Big Government vs. Small Government

I believe in government, period. If I had to choose. I choose big government. Every single right or protection that we have as individuals was either created, maintained, and/or supported by government. Let me explain.

We no longer live on farms or ranches. We live in cities. The United States has over 300 million people in it. Clean water, garbage, roads, sewage, mail, etc. Housing standards, workplace safety, animal control, food safety, vaccine development, law enforcement, and even state sovereignty are protected by BIG GOVERNMENT. In Texas, we have enough National Guards, cops, and other paramilitary personnel to take over all surrounding states.

It's taxes vs. services really. We pay so that we don't have to cut down trees & smooth out roads. Trash is taken away weekly and disposed of properly. Phone lines work & electricity comes to the house safely. My food has expiration dates & my car drives safely over 60 miles an hour without the wheels falling off.

I don't believe in small government. When I dial 9-11 for help, I don't care what else is happening in the world! I need help. As a 6ft., 300-lb man that played college football, I don't need individual protection. I need protection from groups that would harm my family when I'm not around; steal from me while I'm out making a living, or that would poison the water that comes to my house so I can't drink or shower in it.

I believe in government.

I believe in government also. But it should have its very limited place. The tipping point for government where it no longer became the servants of Americans and became our slave masters was in the 1960s when we had government stick its fingers into health care. It really was the beginning of the end.

In the 1960s the poverty levels for Americans was at its lowest levels. Insurance was only used for dire emergencies. And increases were well below the standard of living. Doctors would take in a percentage of poor with their clientele. This also held true for hospitals.

The year after medicaid and medicare went into effect poverty went began to increase and government began its steady increase into our medical lives causing insurance prices to go up and the generosity of doctors to go away. In turn more people struggled to afford health care.

Our founders setup a delicate balance with government and we have gone far beyond that to create the mixed up mess we have now. And this is just one of hundreds of examples where government has over stepped its bounds into the private lives of Americans trying for good intentions to only destroy more then it wanted to help.

Careful with the "slave masters" analogies ssvs04. Slavery was the worst thing imaginable. It was government sanctioned kidnapping, rape, murder, terrorism, theft, assault, and every other unthinkable form of torture ever propagated on a race of people!! Google the Middle Passage. As many as 20 million slaves were were killed. www.pbs.org/wgbh/aia/part1/1p277.html

To your point, I totally disagree with you. The 60's were not so great for Black Americans. Private & public businesses discriminated & outright robbed, stole, cheated, & used law enforcement to sanction it. So, poverty may have been reported differently, or certain people may not have been counted accurately, either way, I disagree.

You're somewhat right. LBJ's War on Poverty began in the 60's after JFK was killed. I believe in '64 or '65. Our country was at a cross-roads and several movements were colliding.

Again, I'm pro-government. I'm glad that Medical schools have to be "accredited." Government makes sure that they teach safe healthcare techniques & honor the Hippocratic Oath.

During WWI & WWII, the government took over certain industries for the country's sake. In WWI, all the railroads were "nationalized." During WWII, it was steel & concrete. (Remember "Rosie the Riveter")

My Uncle fought in Korea & my oldest brother fought in Vietnam. Both were injected with untested, medically experimental crap that cause them pain today.

Overall, I have mixed feelings about government/medicine. Remember the Tuskegee Experiments. Lobotomies were also still being performed in this country to cure mental illness in the 50's & 60's.

I stick with that analogy whole heartedly. The current government no longer fears the people and it showed this summer when they ignored the majority of what the country wanted. My mother and her family dealt with the Nazi soldiers who were tortured, imprisoned and sent to the Russian front and expected to fight for years before the war ended. And she can see ever small signs of the past from this current government. My wife who has lived through several dictators in Ecuador can see signs of her past government slipping through here and their. Ever wonder why Cubans and Russians who have lived through the hell of communism tend to be Conservative. Yes our current government thinks we answer to them and not to the people.

