Ron Johnson <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> writes: > On Fri, 2003-02-07 at 17:01, DvB wrote: > > Ron Johnson <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> writes: <snip> > > > It seems as if there's a lot of (US) Americans on the list who think > > > that Federal projects are a very good way to solve many/most of > > > society's ills, and thus taxes are a Good Thing. Likewise, there > > > seems to be another faction that thinks that gov't mostly can't find > > > it's arse with both hands, a map, a flashlight (electric torch), and > > > GPS, and thus excess taxes are a Bad Thing, because, by and large, > > > the Private & NGO sectors can do a more efficient job with the money. > > > > In that case, you should probably move to do away with the > > government. The government is, by definition, a way for society to pool > > its resources for the common good (mostly by providing services like law > > enforcement, education, health care, utilities and > > transportation). Governments also aren't normally able to pull money out > > of their arses (even if they could find them with both hands, a map, a > > flashlight and a GPS) and, hence, rely on specific sources of income > > (mostly taxes) to implement and run these services. > [snip large rant] > > Note I used the word "excess" when referring to that position on The > Issue Of Government Competence. > > Only anarchists believe that government should not exist, and American > conservatives & libertarians are most emphatically *not* anarchists. > They more or less believe in a limited Federal government. >
I'm not pretending to know what you do or don't want or advocate, but it seems to me that when most people talk about a "limited Federal government," they're talking about one that provides only the services they want/need and none of the services any other tax payer wants/needs. If the government implements a program that they, personally, don't need or use, it's automatically "excess spending." Since you bring up the *Federal* government specifically, I must say I wouldn't necessarily be against giving more autonomy to state governments. I'll be the first to say that the Federal government in the US has done a lot of damage by imposing certain policies on the states. Once again, if cutting taxes is going to put the government $300B in the hole, they need to cut some programs and I don't think there're many that can be justified being cut. Of course, I also don't pretend to know much about the Federal budget, what programs are/aren't needed or how much they should cost. If I had that kind of fiscal knowledge, I'd run for public office. -- To UNSUBSCRIBE, email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] with a subject of "unsubscribe". Trouble? Contact [EMAIL PROTECTED]
