What Is the Mission of Goverment

A

Agnosticus_Caesar

Fuck You Too
There are many who rely on ideology over reality. Many on the right think that THEY are the realists, but they are wrong.

When forced to answer the question posited by this thread, said right-wingers will realize that their ideological stance conflicts with how they see themselves...the good guy.

So, who has the intestinal fortitude to put forth their ideas of what a government's mission should be?
 
Agnosticus_Caesar said:
There are many who rely on ideology over reality. Many on the right think that THEY are the realists, but they are wrong.

When forced to answer the question posited by this thread, said right-wingers will realize that their ideological stance conflicts with how they see themselves...the good guy.

So, who has the intestinal fortitude to put forth their ideas of what a government's mission should be?
Click to expand...

ac

try the constitution
 
The problem with government in many areas is how do you stop it from expanding?
I think it's entirely realistic to believe that it does not stop, simply based on looking at history.
Which is why government needs to stick to certain roles and not expand into areas with even a minimal amount of presence.

It is simply not possible for government to be in the realm of social welfare and help without also introducing dependence and having their position expand into nearly all aspects of daily life, from food to retirement to healthcare to who know? Daycare? Car insurance? And on and on.
 
"ac

try the constitution"

The US Constitution is a framework of what "constitutes" OUR government. The question was...

What is the mission of government, generally speaking?
 
"The problem with government in many areas is how do you stop it from expanding?
I think it's entirely realistic to believe that it does not stop, simply based on looking at history.
Which is why government needs to stick to certain roles and not expand into areas with even a minimal amount of presence.

It is simply not possible for government to be in the realm of social welfare and help without also introducing dependence and having their position expand into nearly all aspects of daily life, from food to retirement to healthcare to who know? Daycare? Car insurance? And on and on."


The question wasn't "What should government NOT do"
 
The "problem" with this question is that if you define what a government SHOULD do, it might conflight with ideologies developed further downstream. One cannot reasonably push for lower taxes in all circumstances, when it can be shown that said ideology conflicts with part of the core mission of government.

Also, none of the quasi-anarcho-capitalists want to be on record as stating that "the general welfare" has no place in the core mission of government, even though their downstream ideology requires that it not be.
 
Watermark said:
When do you stop expanding? The government is just about the smallest it's been in 30 years.
Click to expand...

Do you honestly believe that? The budget is what, approaching $3 trillion now?
NCLB, medicare drug coverage, loosening requirements for unemployment and disability, Sarbanes-Oxley, wars, anti-tobacco regulations, environmental regulation increases, more subsidies. Where did you see it shrinking?
 
Great guestion AC!

I see not anyone is really trying to answer it.

Government is the people trying to secure their country and provide an atmosphere which enables the people to live free and prosper.

All the right (which includes the libertarian faction) seems to want to see is the power to meet these needs is taken from the people and left to the elements which want to completetly control the freemarket and the people.

The free market left without restraint devoles into market controled by the few who then employ what is left to control the people. Governments of free people in a democracy need to Place restraints on the entities who would monopolise and in so destroy the elements of the free market which provide a decent life for the masses.

The current republican party has embraced the entities which seek to control the people through economic means. A truely healthy free market does not exsist long unless the people have the power (through government ) to balence out the powers which seek to end true free markets by means of monoplizing market powers.


There are many good ,decent and bright people who have been handed a pipe dream of the market as self correcting to the benifit of the people. Please dump the pipe dream and help us create the proper legislation which can balence the free market forces to ensure its health and prosperity.

Once the American people face the facts and stop fighting each other we can prevail. If there ever was a time it is now.
 
TheDanold said:
Do you honestly believe that? The budget is what, approaching $3 trillion now?
NCLB, medicare drug coverage, loosening requirements for unemployment and disability, Sarbanes-Oxley, wars, anti-tobacco regulations, environmental regulation increases, more subsidies. Where did you see it shrinking?
Click to expand...

So what?

Have you ever heard of inflation? Reagan fire-bombed the government to almost by almost a quarter.
 
I would say that the mission of the government should be to keep order in the country.

