It is easy to say that we are “conservative” or that we are “liberal” but what if you are asked specifically about your philosophy on the role of government? I recently had the opportunity to address that. It was not as easy as I thought.
I believe in a limited role of government that creates a playing field where individuals are encouraged and rewarded for providing for their own needs. In my lifetime, I believe that we as a society have moved from a scenario where the state was the provider of last resort to one where the government is the first place to look for solutions to social welfare issues.
I believe that the underling cause of most to the current challenges that the country faces is the result of over regulation of the economy. The tax code should be modified to encourage investment and the creation of new jobs. The creation of employment and entrepreneurship opportunity provides the foundation for the individual to accept personal responsibility for themselves and their family. Individual freedoms does not mean that everyone will succeed or succeed equally, only that they have that opportunity. The bailouts are a good example of this. With the bailouts, the government has essentially decided who will win and who will lose; some companies are propped up while others are allowed to fail. The over-reactions of many in Congress to implement additional regulation of the financial markets is a common reaction in this country. However, less regulation is needed. Risky decisions and greed have become common place at many of the large financial institutions. With risk comes both reward and consequences. Individual Liberty demands that we are provided the opportunity to experience both.
The current health care debate is another area where the government is over-reaching in an attempt to solve an existing problem. Instead of addressing the underlying causes that impact access to health care such as lack of jobs and inefficiencies in the delivery that drive up costs, the government is proposing a complete revamping of a large chunk of the free market economy. The framework needs to continue to be in place to allow individuals to make decisions on where and how the provide health care for themselves and their families.
I hope that this provides a little more clarity to my philosophy of the role that government can and should play in a free market society. In a nutshell, I believe in a small limited government that provides the framework for individuals to accept personal responsibility, make decisions and to provide for themselves and their families.
Let me know what you think!
In my opinion, they can’t tackle one sector of the government to change the whole system. It will takes a lot of effort to think through what are the changes needed to boost employment and not cause stagflation.
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