Good Ideas Don't Necessarily Mean the Government Should Do it.

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All too often, the justification and debate about government programs focuses entirely on the wrong thing. When a new program is proposed, or an existing one is up for renewal, the arguments for it are usually based around "it's a good idea". But do good ideas mean it's the government's responsibility? Educating kids is a good thing, but it isn't the role of the Federal Government. Feeding the needy is a good thing, but shouldn't be done by the government. Fire prevention and suppression are great things, but we don't expect the federal government to run our fire departments. Our government is set up with Separation of Powers. This is an important element because it prevents the centralization of powers. Cities and townships, counties, states and the federal government all have responsibilities and authorities independent of each other. Mayors don't work for governors, governors don't work for Congress or the President. Congress doesn't work for the President, nor does the Supreme Court work for either. When we argue based on "it's a good idea" we seek to trade that balance of power for immediate gratification. We accuse the president of "not caring" if he isn't willing to take on authority that isn't his. If our representatives or senators don't respond positively to a new bill, we say they are out of touch... when it is actually the people who are insisting the "good idea" get passed into law that are "out of touch". We the People have the most responsibility in our society. It is our responsiblity to maintain the freedoms we have. We cannot maintain those freedoms if we insist the government codify everything we consider "good ideas". If we want the government to be powerful enough to do everything, we will have to give up everything for it.