http://www.marketwatch.com/story/the-10-best-things-government-has-done-for-us-2011-09-26?dist=beforebellWASHINGTON (MarketWatch) — “The government is the problem,” they say. “The government can’t create jobs.” Or: “The government should just get out of the way.” How many times over the past three — or 30 — years have you heard conservatives (and even a few liberals) say that there’s no role for government in fixing our economy?
They’re wrong, but this constant refrain is having an impact on our political system; it’s narrowing our options as we struggle with excessive unemployment, burdensome debt and wasted lives.
As often as this anti-government cliché is repeated, few politicians actually believe it. Republicans are just as quick as Democrats to ask for federal funding for local projects — funds that they know improve the lives of voters. Despite what they say for political effect, everyone knows that the government can do a lot to create the right conditions for prosperity. There are very few true libertarians in America, people who believe that the best government is no government at all.
Look, don’t get me wrong: I don’t think the government is perfect. Any institution that can execute an innocent man, or fight an immoral war, or steal a whole continent, or reward failed banks can certainly be improved. Government wastes lots of money. Governments can make things worse by introducing perverse incentives for us to do things that are inefficient and idiotic. Governments can be corrupt, heavy-handed, even evil.
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