How much should government help or do for you?

The government was set up in this country to have the least control of personal lives as possible, but as time goes on there are those who believe the government should have control of things they should not be involved in. In order to maintain freedom, the government should only be in control of what they need to be, the military, the postal services, standard governmental finances, homeland security, and the judicial branches it was set up to control, beyond this, they should allow local and state governments to control what they are set up for, and allow the individuals to maintain their own lives. I do not want the government telling me what type of medical treatment I can get, how much food I can buy, where I can live, where I must work, or how much I am allowed to earn.

Government is an inefficient provider. It buys $600.00 coffee-makers and $700.00 toilet seats.

The role of government needs to be limited. We need the government to manage our national defense. IBM isn’t well-equipped to do that. There are some things only the government can do on behalf of all of us. But when the federal government starts dictating what the curriculum in my local high school should be, it has gone too far.

I have dealt with many government bureaucrats. Some of them were excellent. The word “bureaucrat” has almost become a dirty word in our language. But some of those guys are among the best at what they did. But some of them had the bureaucratic attitude that, “It doesn’t matter how much it costs or how long it takes because this is the government.”

We need to allow the government to do what only the government can do. The rest should be left to private enterprise, where efficiency dictates. I don’t need a $600.00 coffee-maker. I can buy a very good one at Target for $39.95. We have gotten to the point at which it doesn’t matter what something costs. It’s just a question of who pays for it. If you’re paying, cost is irrelevant. I dine and you pay. That is fast becoming “The American Way."

What does the government really "do" for you?

Throughout history, different societies and political systems have had their own definition of the ruling government's goals and responsibilities.

The "modern" democracy we the people of the United States based our system on was in great part due to the French revolution's goals and proposition that the people of a society, by majority agreement, evidenced by vote, one vote for each eligible citizen, to decide thier fate and destiny.

If you are asking what the role of government at the federal level is SUPPOSED to be in the United States, and why it exists, then the answer is most clearly stated in the Preamble to the Constitution of the United States...

Our Supreme Court is the final authority as to the fitness and/or legality of any function or regulation of our government at ANY level.

Decide for yourself what the role is, by the ultimate authority that defines our national identity...It begins with the now immortal words..."We The People, in order to from a more perfect Union"......

Government should just stick to basics - The fundamental purpose of government is the maintenance of basic security and public order...without which individuals cannot attempt to find happiness.

When Government gets too involved in daily life then all the variables come alive and that's where the Gray Area comes in complicating life.

I agree with Bill. I would rather take my own money and make my own decision on what to do with it. Think about it, would you rather eat government cheese payed for with taxes or have the option to go to the local market and get your favorite flavor? Or hell maybe you could even grab 2 or 3 of your favorites.

In addition to the executive powers, the federal government only has authority to do those things specifically listed in article one, section eight, of the united states constiution.

Why does it do more than that and continually seek to expand its powers even further?

The simple answer is that it's human nature. As Thomas Jefferson wrote, “The natural progress of things is for liberty to yield and government to gain ground."

He also wrote:

"When all government, domestic and foreign, in little as in great things, shall be drawn to Washington as the center of all power, it will render powerless the checks provided of one government on another and will become as venal and oppressive as the government from which we separated." --Thomas Jefferson to Charles Hammond, 1821. ME 15:332

Well, we should make sure our money goes into programs so all kids in the us can get the best education worldwide, or programs that insure that sick people dont get screwed by insurance companies, ... We could somewhat control that with stats ...

Anyway, today, our taxes go in Iraq anyway without the gov asking us how we wanted to use it ... Same with the bail out of $700 million

An exhaustive list of everything D.C. is legally ALLOWED to do fits on a postcard.

I sincerely hope for the day when that's ALL they do. Everything else is literally a criminal enterprise that does more harm than good.

In a socialist democracy, the government will give me everything. It's a free for all if you're poor. BHOs distribution of wealth means that all those mean old rich people will have to give their money to me... AHH HAHH

Somalia has the smallest government in the world. See how good it is doing?