The presidential candidate Mitt Romney admitted in the most recent presidential debate that he believed that some government regulation is necessary (when he spoke about the “Dodd Frank” Financial Reform law.
Who disagrees with this? The ‘great ideas’ by Ronald Reagan are meant to be simple (or ‘straightforward’) descriptions of a general philosophy of government (e.g. “The govt that governs best is the govt that governs least”).
Nevertheless, they were never intended to mean that govt cannot and should not be deeply involved in resolving common problems in all situations.
But only that government should not intrude into everyday life, with regulations, when they are not necessary.
Who can argue with that statement in “general” terms?
No one.
However, when it comes to details of when government is necessary, the arguments begin.
My friends in the little Village where they live are now in the midst of debating over where stop signs, speed bumps, and sidewalks should be placed (street by street) due to an impending new development that is bringing hundreds of new homes to our sleepy little corner of the county, along with a potential multiplex movie theater, a hotel, a new shopping center and the many new parking problems that all this will entail.
I can assure you that none of the neighboring homeowners that live in the community surrounding any potential development on all four sides believe that their local government should NOT be intimately involved in regulating every single change in traffic that the potential development will have on the quality of life in their neighborhoods, the safety of their children when walking to nearby schools, and the value of their homes, street by street.
I doubt very much that if President Reagan would disagree with them. And this shows the fatal flaw in the simplistic slogans used by the right wing to routinely argue (with near religious ideological fervor) against “all government” in all situations– for no one, not even the most avid ‘right wing’ conservative, truly believes that government has no proper place in our lives in all situations.
No one truly believes in the benefits of dirty air or water, or ‘private’ fire departments, interstate highway system, roads, bridges, dams, schools (for all children), or a ‘privatized’ military either.
However, it does seem that nearly every new government regulation (other than those involving birth control), no matter how necessary or well intentioned , quickly finds a host of critics on the right to rail against its supposed costs in “jobs” or, when all else fails, its intrusion on “freedom”.
This is especially true, of course, when the regulation will diminish the profits of moneyed special interests that are benefiting from the system as it stands now.
This is why change is so difficult. If collective action through government is not the solution to nationwide problems, then what is? (Other than the ‘Second Amendment’ remedies openly spouted by right wing activists like Sharon Engle when running against Sen. Harry Reid in Nevada).
Until the right can precisely and completely answer that aforesaid question, they will continue to win battles stylistically by arguing against government intrusions on “freedom” but will continue to lose the war (so long as their is an informed electorate) on substantive grounds.
On this point, it is worth noting that FOX NEWS viewers have been determined to be the “least informed” news viewers in the USA–A large percentage of them still think IRAQ caused the attack on 9/11, for another example, and believe that weapons of mass destruction were found in IRAQ, that Obama is a Muslim, or was not born in the USA, for instance.
It is, as well, worth noting that certain independent analysts have found the Republican nominee for president to have lied in the last debate about significant portions of his plans for the country.
In fact, I do remember that the Chinese have a saying that “You cannot build a house on shifting sands”.
An informed electorate is the bedrock of our democracy.
Let us all hope that they make an informed choice in this coming November.
Bing Tang
Mineola
