Limited Government
Preserving our Liberty and Individual Responsibility
“…A government big enough to give you everything you want is a government big enough to take from you everything you have.”
Gerald R. Ford - 38th President of the United States of America
Today, it is not uncommon to hear the phrase “Limited Government”. The principle of limited government has a long history and was a tenet of the liberal movement back in the 16th and 17th century. As governments have expanded over past two centuries, it has become a staple of conservative movement and antithesis to its alternative, “Big Government”.
Government itself, in a very simple explanation is a political apparatus by which a country, state or community is administered. In a democracy, a group of elected individuals, governed by a constitution, set public policy and exercise political authority through laws and institutions. A government is formed to serve people while managing the delicate balance between the public good and individual liberty.
About 50% of the world’s population enjoy some form of democracy. Within the democracy, political sub-ideologies influence the type of public policy and size of government. Size in this case, refers to number of public servants, extent of authority, the degree of control and the amount of taxation required to sustain its programs.
Scholars suspect the concept of limited government dates back to 13th century England. It was during this period that English Barons and peasants revolted against King John fighting lower taxation, access to fair justice, church rights and freedom from restrictive laws. As a result, the Magna Carta was born. The “Great Charter” that established the concept of freedom of the individual against the arbitrary authority of a King or government. It cemented the Devine rights of the individuals, fair justice and limited taxation. This Magna Carta was a guiding light for the new countries and governments that followed in its wake. The document helped shape the American Constitution and common law in the rest of the English-speaking world. And since the Magna Carta, and the numerous iterations that ensued, the debate about size and limit of government was born.
Today the principle of limited government is based on reducing government involvement in the everyday lives of individuals. Government is best served restricting its role to broader activities of the state such as defense, our economy, our environment and foreign policy. Other more confined activities should be left to individuals and businesses. The objective of limited government is to provide communities the tools to address societal issues at the local level. Individuals, businesses, charities and yes, even churches work at the community level helping those in need. In 2019 the top 100 charities in America collected $51.5B in donations. Feeding America, Habitat for Humanity and Teach America are just a few examples of charities that helped less fortunate Americans with no government funding or involvement. This shift in dependency from government back to individuals drives self reliance, fosters organic growth of community organizations and promotes participation and philanthropy.
Limited government advocates also believe in a smaller and a more nimble institution. This decreases government spending, reduces taxes and drives greater efficiency with less duplication. According to a USA Today report, duplication is rampant in the government costing Americans “tens of billions of dollars… It takes 10 different offices at the Department of Health and Human Services to run programs addressing AIDS in minority communities. Autism research is spread out over 11 different agencies. Eight agencies at the Defense Department are looking for prisoners of war and missing in action. And Schriever Air Force Base in Colorado has eight different satellite control centers to control 10 satellite programs.”
With respect to size, in the 30 years from 1960 to 1990, the size of State and local governments grew from 6.5M employees to 15M employees, an increase of 137%. According to the U.S. Office of Personnel, in 6 years, from 2008-2014, President Obama increased the number of federal employees by 400,000 estimated to cost $20 billion annually. Government does require employees and money to operate but reducing the size eliminates a degree of waste and drives efficiency. Less federal employees and leaner government programs would free up billions of dollars for the critical areas of social security, health education and employment services.
So what of the alternative, “Big Government” ? Proponents of this philosophy believe government is there for the greater good. Undoubtedly a noble principle. Unfortunately these advocates also believe government must be involved in addressing all issues plaguing communities and as a result, more laws and regulations are put into place. Between 2000 and 2014 U.S. federal regulations costing more than $100M to administer them increased by 45%. Regulatory programs expand over time requiring more capital to fund the program and often become restrictive to the very individuals and businesses they were designed to help.
Big government also requires more management and oversight to manage their expanding enterprise. These extra levels distance our democratically elected politicians from the very people they represent. Our politicians eventually lose touch with the needs and concerns of the common individual. Ever wonder why politicians in our capital simply don’t get it ? Well now you know. As big government expands, budgets grow, spending increases, efficiencies are lost, and higher taxation follows. Here a just a few examples of inefficiencies and waste to consider… In 2003 U.S. dept. of Treasury reported $25B in unreconciled transactions. Auditors did not know who spent it, where it was spent and what it was spent on. From 1997-2003 U.S. federal government purchased and left $100M of air flight tickets unused. No refund was ever requested for the unused tickets. And between 2001-2002 auditors found 27,000 transaction in which the Pentagon paid twice for the same transaction and was never reconciled. How many extra hospitals or schools could we have built with this waste. And finally, during President Obama’s 8 years in office, his continued expansion of federal programs, increase of federal employees and massive stimulus programs resulted with significantly higher government spending. This spending grew the U.S. national debt by a staggering $9.5 trillion. This debt increase in 8 years matched the national debt accumulated by all the preceding presidents combined
So here you have it, some conjecture on my part, some history on the Magna Carta and data points most can find online. But the inspiration for my article really started with yours truly waiting in a long line up to renew my annual fishing license. As the line slowly inched forward, I was reminded of why big government simply does not work. Originating some 30 years ago, State governments in the U.S. and Provincial governments in Canada decided to charge individuals a fee to fish. The money collected would be used to keep our lakes and rivers clean. What a great idea! Who would object? Well, 30 years later, let us examine how this program has evolved. First, State governments instituted the annual fee. Governments mobilized and built organizations to manage the licenses. People were hired, offices secured, processes developed, and computer systems deployed. All of this provided the mechanism to collect the license fee. Later came fishing licenses with picture ids., of course, at a higher cost. Well you cannot have a fee mechanism without a penalty, so governments hired enforcement officers to patrol lakes and rivers. Next came the high-end speed boats and SUV’s outfitted to these enforcement officers. And for what? Oh yes, to catch some 45-year-old father with his 9-year-old daughter on an obscure lake in Northern Michigan fishing for large mouth bass. Yes, of course, I almost forgot why. So here we are. As I paid my $25 to fish in our public lakes, I tried to imagine how the proceeds from this license fee can pay for all the government expenses and fund the cleaning of our lakes and rivers as was the original goal. I came to the sad conclusion that it cannot. Somewhere in one of the obscure clauses in a past State or Provincial budget, there was a tax hike to pay for all this. No better an example of big government with a regulation that started with all the noble intentions but became another ineffective government program. Taxes were increased to sustain the program and sadly we all lost sight of why it was first created. Now multiply this one example by the thousands of programs run by our government.
Limited government vs. big government? Both have merit but unmistakably limited government is more effective, less intrusive, more nimble, and with a predictably lower tax burden on all individuals. It encourages self reliance and enables individual and community philanthropy. It puts limitation on government authority promoting individual accountability and cherishing individual liberty. The Magna Carta was penned with the intent to limit the power of a king and government, but 800 years later it appears we’ve regressed. Governments and their authority continue to grow. If history has taught us anything, it has taught us that given enough time and government expansion, the pendulum will eventually swing back with force and find its equilibrium. Let us all advocate for limited government to ensure we strike the proper balance between the individual and those that govern.
“…A wise and frugal government… shall not take from the mouth of labor the bread it has earned.”
Thomas Jefferson, 3rd President of the United States of America and the principal author of the Declaration of Independence.