Four Reasons Why Big Government Is Bad Government

[Spjungen]

I love and salute these ladies for campaigning the cause of liberty.
Spread the word of Ron Paul, ladies...now is the time.

[tn]

I think this is half the true. Finland and Germanly controvert your theory. They have big government and high taxes, but their economy seem to be good.

[Fede_uyz]

Lets shrink the size of all government to 0.
If a big government is bad, a small government is "less bad" but still bad.

[kmiller]

And look where we are today...I hope you are still posting!

[schlecksi]

"government is too large today" is of course not a scientifically evidenced fact, but pure big business propaganda.

The most successful countries in Europe are Sweden, Norway, Denmark, Germany, the Netherlands, Austria, all countries with a generous universal welfare state and super-high taxes (compared to American standards). Those countries now in troubles have had super-low tax levels (compared to European standards), whereas they did not spend more than the successful countries, cf. OECD

[bozonomics]

the best thing to do is just have no government

[UTubekookdetector]

MUT: Thanks. Do you think the US' current debt levels are a problem and if so, what would you do to fix it?

[bananaphone]

You know what, this really makes sense. Heck, if we could handle ourselves with NO economic regulation, I would go for it.
Sadly, the recent economic recession shows we just can't handle that ourselves.

[friedgable]

The only additional topic I would discuss related to this video is that the government's primary purpose is to protect our liberties. Allowing the local governments to implement the majority of the laws is a better protection of our liberties than the federal government, however, the federal government needs to ensure that none of the local governments can revert to authoritarianism in the form of discrimination against any one individual.

[oilhammer]

Good presentation . . . . keep up the good work!

[Kamfrenchie]

freedom and prosperity center is a lobbying group anyway.

[BootyBot]

and one more thing. I spent some time in Norway and the only thing I found disturbing was how beautiful and clean the city was compared to any cities in the U.S. It looked like a fairy tale.

[gc]

Australia, United Kingdom, Hong Kong, New Zealand, United States(used to), Luxembourg, Singapore...
but what do you truly mean by small government, do you mean guranteeing basic freedoms to citizens and limiting taxation/other burdens or just exhibiting a lot of regional government?

[artemiswyrm]

if there are no agencies then what is there to buy?

[Spjungen]

Vote buying legislation, that is SUCH an important thing to take note of...it's incredible how many politicians campaign on increasing spending for xyz and therefore improving welfare, etc

[BootyBot]

@Riellysdad Not a myth. Norway's economy grew by 3 percent when U.S. was in a recession. it's been steadily growing since. Plenty of info to support this, as described in articles: "Norway's economy grows faster than expected", "Thriving Norway Provides an Economics Lesson", "Mainland Norway's economy stays strong in Q2", all available through google.

Well the people of Norway are very happy for a "repressed society", considering they are third on forbes list happiest countries. U.S. is at 16.

[CanalGabrielCoelho]

@BootyBot remember norway was lucky enough to be virtually not affected by WWI and WWII. And even with all the advantage, it is facing serious social security problems, lack of jobs in the private sector, and HUGE deficits and debt!

[FridaeytxhOktober]

Examples of first world countries with small governements?

[markganus]

theodore roosevelt on why small government is bad:

The difference between Mr. Wilson and myself is fundamental. The other day in a speech at Sioux Falls, Mr. Wilson stated his position when he said that the history of government, the history of liberty, was the history of the limitation of governmental power. This is true as an academic statement of history in the past. It is not true as a statement affecting the present. It is true of the history of medieval Europe. It is not true of the history of 20th Century America.
In the days when all governmental power existed exclusively in the King or in the baronage, and when the people had no shred of that power in their own hand, then it undoubtedly was true that the history of liberty was the history of the limitation of the governmental power of the outsiders who possessed that power. But today, the people have actually or potentially the entire governmental power. It is theirs to use and to exercise if they choose to use and to exercise it. It offers the only adequate instrument with which they can work for the betterment, for the uplifting, of the masses of our people.
The liberty of which Mr. Wilson speaks today means merely the liberty of some great trust magnate to do that which he is not entitled to do. It means merely the liberty of some factory owner to work haggard women over hours for under pay and himself to pocket the proceeds. It means the liberty of the factory owner who crowds his operatives into some crazy deathtrap on a top floor, where if fire starts the slaughter is immense. It means the liberty of the big factory owner who is conscienceless and unscrupulous, to work his men and women under conditions which eat into their lives like an acid. It means the liberty of even less conscientious factory owners to make their money out of the toil, the labor, of little children. Men of this stamp are the men whose liberty would be preserved by Mr. Wilson. Men of this stamp are the men whose liberty would be preserved by the limitation of governmental power.
We propose, on the contrary, to extend governmental power in order to secure the liberty of the wage-workers, of the men and women who toil in industry, to save the liberty of the oppressed from the oppressor. Mr. Wilson stands for the liberty of the oppressor to oppress; we stand for the limitation of his liberty thus to oppress those who are weaker than himself.

[emightis]

William Howard Taft operated with an income tax: He was one of the people pitching the income tax and he signed it in to law.