Trusting the Government

In this post, Cory over at the Madville times takes aim at Senator Thune and his claims that Americans don't trust the government. Here's some of what he has to say:

But Cory says the problem is Republicans, not government. The government can be trusted he says, if it is made up of Democrats (or, at least, that seems to me to be what he's saying).

All of these arguments strengthen Thune's claim. Even if Cory's comments are fair, and the Republicans alone are to blame for everything from terror to health care crises, leaving health care in the hands of the government might be a very bad idea. For now, Democrats control congress and the presidency. But will they always?

Probably not. This means that, while the Democrats might vote to implement this bill, Republicans may run the system later. Republicans would almost certainly fill many if not all of the appointed positions created by the plan. That's bad news if Cory is right. It's worse if he's not and I don't think he is. While Republicans do deserve much of the blame for the unbridled spending during Bush's terms in office, they are not the only culprits. Indeed, the Democrats stood right alongside them. Bush was president for two terms, but Republicans only controlled congress for one, and, indeed, many Democrats were behind some of the most expensive programs congress implemented.

As far as Bush "not preventing the worst terrorist attack on American soil in history", I'm not sure whether or not Cory is right. If we did prevent a worse attack, it didn't happen, so it would be hard to know. But blaming President Bush for his "failure" to prevent a type of attack that had never before occurred in America and took millions by surprise is, I think, a little unfair, particularly when Democrats complain about the military taking any sort of preemptive measure.

I do not blame Bill Clinton for failing to prevent the Oklahoma City bombing, which was the most significant attack on American soil until September 11th. However, if one is to blame, so is the other and appointing Democrats will not solve the problem. As for Corry's complaint that Bush did not "maintain good relations with foreign allies," Obama has snubbed our closest ally at least twice. So electing Democrats might not be the best solution to that problem either. Time will tell how Obama responds to the other problems Cory lists.

In the mean time, I think Thune is right. It is hard to trust the government when, no matter which side controls it, it has proven itself untrustworthy.

 

Comments

[lexrex]

excellent points, kb.

[William]

I didn't trust the government in the 60's and I was called a "leftist". I don't trust the government today and I'm called "a right wing mobster".

Regardless of the label, I've never trusted "big government" and never will.

P.J. O'Rourke probably said it best; "giving money to government is like giving whiskey and car keys to teen-age boys".

[Miranda]

Thank you both for your comments.

William: Which piece of O'Rourke's was that analogy from? I'd love to read it.

[A.I.]

At the mercy of both big government and big business is little me--and little KB, lexrex, William and Miranda. I would be no more a fan of big government than any of you were it not for big business. But the latter being a necessary reality (my local mechanic isn't going to build a Chevy), I exercise what control I can through the former.

The notion that government programs can be screwed up by political appointments is true only to an extent. Something like FEMA is quite sensitive to a bad appointment like "Brownie" while Medicare is not. That's because FEMA must respond to situations that vary greatly and arise quickly (emergencies) meaning the top management must be creative and diligent in guiding the underlying bureaucracy if their response is to be effective. Medicare, on the other hand, does not face much day to day change in its function and a poor management team is not nearly so threatening to its effectiveness. And like medicare, a public insurance option for the rest of us could be well insulated from the ineptitude of bad appointees. Maybe that is part of the reason HR 3200 doesn't fit on the back of a napkin.

[Miranda]

A.I:

I sympathize to some degree with your sentiments. Many big businesses are
corrupt to the core. But it seems to me that the government is the biggest business of all and perhaps the one most riddled with corruption.

Most of what I have seen in the healthcare bill so far seems to grant the government more power. I haven't yet seen a lot limitations or restrictions on that in what I have read so far. But, because it IS a long, complicated bill, it is entirely possible that I just haven't found my way there yet.