Lizardbreath
Former Staff member
Alright here is what I think our government should do.I don't think we've ever had a period when the government was strong enough to do the general position of what I'm arguing for (as a generalization of the field, I'm just going to go with Adam Smith's definition), in that the government is 1) protecting society from outside violence and invasion, 2) protecting every member of society from from injustice/oppression from another member, and 3) to deal with neighborhood effects. I'm not saying we should 'go back' to this, but rather that it has never really been tried. The Articles of Confederation was a complete disaster, but that's not what I'm advocating.
And please, do continue to debate us because I really want to understand where your opinion is coming from because I feel either we are missing something massive in what you're saying or that you're not looking at the realistic alternatives to the society you're suggesting.
1) Protect our homeland (kind of a no duh)
2) Protecting every member of society from injustice/oppression (I agree with you here)
3) Keep our infrastructure/cities safe, orderly, and up with the current mode of transportation.
Though the definitions you gave I generally agree with, there is MUCH more that I think a government should be involved in.
4) I think a government should make sure that it's people don't destroy themselves by overusing their natural resources and keeping the business world as safe and fair as possible. How is this possible? Well if it weren't for laws being passed against monopolies and large polluters then the society we live in today would be alot different. 1) There would be a lack of sanitation due to a poor sewage system 2) We would probably almost never see the clouds with all the pollution 3) We would have built everywhere possible. IMO though some may not like it I feel that a government For the PEOPLE and by the PEOPLE should work to keep these people in tact.
5) I think that programs like Social Social Security/Welfare and medicaid/medical should be merged into one gigantic program. So that way it can be better regulated by the government and we can work as a society to make it as benefecial/non-wasteful as possible. How can this be done? Honestly I think it would have to be researched for a while to get a good answer, but I am confident that it can be done in a much more effecient way if we merged the 4 under the name "social security" and worked to close the loopholes. I also find the programs necessary, because it keeps people from starving and helps people when they are in dire need, which, in turn, keeps them away from criminal activity.
6) I also think that the government can do a much better job with education then the way it is right now. Right now our education system is terrible, tons of waste and our teacher's aren't well qualified in the most cases. I think that schools should ONLY hire people who have teaching cridentials, not those who are on their way to getting them.
7) Government should have slight regulation of business. Though I don't think we should tax the crap out of business, I think that it does need slight regulation to avoid situations like monopolies, the Enron case, and enviromental damage.