Remember…Big Government?
In 1996, then 42nd President Bill Clinton proclaimed “the era of big government is over” and then the 43rd President George W. Bush assured that big government is only to serve our military and not the millions of Americans who truly need it. Yet, the 44th President Barack Obama’s administration is grappling with an America that may desperately need government but seems intent on fighting against it. It is obvious, the words “Big Government” need a makeover, they need support, and more importantly, America needs them.
These coming weeks will test whether a new era of big government has come. We have a health care summit and a creation of a jobs bill that will test our patience and especially test our leaders. This is big governments moment, its chance to return to America gloriously. The public option within the health care bill is facing a slight revitalization as more Senators, including Majority Leader Harry Reid, have come to support reconciliation as a viable option for the contentious component. If the public option is included within the bill it will be a momentous occasion that will only help Democrats as they prepare to get America working again.
We need our government and where we need it most is to protect us when the free market can’t. For too long the argument has been “free market vs. socialism”. I never understood why the wingers in both parties ridiculously framed arguments this way, especially on the left (where it has failed for three decades). What makes America most efficient is when it takes supposedly competing policies and force them to compromise and work. Yet, we have seen that the ideas that require more government have been ignored. We have seen a lack of competition. the left doesn’t frame the Keynesian argument and we have failed to recognize the successes behind much of Keynesian economics.
Americans rather not pay taxes for increased bridge, road, train, and levee maintenance, but they are willing to pay taxes for fire and police departments. With the argument being that they are necessary for American safety. Yet, as Hurricane Katrina and the Minnesota bridge collapse showed, we need government even at the most overlooked structures. We need a jobs bill that will work on our roads, bridges, and levees. We need a bill that is essentially a second stimulus package, this time fast acting infrastructure spending. We need government and we need to return to Keynesianism, which is not and should not be confused with socialism. Lets makeover big government by giving us, America, a fair health care system and getting us back to work. If we do this, big government will be something to appreciate and there isn’t a better time for us to do that than now.
