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The Role of Government

The Role Of Government
People living together have long worked mutually for their collective good. We call the collective functions 'government'. There is, and always has been, a tension between what is to be done by the individual, and what is to be done by the collective. Part of this tension is not simply individual versus collective responsibility but what functions need to be done at all.
Government has expanded enormously since 1930. From 1900 to 1930 the Federal government represented 7% of GDP. Most of that cost was used for defense spending, mainly for building a navy. This year the Federal government will consume 25% of GDP, with the single largest cost being retirement and health care programs. You can see the data here-

www.gpoaccess.gov/usbudget/fy00/guide02.html

I do not udnerstand right now why I can not reproduce the graphs for the blog, but the raw mathematical data is there in tables as well as graphs.
In considering any serious political discussion then, the first question must be 'what is government for?'. I have always found it helpful to frame a problem with boundary conditions. That is the range of consideration within which we are to operate.
In framing government, one boundary is that government is responsible for absolutely nothing. No defense, no trade rules, no judiciary, no zoning. Nothing. The other boundary makes government responsible for everything. Government, not individuals, controls what will be built, what will be bought, where we will live, what food is grown, what is imported, what car we will drive.
I emphasize this issue because, when put in print, almost no one wants either extreme. Further, in the exaggerated and hostile political and press climate in which we, sadly, must act both extremes are routinely cited as the goal of party 'hardliners'. Thus we are told the Tea Party wants to return to every man for himself, while Obama and Democrats are routinely called socialists and communists. Neither of these labels is true. George Bernard Shaw once asked a woman at a swanky party if she would sleep with him for 10,000 pounds. She replied 'yes, probably'. He then asked if she would sleep with him for a shilling. She said 'what kind of woman do you think I am?', to which he replied 'we've already established that. All we're doing is haggling price'. In discussing government there is no call for anarchy and no call for socialism either. All we are dong is discussing how much, what price, and what services.
In looking at expansion of government's role and cost, it occurred in response to the Great Depression and then to WW 2. Prior to these two events there was no significant standing army, a minimal military of any kind, no governmental retirement system and no Federal health care. In response to privation, global threat and war we created a sharp increase in Federal authority and also a sharp increase in spending. It is fair and right that we should seriously ask the question 'do we want to continue to buy these services and functions as a society', because in giving government these responsibilities that is exactly what we are doing. Entwined with the issue of governmental scope is the problem of how do we pay for what we want. Our debt is a problem that is not going away by itself, and it will have to be addressed.
Federal government pays for various things, as per the chart above, mainly for defense, health care and retirement. The Federal government also regulates many, many activities. Besides the cost of actually funding our government, paying for tanks, buying hip replacements and the like, there is the cost of compliance with regulations. These costs do not appear as taxes or deficit. Instead, they present as lost opportunities and lost jobs. Some major areas of regulation include-
water
air
industrial operations
labor safety
aircraft operations
food production
sanitation
shipping
port operations
workplace conditions
harrassment
sexual equality
All of these regulatory areas are places where government may increaseor decrease safety, job opportunities, sexual equality and ultimately GDP.
There is a story about a lieutenant approaching a private on guard duty and asking if he has change for a dollar. The private says he thinks he has, and starts to reach for his back pocket. The lieutenant interrupts, stating he is an officer and should be addressed and treated as such. He asks the question again, and the private snaps to attention, salutes and shouts out 'sir no sir' rather than look for change. The same is true about a regulatory environment- companies simply stop doing business in the US.
And so, in our discussions this year, let us be mindful of Shaw and the woman at the party, and the lieutenant and the private. We will discuss many elements of the Federal budget and regulatory authority, and in so doing come to some conclusions about a political program, and ultimately, who we are.

Comments

  1. AnonymousJanuary 21, 2012 at 8:26 PM

    The US is a highly regulated society granted. But European societies are far more regulated, or so it seems, yet are able to compete and sell many products here much more cheaply. Part of this is due to the fact that whereas in Europe, they regulate the result, in the US we regulate the process. European product regulations are very brief. Here, the regulations are voluminous beyond belief. The Europeans produce high-quality, relatively [emphasis: 'relatively'] low-cost products because their regulations specify the result: the item must meet the following standards... Our system of regulating every step of the process to produce the same result hampers industry with regulatory burdens at every level. To build a car for example, the Germans tell the carmakers that the vehicle must meet standards for fuel efficiency, safety, emissions, etc. They DO NOT tell the automakers how to "get there". Here, we tell the automakers HOW to build the car, including everything from lighting standards for the assembly line and air quality in the factory to how many minutes of break time each worker must have in each hour and how much 'step back' space there must be in every workstation [in addition to whatever such requirements are found to in the respective CB agreements]. This "regulate the process" situation is found in virtually every business area you can imagine. Is this the role of government?

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