THE TRUE FUNCTIONS OF NATIONAL GOVERNMENT

2 PARAGRAPHS 4 LIBERTY: 407

Have you ever asked yourself what are the true functions of the national government in our country? A highly legitimate and important question. This is not meant to be an exhaustive list, but here are some basics:

• Protect us and keep us safe;
• Adjudicate legal disputes;
• Provide a system of foreseeability, such that people understand the laws and believe they will be enforced equally and fairly;
• Promote individual and group accountability;
• Protect individual liberties;
• Set up a system that promotes individual and national prosperity, as well as the health of all of its people.

So how are we doing? I believe we are deteriorating. We have a national Constitution, which is the greatest political document in the history of the world, but we have gotten away from many of its provisions. For example, there is nothing in the Constitution that empowers our national government to control either our educational or our healthcare systems. So those systems must be left with the local governments which are closer to the People’s control. Congress has abrogated its responsibility to be the sole entity that can declare war upon another nation or group of people. This failure has directly resulted in our fighting troops being called upon to fight many unnecessary battles all around the world. And our individual and national prosperity have been deeply undercut by our national government continually spending money that it does not have.

What should be done? Heed Benjamin Franklin’s challenge that it is our government, and if it is not working we have no one to blame but ourselves. That means that we all should use our best efforts to reduce the size, intrusion and expense of our national government by restricting it to the authorizations that are delineated in our Constitution. In so doing we must educate ourselves, and then be active voters. And we must also ensure that our elected officials know they will be held responsible for any unauthorized governmental involvement that they permit. Not easily done, but it is still our responsibility! So that is why I am a Libertarian. (More about that sometime soon.)

Quote for the week: “If we are to guard against ignorance and remain free, it is the responsibility of every American to be informed.” Thomas Jefferson