sell you on BS while simultaneously trying to sell you gold coins….look for reality, people!  Stop being so damn stupid!

Recently, Rep. Broun of Georgia said that the CDC was calling people to find out what fruits and veggies they were eating and then he said that this was “socialism on the highest order”…..fruits and veggies make on a socialist?  See how totally absurd this whole line of rhetoric is?

If you have to have something to fear then may I suggest that you fear the people that fill your head with visions of non-existent  boogey men that are coming for your job or your property or to control what foods you eat……they do not NOT exist!  Only in the rhetoric of those pulling your strings….it is called “propaganda”….you remember that crap from the Cold War days, right?

Believe me!  It does NOT hurt to do your own thinking!  Try it, you may like it!

“Anyone who has the power to make you believe absurdities has the power to make you commit injustices.”   Voltaire  (bet coffee helped with that thought)

Oil Spill Conundrum

From the VOMITORIUM

The oil spill in the Gulf is getting expensive and BP has set about making their PR campaign pay off…..they have bought all the domain names that they could so that when the word “ol spill” was Googled the first thing the person sees is the PR tape from BP…everytrhing looks good…all rainbows and puppies….

I have heard the BP CEO and many many political types saw that “we must make sure that this NEVER happens again”…….and how would that be accomplished?  Do you let the industry police itself?  Well that did not work out so good with this spill we are fighting now, huh?  Then that means the government would have to step in a send investigators to EVERY rig to make sure that safety equipment is in proper working condition…..right?  In a time when everyone is screaming about how large the government has become and now you want to grow the bureaucracy that oversees the drilling for oil by some 200+% to be sure that this type of thing NEVER happens again.  In essence this would grow the size of government considerably…are you people smoking crack?

So the answers are either trust a oil giant like BP to police themselves or grow the government even more than now…..is that about it?

I have heard many politicians in Washington say the the government is not doing enough on the spill……these a/holes are the ones that have been cutting the budget of the EPA for decades and now they want a bare bones organization to have the quick fix….do you NOW see just how moronic this whole damn system has become?

As usual I have an idea…..I know I always have a better idea…..well better in my mind anyway….But first the new news out of the Obama Admin……

The Obama administration is asking federal agencies to identify how to trim 5 percent of their budgets, a top official will say Tuesday.

Peter Orszag, the director of the Office of Management and Budget (OMB), said the administration has directed non-security agencies to name ways in which they could reduce spending, primarily by axing poorly performing discretionary programs.

See it is just not the GOP that is moronic!  If this was before the spill I would bet that the EPA response program would be part of this cut because it has NOT been needed in years…..

Like I said…there is a solution to this ever happening again….at least to my way of thinking, that is….

My answer is really simple, but it will piss off those who work bringing in the oil for our massive addiction……if you want to make sure that another spill does not spoil our environment and you want smaller government then the ONLY answer is…….OUTLAW OFFSHORE DRILLING!

There would be NO chance of a blowout like we are dealing with now and you would NOT need the governmental branch that would oversee such operations…..This would make CERTAIN of NO more underwater oil spills and would shrink the size of the Federal government…..it would be win-win for both sides of the aisle….

SEE!  you can have your cake and eat it too!