Gallup just released a poll showing that 46 percent of Americans view the federal government as an immediate threat to the rights and freedoms of ordinary Americans. My first reaction was to wonder why the number was so low. After all, we have a political elite that wants to do everything from control our health care to monitor our financial transactions.
But a secondary set of numbers is even more remarkable. As seen in this chart, both Republicans and Democrats tend to view the federal government as a threat mostly when the White House is controlled by the other party.
This complacency is very unfortunate. Republicans presumably want to limit government control over the economy, yet it was the Bush Administration that put in place policies such as Sarbanes-Oxley, the banana-republic TARP bailout, the corrupt farm bills, and the pork-filled transportation bills. Democrats, meanwhile, presumably want to protect our civil liberties, yet the Obama Administration has left in place virtually all of the Bush policies that the left was upset about just two years ago. There has been no effort to undo the more troublesome provisions of the PATRIOT Act. And shouldn’t honest liberals be upset that the Obama Administration is going to such lengths to defend the military’s don’t-ask-don’t-tell policy?
The lesson to be learned is that there is an unfortunate tendency for politicians to misbehave when they get control of the machinery of government. Lord Acton warned that “Power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely.” It’s almost as if Republicans and Democrats do their best every day to confirm this statement.
[…] Acton famously noted that “power corrupts and absolute power corrupts […]
[…] malfeasance only exists when his team isn’t in power. But that’s totally backwards. As I wrote back in 2010, people should be especially concerned and vigilant when their party holds power. It’s not […]
[…] malfeasance only exists when his team isn’t in power. But that’s totally backwards. As I wrote back in 2010, people should be especially concerned and vigilant when their party holds power. It’s not […]
[…] This is similar to the argument I made that it’s especially important to monitor and resist government wrongdoing when “the good guys” are in power. […]
[…] This is similar to the argument I made that it’s especially important to monitor and resist government wrongdoing when “the good guys” are in power. […]
[…] C’est digne d’intérêt parce que les militants républicains ou démocrates ont tendance à déclarer que les choses sont bonnes ou mauvaises selon que « leur équipe » est aux affaires […]
[…] is newsworthy because partisan Republicans and Democrats have a tendency to say things are good or bad depending on whether “their team” is in […]
[…] some recent polling data, most Americans expressed a negative view of the federal government, with many of them in another poll saying it poses an “immediate threat to […]
[…] Mitchell on why having one’s favored party in power is no panacea: This complacency is very unfortunate. Republicans presumably want to limit government control over […]
I don’t know why you guys don’t like big government. The bigger government gets:
– the more of education mostly paid by others I get
– the more infrastructure mostly paid by others I get
– and soon, the more healthcare mostly paid by others I will get.
So what if for every $1 of the above that I get, the government has to take $4 from others, waste $2 in bureaucrat salaries and then inefficiently use the reamining $2 to provide me $1 worth of services? I still get my $1 in benefits. To me, that’s better than nothing, or vague promises of supply side economists about some other prosperity yet to come sometime down the line. And meanwhile, I get to relax, keep doing the same work that now 1 billion Indians and Chinese can do, but earn western world salaries, and concentrate on those other intangible hippie personal enrichment activities which, while offering little to others and the overal prosperity of the nation, give me great personal satisfaction.
But “Won’t that though reduce the overall production of the nation and lead to decline in a much faster growing world?” you will reasonably ask. Perhaps, but that is some way off. The temptation to believe and subscribe to promises of more prosperity through decreased incentives to work is too tempting to give up. We have to try it and I’m actually hopeful that it will work. So, hope that this change is going to work is the next big thing. But even if it does not work, I’m hopeful that we as a nation will find yet some other solution in the future.
I know that there are rougly 200 countries practicing various levels of central planning. But I’m HOPEFUL that our central planning will be better than theirs and thus allow us to maintain our status as most presperous nation in the world. I know America has been different from the rest of the world by following a mentality of individualism. But I hope that CHANGE to the collectivist model that has been followed by almost all others for the past 100 or so years, will make America even better! There’s just something mysterious, magical, and lucky about America that will keep her the most prosperous country in the world. I know that in my heart and I’m Hopeful that the Change will work!
The only encouraging thing I can think of is, with the ascendancy of the Tea Party movement, I don’t believe Republicans will be able to get away with business as usual if they get back in power. Several entrenched, progressive Republicans got the axe during this primary season, and I believe (hope) more will fall during the next cycle. I see no hope for the Democrat party leaders to ever espouse smaller more financially responsible government, so it is up to the Republican party or perhaps a new party if they fail so miserably again.