NationStates Jolt Archive

The reason it's bad is because because sooner or later it's going to be run by people who don't see things the way you do. When that day comes, they're liable to use all that gubmint power to put the screws to you, and the consquences of that sort of behavior can be seen as far back as the Roman Republic.

Is that the only reason why big governmnent is inherently bad?

Is that the only reason why big governmnent is inherently bad?

That and they're sluggishly ineffective....

Well too bad, big Government is here to stay (society has become to complex to be without it).

The reason it's bad is because because sooner or later it's going to be run by people who don't see things the way you do. When that day comes, they're liable to use all that gubmint power to put the screws to you, and the consquences of that sort of behavior can be seen as far back as the Roman Republic.
oh no, this invaluably useful tool of statecraft, order, coherence and necessary redistribution might possibly, maybe one day go bad... best not have it then.
i better not buy a car either cos the engine might explode one day :rolleyes:

[/sarcasm]

The reason it's bad is because because sooner or later it's going to be run by people who don't see things the way you do. When that day comes, they're liable to use all that gubmint power to put the screws to you, and the consquences of that sort of behavior can be seen as far back as the Roman Republic.

Big government is only bad when people who don't believe in big government are put in charge of it. Just like how the UN won't work when its most powerful member thinks it shouldn't exist, FEMA won't work when the guy in charge of it thinks that the federal government shouldn't be in charge of disaster management, the State dept. won't work when it's run by a military general, and the Defense dept. won't work when it's run by a chemical salesman.

To say that a big government is likely to have something bad about it that will happen at some point is not inherent. Inherent means that what defines a government as big is itself bad. To say that a big government is bad because it will eventually be run by someone who disagrees with you is not to point out an inherent flaw. It is a derivative flaw. But of course, it's a trade off. If we had a government run by people who believe in government then FEMA could have done its job in New Orleans, instead it was run by a guy who was appointed by a guy who figured that it didn't matter because the Federal Government isn't supposed to do anything, so anyone can do nothing just fine.

It's like an engineer who thinks that suspension bridges are an unecessarily convoluted means of crossing bodies of water, so he has the cables dismantled for scrap and when it falls apart he says that it's because the support beams were badly designed.

The reason it's bad is because because sooner or later it's going to be run by people who don't see things the way you do. When that day comes, they're liable to use all that gubmint power to put the screws to you, and the consquences of that sort of behavior can be seen as far back as the Roman Republic.

Government is not inherently bad. Incompetence is inherently bad. There is a difference between the two, because government is not inherently incompetent.

i dont think you can run a country of 300million people without the government being big so its a useless point. all you can do is try to have your big government be run as well as possible.

Amestria']Well too bad, big Government is here to stay (society has become to complex to be without it).

No, society is becoming too complex to need it. When every action has major social implication, the people do just fine regulating society without government.

i dont think you can run a country of 300million people without the government being big so its a useless point. all you can do is try to have your big government be run as well as possible.
He could also take into account the proportion of it, real size, rather than nominal size (non-proportional).

You seem to think a few people could dominate a big government. Who says a big government is a powerful government? A government could have a 10,000 member parliament. Try to dominate that one. With an effective balance of power, people won't be able to seize control over too much of the country and "put to the screws" to us normal folks.

The reason why small government is inherently bad: sooner or later, a few people will be able to dominate it because its so damn small. Then they'll be able to "put the screws" to us.

A government of one (warlord) is a small government.

FEMA won't work when the guy in charge of it thinks that the federal government shouldn't be in charge of disaster management

Just to correct a little misconception shared by many Americans, including the ones that fired the head of FEMA. US law forbids the feds from acting until they are requested by the appropriate civic and or state officials.

As our safety instructor put it, the mayor of New Orleans got to page 3 of his emergency plan and decided to wing it. Not realizing page 4 explained how to call in the appropriate help.

His personal experience was waiting at a staging point for State permission to enter the State, he already had FEMA operations organised and ready to go, he merely needed the Governor to follow US law and authorize him to go to work.

All in all, the mayor of N.O. and the State Governor blew it and then blamed FEMA for not violating the States constitutional rights and Bush fired him for it.

Then again, Bush doesn't care much for the constitution any ways.

The reason it's bad is because because sooner or later it's going to be run by people who don't see things the way you do. When that day comes, they're liable to use all that gubmint power to put the screws to you, and the consquences of that sort of behavior can be seen as far back as the Roman Republic.
Now that's a lame argument. That's the same as saying that democracy is inherently bad because:sooner or later it's going to be run by people who don't see things the way you do. ;)

"never vote for anyone who believes that government is the problem, because once in power he'll do his best to prove himself right"

...i have no idea who i'm quoting there, but i always liked the quote

Just to correct a little misconception shared by many Americans, including the ones that fired the head of FEMA. US law forbids the feds from acting until they are requested by the appropriate civic and or state officials.

You mean like when they asked the president to declare a state of emergency before the hurricaine landed and he did, but help wasn't sent anyway? Something like that?