Hmmm, what to say here? While I certainly am thankful for all that the Federal Government has 'provided' for me, my Medicare Disablity may not have been possible, and Lord knows my STATE won't let me in (WHOLE other topic), I am also thankful that this big government tends to just walk in in emergencies and put things right (except during Katrina, the BP spill, the MASSIVE flooding in the Mid-west, the OTHER oil spill along the northern border that went directly into the river with very minimal national media coverage), but those aside, I think our BIG government does its job well. Well, enough that this country IS on the way to a WORSE economic breakdown soonish (like within the next year, unfortunately) and then we will, like Nancy Pelosi once said, 'we will know what is in it AFTER we pass it'. Well, we will know what will happen, how we will response AFTER it comes to pass.

So, with that, a big government DID make it possible for me to go back to school with a government loan, of course, once I graduate, there won't be any JOBS for me to PAY those loans back, but hey, at least I have the degrees, right?

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I believe in government, period. If I had to choose. I choose big government. Every single right or protection that we have as individuals was either created, maintained, and/or supported by government. Let me explain.

I say this big government is slavery. Let me explain. Take health care if you do not get health care you face a fine. How is that fair to the minimum wage person? Public option that some democrats wanted now the government tells you what you can get for health care and you have to beg for medicine operations and such. Do not believe me? My wife has been fighting with workmen s comp for 12 years now. He had to get a lawyer just to get the medicines and operations she needed. If government is so great why did we have to do that? I could not use my private insurance because of the legal issues. The government made her go off Oxycontin cold turkey. You know what it is like having your wife scream and dig and itch and be in the fetal position because of withdrawals? Ya government is great you have to beg the master for any tidbits he wants to give you. We have been slaves to this for 12 years now.

Social security is a sham. The government steals our money and this is not exclusive to one party and uses it to buy votes. Socialism Communism is nothing more then the government as the slave owner.

Yes the federal government has gotten some things right. But it has gotten some things miserably wrong well a lot of things. Sorry I do not put much faith in government anyone that does should really take a good look.

Take your posts about wiretapping. Obama is doing the same thing but has expanded it. Not one complaint from any democrat no sir we should be weary of government and politicians that promise free stuff poor because sooner or later sir even the poor is going to have to pay for it.

This is what government has gotten us. Instead of spending money on tech we spend it on stupid stuff. Now China leads us in Tech and we have fallen way behind way to go politicians. Chaz says he is for big government so he must be for the full funding of NASA and more funding of the military.


China has swept headlines with its recent space agenda and engineering efforts, including the world’s fastest supercomputer and bullet train, the world’s largest hydroelectric dam, and plans for a new space station and satellites that may visit Mars.

Bahahahaha way to go Obama while they go to Mars we use NASA for Muslim relations. Well at least the Chinese have there priorities right. But alas I cannot put this on one single party. Because both really are at fault here.

Problem is for every one thing the federal government gets right the government screws up another 50. Katrina and all the disasters of late are NOT the responsibility of the federal government. Its the local government and the states responsibility to be prepared for these disasters. It never ever was the job of the federal government to swoop in and save the day and rebuild everyones homes.

Look at education. When the states and countries were in full charge the Schools did great. When the federal government go involved they destroyed education. A High School degree back in the 20s and 30s is a Bachelors degree today. I agree ssvs Government screws more things up then it fixes.

I have a friend in IT at a large company. He says that while it is true that China is pumping out more engineering degrees in computer tech, they are still of lower quality than US taught students. Of course, that is in his own experience.

China also has control of something like 90 percent of the worlds minerals that make computers and such. And China is working on being the largest holder of gold when Americas dollar finally collapses. At least someone has a plan because our current government cant look past controlling the people.

In the annals of Sun Tzu he writes that a 'war is won, not by an army, but by bringing the kingdom to it's knees through making it unable to afford to feed itself, a kingdom that has no money can be taken over without a single soldier spilling a drop of blood.' Or something to that effect. So MY question is, how long before we reach THAT level of totally open to ANY 'invader' that wants in?