Post #1

 

Ojesa Kwong

5:29pm

Feb 28 at 5:29pm

 

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Jeff Madrick

“By organizing communities to use a single public water system, government creates economies of scale for such a public good.” (238)

“A large government is itself, despite conservative arguments cited earlier, a bulwark against rapidly declining spending.” (239)

“Unemployment insurance, social security, and government employment itself re-stabilizing factors.” (239)

“If government programs are managed well, they will on balance enhance productivity. (240)

“The benefits of such programs include not only improving the ability of children to learn, but also long-term relationship in crime rates, reduced need for special education and repeating grades, and lower welfare enrollment rates.” (240)

Jim DeMint

“The “common good” is now viewed as a conglomeration of disparate interests of multiple groups demanding special treatments.” (242)

“Americas founders knew they were putting a powerful genie in a cage when they formed the federal government. They knew that historically all democratic governments grew until they consumed the freedom of the people and ultimately collapsed under their own weight.” (243)

“Government spending now exceeds 20 percent and will surpass 40 percent in about thirty years…” (246)

“My point is this: there is a terrible cost to unrestrained government spending and debt.” (247)

“Not only has the government inhibited the growth of our economy and undermined our culture, it has put our country on an unsustainable financial course that must be reversed immediately… “ (248)

Paragraph:

I find The Case for Big Government by Jeff Madrick more convincing since he gives some good points on how the government has intervened more and how America is growing. Also how government regulation “can and often do make economies work better” (p. 238). They also can “reduce corruption, monopolistic pricing, and anticompetitive policies regarding research, innovation, and new products.” (p. 238). With a bigger government, it creates more jobs and allows people to make more money, which also could have a positive effect on education. Which then leads to fewer crimes made, education programs, and needs for welfare.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Zoe Thiebault

4:03pm

Feb 28 at 4:03pm

 

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Post #2

Zoe Thiebault

Political Science

Winter 2019

DF 3: Is Bigger Government Better…

 

 

Contrasting Views Ideas List

 

Yes-Madrick

 

 

Because public goods such as roads and schools benefit society overall more than any individual or business, such investment would not have been adequately undertaken by private firms…Government support is required for primary education, roads, and the poor. (pg.238)

Far less frequently discussed is the fact that government can be the focus of needed and useful coordination…the highway system was an immense act of coordination that probably couldn’t have been attained through a private network…the system of international trade and currency valuation is a government-led example of coordination. (pg.238)

If the size of the government truly and directly cause the inflation of the 1970’s and contributed demonstrably to slower economic growth, it would be reason for concern. But we have see that it did not in the United States, and nations with far larger governments have produced neither more rapid inflation nor substandard levels of income for their citizens. The public goods and social programs of many countries-from Sweden and Norway to France and Germany-are significantly more generous than America’s.( pg.239)

We now know the following. If federal ,state, and local governments absorb roughly 35 percent of GDP in America, rather than the current 30 percent, it will not inhibit growth and undermine entrepreneurial spirits, productivity, or prosperity if the spending is well- channeled. (pg.240)

In European nations, government spending absorbs approximately 40 percent of al spending and standard of living are high…A rise to 35 percent will raise approximately $700 billion a year to federal, state, and local government to provide protection for workers, finance social programs, maintain an adequate regulatory presence, and raise significantly the level of investment in transportation, education, and health care. (pg.240)

Growing personal income is more necessary to a full life than is recognized, in part because the cost of some key needs rise very fast, in part because a wealthy society can finance innovation, and in part because a wealthy populace will find it easier and more congenial to par for communal taxes (pg.241).

 

No-DeMint

 

The rights of individuals, protected by equal justice and the rule of law, are now subjugated to the special rights of groups that are guaranteed by a strong, centralized government…There are a lot of good reasons for Americans to fight back against this centralization of special interest power in Washington, but the most important reason is it creates a dysfunctional government…Washington is broken. Almost everything our federal government attempts to do becomes a disaster. We mandate that cars burn corn ethanol and cause world food crisis. We combine social engineering with monetary policy and create a worldwide financial crisis…we have left one catastrophe after another in our wake as we have attempted to save the world, dry every tear, and solve every problem (pg.242)

Freedom is protected by a wide range of public and private institutions guarding against the concentration of power…Americans must not continue to allow one institution of freedom, the federal government, to dominate and diminish the role of other institutions or to demean the individual value that made our country great and free. (pg.242)

Governors and state legislatures could take much more control of education, health care, transportation, energy, and other services that would give their citizens more independence from the federal government…Every dollar and decision we keep from Washington today means more freedom for all Americans tomorrow. (pg.243)

Today Congress makes laws, spends money, and raises taxes for small local projects (traffic lights and water projects), for preferential requests from specific states (museums), and to satisfy demands from special interest groups (farmers, unions, minorities, senior citizens, veterans). It won’t be easy to turn this around because most Americans are dependent in some way on federal beneficence. (pg.244)

It is perhaps naive and unrealistic to believe that Americans who are heavily dependent on these federal services would ever support a return to a pure Constitutional framework. (pg.244)

The most compelling arguments to stop the growth of the federal government are our governments unsustainable levels of spending and debt which could result in the financial collapse of our government and our private sector economic structure (pg.245)

 

Contrasting Views Compelling Position Paragraph

 

 

Over the last few years, I’ve experienced a strong feeling of resentment and slight disgust with the national government and the choices being made by its influencers. Although, my feelings have changed and in most part due to the recent election of Trump and watching the impact it has had on our culture and society, I am still in favor of a reasonably strong national government. The case for small government can only be made by the most privileged and powerful members of society who do not understand what it means for your rights as a human to be disregarded. It is interesting to me how the Republican party, mostly comprised of white males, are the one’s crying out for freedom, although, they’ve had it all along. Not only does the national government protect the rights of every individual across state lines, it also attempts to help the most vulnerable populations in our society. Although, these issues are layered and I am not saying big government is the answer for everything, nor has it always been just, it has helped people feel safe in different parts of the country through the acknowledgment of national rights. For example, when the Supreme Court declared same sex marriage in all 50 States, I couldn’t have been prouder for my country which does not happen for me often. Furthermore, as Maverick states, when everyone is taken care of in a society like in Norway and Sweden, who have bigger governments, the entire society benefits thus, increasing economic prosperity and overall life satisfaction. Furthermore, Maverick promotes that an investment in our society through taxes benefits all of us through the resources being funneled into education, transportation and other services. Moreover, if the government can absorb a higher percentage of GDP, the returns could help much needed programs that aid the most vulnerable people in society. If our society is not built on helping the weakest and most vulnerable members of our society, how can we truly expect to live in a safe and prosperous culture? Furthermore, Maverick notes that the government helps coordination that influences everything from transportation, education, and vital social services. If you privatize everything, you seek to create an even greater disparity between people. Thus fueling racial, gender and sexual orientation distinctions. A smaller government would create a more divided and less tolerable society. Lastly, having a larger government that can create federal laws that promote equality is what I fight and hope for and is the reason I support Maverick.

 

 

 

 

 

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