The End of Small Government? -- CATO Institute...

[Peter Frank]

...fascinating article:

On September 8, 2005, Wall Street Journal columnist David Wessel announced that "the era of small government is over. Sept. 11 challenged it. Katrina killed it." Wessel's declaration comes nearly a decade after President Clinton declared that "the era of big government is over..."

...Clinton proved to be wrong because he could not imagine that his Republican successor would increase spending at the highest rate since Lyndon Johnson, and for much the same reasons -- the combination of an extended war and a rapid increase in domestic spending.

http://www.cato.org/pub_display.php?pub_id=4881

[punpirate]

1. Cato is yet another bunch trying to distance themselves...

... from the disasters they promoted by their "small government, no taxes" routine that they've been harping on for more than a decade.

Hey, Cato--you're part of the problem, not part of the solution. Fucking suck it up and acknowledge your own complicity in the government's recent disasters.

Eat shit and die, Cato.

[TaleWgnDg]

2. Ummmm, punpirate don't hesitate in saying what you think

about those Cato libertarians! Don't be shy. Eh.

.

[punpirate]

5. Well, okay...

... I'll be even more frank. Eat shit and die twice.

[yankeeinlouisiana]

9. I always enjoy your posts, PunPirate!

[punpirate]

11. Thanks...

... but tendency to excess in political opinion is its own reward.

[Nay]

17. Exactly the way I feel, punpirate. Those Cato bastards have been

whoring for the Repubs for 25 years, and now they have the nerve to act worried? Bullshit.

[Peter Frank]

18. ...Like Rats Leaving a Sinking Ship.

[nadinbrzezinski]

3. rats and sinking ships come to mind

[bluestateguy]

4. Big government is not necessarily a good thing for liberals

Big government usually creates the conditions under which militarism thrives. During previous eras of major expansions of the federal government, we also saw major buildups of the nation's military commitments: the New Deal presaged a major military buildup before our entry into WWII and the Cold War. The Great Society and War on Poverty existed along side the Vietnam War, and then of course we get the freespending Bush and the Iraq War.

Also, when it comes to sexual freedom, abortion rights, artistic expression and the ability of individuals to criticize an unpopular war, I would rather see government that is small and limited in its powers.

[The_Casual_Observer]

6. So bush is absolutely forced, due to circumstances beyond

his control to hand out a little money to average people, and these bastards immediately go right for the jugular vein. Man, with a base like that, who needs al qaeda?

[ladylibertee]

7. COPY CATs

[KharmaTrain]

8. Small Government? When Was It Ever Small?

Dare we list how the Repugnicans have expanded government over the past 100 years. They were the ones who came up with the Income Tax and IRS!! Eisenhower went wild with adding domestic programs that made the New Deal programs even bigger. Nixon was putting price controls on meat, gas and the banking industry...also expanded social spending as much as Johnson. Even Raygun added several layers to the "small government" the Repugnicans claim they're for.

Now shall we explode the myth about Repugnicans being the defenders of states rights? I need another laugh.

[Peter Frank]

10. Extremely Well Said... n/t

[JDPriestly]

12. Interesting comparison between Johnson and Bush.

They have a lot in common. They are both habitual liars, and they both have close ties to Halliburton, Johnson directly (Brown & Root back then) and Bush through Cheney. The coincidences just don't stop, do they! What kind of profit did Halliburton rack up last year? How much money of Halliburton's profit did Bush/Cheney and their friends and families rake in? Just askin'.

[nadinbrzezinski]

13. I heard the number the other day

iirc the stock went up by 50%, so that will give you an idea

[Peter Frank]

16. Bush Caved to the Military Whiz Kids -- Just Like Johnson... n/t

[DBoon]

19. LBJ actually cared about people

and took risks for civil rights.

to Bush, other people don't even exist.

[JDPriestly]

21. LBJ sold his soul to do good things for the poor and

dispossessed. But, many, many, many good American boys fought and died so that he could pay Halliburton to build the military infrastructure in Viet Nam. Although he did much good, Johnson was bought and paid for by Brown & Root, which merged with Halliburton. He was a horse trader. He made a bargain with Brown & Root and he lived and prospered from it.

Read Briody, The Halliburton Agenda for the details. I can't recommend that book enough. And, by the way, I do not know the author and have not ties or interest in him professionally or personally. The book is relatively short and easy to read.

[Lexingtonian]

14. It was always bullshit.

The argument was always whether or not Americans would finally decide on becoming a sensible social democracy a la Western Europe ('large') or remain governed as under colonialism ('small'), i.e. systematically impoverished and exploited so extensively that there was no polity that could stand up and demand realization of its social potential and ideals. Bengal or Ceylon under the British. Congo under the Belgians. Mexico even now. Canada until WW2.

Of course, things like the Cato Institute exist to conceal what 'small' government really means while advocating it relentlessly as a cure-all for every problem.

And if you ever kept score objectively, 'large' government happens to be rather the same size as 'small' government. That is the fraud in the marketing. I mean, if you gut FEMA and then hire Halliburton to clean up after hurricanes, the only thing that diminishes is efficiency, not the number of man-years that will end up getting paid for with taxpayer money.

[DBoon]

20. if you hire Halliburton

you also diminish accountability.

More colonialism.

[high_and_mighty]

15. ya know why big brother taxes us so hard?

there are so many of us. "Oh, we hate big government, no new taxes, tax reductions for the rich",.....all to buy votes. It's only words...their actions say ....borrow and spend, borrow and spend, borrow and spend....