(Transcript) – After the colonists earned their freedom from King George III, Americans rejected the idea of a monarch. They learned the larger the government, the small the citizen became.
Still, there are certain things only the government can do.
It must pass laws to ensure everyone lives by the same rules.
It must protect the country from a foreign attack or invasion.
It must protect citizens from criminals and run the criminal justice system.
Fire and police are necessary functions of government.
So, what’s wrong with big government?
In 1887, Congress passed the first-ever farm bill. Texas farmers were suffering under a severe drought. President Grover Cleveland vetoed the bill.
The president said he could find no reason in the Constitution to use the power of the government to relieve people of suffering.
“I can find no warrant for such an appropriation in the Constitution, and I do not believe that the power and duty of the general government ought to be extended to the relief of individual suffering which is in no manner properly related to the public service or benefit. A prevalent tendency to disregard the limited mission of this power and duty should, I think, be steadfastly resisted, to the end that the lesson should be constantly enforced that, though the people support the government, the government should not support the people.” ~ President Grover Cleveland
He warned Congress that people support the government and emphasized the government should not support the people.
In the other words, it’s not the government’s responsibility to provide paternal care for citizens. They should do that for one another.
Why should you help your fellow citizen when the government will do it for you?
Even worse, the bigger it gets, the more intrusive it becomes. In the near future, 87,000 new IRS agents will be working to collect money for the government from your wallets through tax audits.
If you make a bank transaction over $600, politicians want the IRS to know about it. It’s akin to snooping in search of a crime without a search warrant.
Ultimately, the bigger government gets, the more intrusive it becomes. The result is lost confidence and trust in the government by its citizens.
So, this series isn’t about political parties or right vs left. Instead, I’m going to cover civics.
We’ll look at the Declaration of Independence, the Bill of Rights, and much more. I hope you’ll tune in.
Ultimately, I hope to share with you how our system of government creates hope, opportunity, and happiness. It’s these principles that made the greatest nation in the history of the world.