Political Comment

Yesterday I saw a Congressman (I think his name was Price) from Georgia on C-Span being interviewed about the current debate over economic stimulus. His basic position seemed to be (and this is a paraphrase): "we don't need the government to get us out of this mess; we'll get out of it because we're Americans." Now, it seems to me that, yes, as Americans we have the capacity, and hopefully the will, to do what's necessary to get out of this mess-- but in what way does that invalidate using the government and its resources to help accomplish that job? Is he suggesting the government isn't American? If it isn't, then what is he suggesting about the Constitution, which after all not only defines the nature of our government, but also the freedoms we all enjoy and would presumably use to make things better?

George Packer has written in the New Yorker that this debate is ultimately not about economic recovery. Here's a quote from a recent piece:

"The two parties are pretending to argue about the efficacy of the stimulus bill. They’re really arguing about the role of government in our society and economy, in the middle of a crisis and after decades of neglect. They’re arguing about whether health care, education, energy, and infrastructure are necessary areas for substantial federal spending and oversight. That’s why the stakes in this argument are higher than the final price tag on the stimulus package."

I can understand why there would be (and should be) some suspicion of government-- especially after the past eight years-- and I'm not saying they deserve a blank check with no oversight (again, that hasn't worked out too well recently). But if we don't believe that we (and, more to the point, our ancestors) created a system that can be employed in the service of the people in time of crisis, then what is it about our system that we are clinging to (and trying to export to other parts of the world, like the Middle East)? There seems to be an inherent flaw in the argument that the government is the enemy, at least as an absolute statement of principle.