Government – The Center Of Our World?
By: Doug Busselman, Executive Vice President
It was sort of sickening, watching the drama this past week over the impending closure of our federal government, saved only through the miracle of compromise at the last minute by our elected representatives who figured that a “middle-ground” had been found between spending too much and cutting beyond belief. (Significant reductions – yes…but, when compared with the unimaginable numbers of the maintained deficit – hardly a pittance.)
It just so happens that this was all playing out while I’m on my second trip through David Kahane’s book “Rules For Radical Conservatives” where he takes Saul Alinsky’s “Rules for Radicals” and gives it a counter twist, presenting the reality of how the take-over of our society has played itself out. One of the ideas that was emphasized in the section of the book, that I just went through, involves the way in which the champions of big government and anti-individual freedom changed the playing field, making Washington, D.C. and the role of government central to our daily lives.
Imagine where we would be (and how much better off) if there was a threat of a government shut-down for fiscal irresponsibility and it didn’t actually matter! Of course, you couldn’t get to the current level of insane government spending without making so many people as dependent as they are, without the degree of fiscal irresponsibility that our elected leaders have managed to bestow on us.
Sadly, it’s not just the plague of Washington, D.C. that we have to deal with. Much closer to home, our elected representatives in Carson City are also dealing with their version of expanding government’s role as the most critical part of more people’s lives. Involving the three biggest portions of our state’s general fund -- the tax-takers of Nevada’s System of Higher Education, the financially insatiable (and extremely inept) K-12 education system and the gotta-have-more-welfare-cause-you-gotta-take-care-of-us health and human services…the Nevada Legislature is building its own version of what we witnessed from Washington, D.C. this past week.
The game-plan for crisis, which can only be solved through tax increases and more spending, will be with us as long as government remains as our central focus. If we had the ability to recognize that individual responsibility, private sector solutions and limiting government’s reach/scope are the basis for real long-term prosperity and advancement…we would be really working to accomplish “change” and not being tricked into the mesmerizing misdirection that currently passes for public policy.
The problem is that those who just want government to leave them alone are the selected targets to provide the where-with-all to be used by our elected officials (and their bureaucratic minions) in the process of redistribution. They can’t hand out their goodies without first taking from those who have…
With our government (state and national) striving to meet the mission of being all it can be we clearly see the vision planned as our future.
It was sort of sickening, watching the drama this past week over the impending closure of our federal government, saved only through the miracle of compromise at the last minute by our elected representatives who figured that a “middle-ground” had been found between spending too much and cutting beyond belief. (Significant reductions – yes…but, when compared with the unimaginable numbers of the maintained deficit – hardly a pittance.)
It just so happens that this was all playing out while I’m on my second trip through David Kahane’s book “Rules For Radical Conservatives” where he takes Saul Alinsky’s “Rules for Radicals” and gives it a counter twist, presenting the reality of how the take-over of our society has played itself out. One of the ideas that was emphasized in the section of the book, that I just went through, involves the way in which the champions of big government and anti-individual freedom changed the playing field, making Washington, D.C. and the role of government central to our daily lives.
Imagine where we would be (and how much better off) if there was a threat of a government shut-down for fiscal irresponsibility and it didn’t actually matter! Of course, you couldn’t get to the current level of insane government spending without making so many people as dependent as they are, without the degree of fiscal irresponsibility that our elected leaders have managed to bestow on us.
Sadly, it’s not just the plague of Washington, D.C. that we have to deal with. Much closer to home, our elected representatives in Carson City are also dealing with their version of expanding government’s role as the most critical part of more people’s lives. Involving the three biggest portions of our state’s general fund -- the tax-takers of Nevada’s System of Higher Education, the financially insatiable (and extremely inept) K-12 education system and the gotta-have-more-welfare-cause-you-gotta-take-care-of-us health and human services…the Nevada Legislature is building its own version of what we witnessed from Washington, D.C. this past week.
The game-plan for crisis, which can only be solved through tax increases and more spending, will be with us as long as government remains as our central focus. If we had the ability to recognize that individual responsibility, private sector solutions and limiting government’s reach/scope are the basis for real long-term prosperity and advancement…we would be really working to accomplish “change” and not being tricked into the mesmerizing misdirection that currently passes for public policy.
The problem is that those who just want government to leave them alone are the selected targets to provide the where-with-all to be used by our elected officials (and their bureaucratic minions) in the process of redistribution. They can’t hand out their goodies without first taking from those who have…
With our government (state and national) striving to meet the mission of being all it can be we clearly see the vision planned as our future.
Posted by Doug Busselman at 4/10/2011 6:32 AM 
Categories: Government
Tags: Government Expansion Nevada Budget and Taxes Government Spending
Categories: Government
Tags: Government Expansion Nevada Budget and Taxes Government Spending
Doug, how about this horrifying case! http://washingtonexaminer.com/opinion/editorials/2011/03/youll-take-government-assistance-and-youll-damn-well-it#
Reply to this