publius at Obsidian Wings has written that there are things that only government can do.
I agree with the observation that the force of law can be used to right wrongs and to make changes that would never come about by themselves.
Life is full of invisible examples of government benefits we never think about. The free market didn’t bring about the weekend, or clean air. It didn’t create universal education, and neither did it provide universal health care for the elderly. It didn’t desegregate our schools. It couldn’t save the banking system — there was a series of interventions that kept it from collapsing and got it back on its feet.
It is also true that the same force of law can generate tyranny. We must be vigilant in choosing our leaders, careful with the powers we allow them, and critical of their misuse.
I think of Big Business along the same lines. There are some things that only Big Business can do. Building hydroelectric dams, for example. Building an embassy/fortress in Iraq is a second example. Building warplanes and warships are other examples. The ability of Big Business to perform large scale projects at the behest of our government is reason enough we should have them. ( And that includes Big Finance in my opinion.)
I think we also must be mindful of what Big Business can do if there is no oversight of their economic power and its misuse. Bernie Madoff comes to mind.
As we discuss healthcare, the size of Big Insurance and the additional ~48 million policies in play should give us all pause as to how this facet of national healthcare will be regulated and how oversight will be performed. Today the insurance industry is regulated by each state for the content of its insurance offering, the financial health of the company, and the mitigation of an insurance company meltdown. Under the new healthcare plan, our federal government will have to take on this role.
Some things only Big Government can do. And Big Government’s role in watching over national healthcare and insurance companies appears appropriate.
And as far as Big Government is concerned, you and I must continue to watch over it diligently and change it as often as necessary to prevent tyranny.
Yea, and one of those things is to fund the elections so politicians don’t have to take cash from special interests, like the $46 million the insurance industry has given to congress members to block health care reform. So far, mark one for the cash and zero for the public.
I agree that there are some things only government can do. But it should only be doing things the private sector can’t do for itself. That isn’t BIG government. Name one instance where government did something more effectively and cost effective than the private sector.
Remember, the government that’s big enough to give you everything you want, is big enough to take away everything you have.
Well, as a Medicare patient I have the option to instead sign up for a private insurer (Medicare Advantage). 19% of Medicare patients have done so, though many are switching back to traditional Medicare.
Medicare Advantage costs taxpayers 17% more than traditional Medicare. So much for private being more efficient than public.
One thing? Highways.
Two things? Bridges/Dams/Flood control that saves thousands of lives every year, saves billions of dollars in damages, and generates billions of kilowatts.
A Third Thing? Agricultural subsidies that turned the central plains of the United States into the breadbasket for the world.
A Fourth Thing: The finest and richest poor people in the world!
A Fifth Thing: Healthcare re-imbursements to hospitals and caregivers that drove a medical device revolution that gave us the finest medical technology in the world.
I will stop now but there are more. None of these things would have occurred without Big Government policies. These projects were/are effective and no private business alone could touch them. The ability of our government to move money into projects that truly benefit people is amazing.
PartiallyBlue, you left one thing out. We have the best politicians money can buy.
Oh, yeah, I forgot. But, ya know, I am thinking that congressmen that start out with a paltry salary, support a home in DC as well as their state, and twenty yeats later are millionaires does show that they are more astute than many businessmen. Someday I will write a book on how politicians become millionaires on a government salary…Might be a best seller…
Well, it takes a lot of skill writing laws that benefit your investments, and the insider trading isn’t an easy chore. These guys have a bunch of chores to juggle at one time. It isn’t easy. We have to cut them a little slack.
Oh,just a little, I think.
Jack, if something is costing taxpayers then it’s not truly private is it? The difference is if a private entity is not efficient, it eventually ceases to exist. If the government is inefficient, and it usually is, well so be it, it will be keep on being inefficient.
Partially Blue, you reference public infrastructure. I believe I said government is responsible for what the marketplace fails to provide. I guess you forgot to include the military, NASA, and printing shiny money. But as far as highways and bridges go, I bet it’s cheaper when they bid out those projects rather than use public workers. I disagree with you about ag subsidies.
And as far as “finest and richest poor people” — you think government is responsible for that? I would say we have them IN SPITE of government. Do you really think America and its people are great because of the government? I believe it is the innovation, creativity, and hard work of people who made it great. That seems to be lost on a lot of people today as they are just looking for the next handout from Big Daddy Government. How did we ever buy cars before a government program?!
