My favorite of Perry's memorized and then recited lines though (because Lord knows he is not improvising this stuff- it's all scripted) is his desire to make the federal government "inconsequential." I agree with that idea, and not out of some visceral hatred of the federal government.
In fact, a true Tea Partier, paleoconservative, whatever label you want to use- should adore the federal government when functioning in its proper role. I understand (to a degree) the language sometimes used on the right to criticize the USG, but ultimately it is important to remember that the goal of cutting government should be to make it its Constitutional size and therefore efficient and effective.
There needs to be a national system of justice, adequate national defense, and a sound currency.
And there also needs to be a competent corps of federal employees to implement those functions. They even need to be..... well paid. The USG should function well and to do so it needs to be staffed, particulary in its lowest and middle ranks, by capable professionals. The present monstrosity is simply too big to function as it should, and it is certainly too large to be economically staffed by adequately paid employees. Even if it were Constitutional to have millions of federal employees, offering them sufficient renumeration to work as competently and regularly as they should would be unsustainable (see our present system for details).
We need small, effective government at the national level. And it should do its job so well we barely even know it is there. This means a simplified mode of collecting revenues (maybe even scrap the whole tax plan and just levy customs). It means getting rid of the piles and piles of unneeded bureacuracy. It means devolving power back to the states and local authorities.
In that perfect evolution, the USG would be an afterthought to most Americans. As it is now, when Americans discuss "government" they are pondering the federal government (or perhaps worse, not even considering that our system has several incarnations of government.).
There needs to be a national system of justice, adequate national defense, and a sound currency.
And there also needs to be a competent corps of federal employees to implement those functions. They even need to be..... well paid. The USG should function well and to do so it needs to be staffed, particulary in its lowest and middle ranks, by capable professionals. The present monstrosity is simply too big to function as it should, and it is certainly too large to be economically staffed by adequately paid employees. Even if it were Constitutional to have millions of federal employees, offering them sufficient renumeration to work as competently and regularly as they should would be unsustainable (see our present system for details).
We need small, effective government at the national level. And it should do its job so well we barely even know it is there. This means a simplified mode of collecting revenues (maybe even scrap the whole tax plan and just levy customs). It means getting rid of the piles and piles of unneeded bureacuracy. It means devolving power back to the states and local authorities.
In that perfect evolution, the USG would be an afterthought to most Americans. As it is now, when Americans discuss "government" they are pondering the federal government (or perhaps worse, not even considering that our system has several incarnations of government.).
This is what brings me to DJ Jazzy Jeff. If the USG were the proper size, Americans could spend more time watching TMZ. Everyone would know if Will Smith is actually having marital troubles or simply generating free press. But when that rumor broke this week it was the ninth highest story on Google news. Why? Because seven other stories were listed above it, all of them dealing with the USG (one was about the recent DC earthquake).
Who wants to live in a country where whatever the national government is involved in is more important than what a celebrity is up to? I happen to enjoy civics and the study of government, but for most people it is simply boring. Why should everyday Americans need to keep their fingers on the pulse of Washington? That is why they have representatives. Let them live their lives.
Make the USG inconsequential.
(High minded intellectuals would argue that Americans should spend less time watching Perez Hilton and more time watching the PBS NewsHour. Maybe so but the instrument to affect such change should not be the federal government.)
Who wants to live in a country where whatever the national government is involved in is more important than what a celebrity is up to? I happen to enjoy civics and the study of government, but for most people it is simply boring. Why should everyday Americans need to keep their fingers on the pulse of Washington? That is why they have representatives. Let them live their lives.
Make the USG inconsequential.
(High minded intellectuals would argue that Americans should spend less time watching Perez Hilton and more time watching the PBS NewsHour. Maybe so but the instrument to affect such change should not be the federal government.)