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Originally Posted by firstdown
Not sure how much of the money has been paid back but thats not really why I don't like Obama. For me it goes back to the Dems think goverment is the solution to all problems and I think goverment is to big and causes too many problems. I don't view yesterday as any type of victory until I see a change to reduce goverment. I would actually like to see both parties run out of DC and a fresh new start but I don't think that will happen.
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Well I can tell you that Obama doesn't think government is the solution to all problems. In fact, I don't think he believes that government is the solution to most of our problems. But that's neither here nor there as I'm sure you'll believe otherwise even if the man was standing right in front of you saying it in six different languages.
What he believes (why do I feel like I'm constantly defending Obama when all I'm really trying to do is clarify and debunk myths) is that government needs to expand in some areas and needs to be reduced [drastically] in some areas. It's not an either or proposition, I think it's this and that. We can't just slice government to the bone to satisfy our ideology and political point of view.
The quality of life of the average American would be impacted in a negative way if we had less firemen, fewer police officers to keep our streets safe. What if we didn't regulate and properly inspect our meats, produce, and dairy products, as well as over the counter drugs that make us well and reduce visits to the doctor's office? How about if we suddenly did away with the EPA, an agency started by Richard Nixon, how do we then implement environmental laws and safety standards that big business must comply with? How can we have a safe enviornment in which in our children and ederly citizens live, breath, and lead healthy lives? I don't know about you, but I think that's the role of government. With the growing threat of terrorism everyday from every corner of the globe, should Congress reduce the size or do away with Homeland Security; The agency charged with protecting our borders and making us less vulnerable to terrorists threats? I'm not making an argument for big government, I'd just like to know what people mean when they say 'reduce' the size of government. Again, what's the prescribe policy to achieve this?
Shall we subscribe to the Rand Paul and Ron Paul school of thought, where they would like to abolish the Department of Education and the Federal Reserve? Or do we need more regulation to govern our equity and bond markets to ensure Joe Investor doesn't get burned by Enron, AIG, and Lehman Brothers sending a ripple effect around the world?
What's the happy medium here?