“But it should only be doing things the private sector can’t do for itself. …Name one instance where government did something more effectively and cost effective than the private sector.”
It would be impossible to show a comparison if government and the private sector are doing different things. Government does not compete in the marketplace except perhaps arguably in weapons and in contracting services (maybe soon in insurance). And we kick bu++ in both areas.
The privatization efforts of the federal government have been immense. But this trend was not unique to them. Business was also outsourcing non-core efforts to those who could do it better or less expensively.
But let me say that until recently the Post Office is a good example of an effectively run operation that no business can do. And if the Post Office were allowed to raise rates on junk mail, it would be just fine. But if rates were raised, the businesses enjoying the lower cost of service would raise a ruckus. Imagine, < 50 cents to send a letter anywhere in the US and have it delivered in 48-72 hours. Remarkable. Must be the union spirit in the employ of government. Are there private businesses as old as the Post Office with such a record of cost control? I don't think so. Anyway, the businesses that were involved in building roads and toll bridges and ferries are effectively defunct. Government stepped in after they failed, I think. We are living in LBJ's Great Society and fail to recognize it. Where are the hobos, the tarpaper shacks, the corrugated tin slums in America? When they crop up, we elect politicians to help these people find decent living. Katrina's dispossessed lived in hotels and RVs. That is the kind (and kindness) of America that I love. It is fashionable to forget what our government has accomplished. We always want more and for less taxes. And we cry about this all the time. However, one cannot live in the greatest country in the world without knowing that we have the greatest government, too. There is a linkage there that we should not forget, even while we criticize it. Americans have no lock on creativity or hardwork and we are foolish to believe that we are unique in that regard. What we do have is incentives and processes and systems that foster success. The American people do the work. Former immigrants from other countries are where America finds Americans who make us more succesful. Our government is still the best but we must be vigilant to keep it that way.
If you really want to talk public vs private, we could talk about the Blackwater troops costing at least five and perhaps ten times more that the US troops. And efficient? How about Boeing’s cost overruns? There are many such examples.
That said, I usually favor government for infrastructure (fire, police, border patrol, and things that are vital to the safety of the people) and private for things that are not necessary for the life of our people (like TV’s, washers, autos, etc). I do not support Milwaukee’s privatizing water and the airport.
Partially, don’t get me wrong I love our system of government and all that it stands for. Because when it was originally set up, it was a very limited government — imposing restrictions on itself and reserving all else to the states and the people themselves. And our benevolence for those most in need and in crisis (not only here but everywhere around the world) is admirable.
But my criticsm lies in the greater and greater role government is taking on. In just the last few months the government owns shares of banks, virtually took over a car company and fired its CEO, wants to take over 1/7th of the economy by controlling health care, wants to assume bad mortgages, and has proposed enough regulation to drive out or shut down major industries. How long can a country that operates like that last? What incentive is there for personal and corporate restraint if we know that the next time we all screw up the government will be there to bail us out.
When the government holds all the cards and offers all of these services, what happens when it defaults? Then we are all in trouble.
I share many of the same concerns about the reach of the federal government into our private lives. I am appalled that none of the states have openly sued the federal government for infringing upon their constitutional authority.
Having said that, I believe that both political parties control the process to eliminate competitors. Since the 17th Amendment both parties can ignore what state governments want and instead focus on manipulating the people. This needs to change in my opinion.
However, the complexity of life in 1789 and the complexity of living in 2009 are different. Today one needs a government larger and stronger than American multinational companies. One cannot have a simple government in today’s world. Although large companies want to drown our government in their bathtub they should not be able to.
There are somethings that only big government can do and we should recognize what that is and keep them out of everything else.
Yea, if 100% of our people were 100% honest we’d need no government at all. But we have greedy executives and rip-off artists out there that can only be controlled by government. Unfortunately we also have some corrupt politicians (from both political parties) who are willing to take cash from those who want in our pocket. They are writing laws to curb only the worst abuses and many of their buddies are slipping in under the threshold. If we expect these jerks to vote in the best interest of the public, their campaigns must then be funded by the public. See http://www.wicleanelections.org and http://moneyedpoliticians.net .