In other words, "establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defence, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity" from the Preamble of the Constitution of the United States of America.

Beyond that all efforts of the government should be in an effort to acheive the above.

Immie
 
I would say that the mission of the government should be to keep order in the country.

In other words, "establish Justice,"


Isn't that a bit difficult, when judges are called "activist" when they don'y regurgitate right-wing ideology?"

" insure domestic Tranquility,"


Hard to do, when the bulk of your National Guard is in Iraq

" provide for the common defence"

See Above



, "promote the general Welfare",

Not when lower taxes takes precedence

" and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity"

Unless you are labeled an "Unlawful Combatant", which any of us could be, without legal recourse, if Bush and Co have their way

" from the Preamble of the Constitution of the United States of America."

Which means nothing to NeoCons...Other than an obstacle.

Beyond that all efforts of the government should be in an effort to acheive the above.

Immie
 
Agnosticus_Caesar said:
There are many who rely on ideology over reality. Many on the right think that THEY are the realists, but they are wrong.

When forced to answer the question posited by this thread, said right-wingers will realize that their ideological stance conflicts with how they see themselves...the good guy.

So, who has the intestinal fortitude to put forth their ideas of what a government's mission should be?
Click to expand...

Our governments mission is outlined in our constituiton. Our government was established to serve the people, we now serve it.
 
uscitizen said:
Our governments mission is outlined in our constituiton. Our government was established to serve the people, we now serve it.
Click to expand...

Right on. This is absolutely correct. The government's role is to take the power they have, as outlined in the constitution, and use such power to protect peoples rights, as prescribed by the Constitution.

Now, a common fad is to start fuzzying the line as to what is a right or what isn't. And the more that happens, the more the constitution becomes irrelevant to the folks who are working dilligently at fuzzying that line. There's people who wish to subvert the 2nd amendment, and there's people who wish to subvert the 1st, and the 10th. These folks are on both sides of the aisle. Sadly enough, political pressure seems to have circumvented the constitution in many arenas.

In short, the role of the government is to protet rights, not to grant them or take them away, but to protect them. Obviously, this hasn't been the case forever, but ultimately, that's the role.
 
Agnosticus_Caesar said:
I would say that the mission of the government should be to keep order in the country.

In other words, "establish Justice,"


Isn't that a bit difficult, when judges are called "activist" when they don'y regurgitate right-wing ideology?"

" insure domestic Tranquility,"


Hard to do, when the bulk of your National Guard is in Iraq

" provide for the common defence"

See Above



, "promote the general Welfare",

Not when lower taxes takes precedence

" and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity"

Unless you are labeled an "Unlawful Combatant", which any of us could be, without legal recourse, if Bush and Co have their way

" from the Preamble of the Constitution of the United States of America."

Which means nothing to NeoCons...Other than an obstacle.
Click to expand...

What do any of your comments have to do with the mission of the government? The mission is the same regardless of how efficiently they are achieving the goal.

Difficult to accomplish when judges are called activist? No, sticks and stones may break my bones but names will never hurt me.

Hard to accomplish when the bulk of the National Guard is in Iraq? Well, I am one of the few (conservative or liberal) that said that the day we got Saddam we should have begun our withdrawal. Also, I don't see too much internal strife here, plenty of grumbling (and I am doing my share of that) but not much more than that.

Can't promote General Welfare when lower taxes take precedence? Well, there is a point when even a government stretches itself too thin. I'm afraid we may be approaching that point. I'd be all for reassessing how we spend our tax dollars though.

"Unless you are labeled an "Unlawful Combatant", which any of us could be, without legal recourse, if Bush and Co have their way"

I'm flattered! I've been saying that very thing for six years ever since he introduced the Patroit Act. At least someone is listening.

Immie
 
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Agnosticus_Caesar said:
These kids don't want to challenge me. That's the smartest thing they could do.
Click to expand...

Instead of looking for a "challenge" .. how about putting forth your own concept of what government should do, then engage in a conversation about it?

I'm betting that neither you or anyone else has the end-all answer to your open-ended question.
 
uscitizen said:
Our governments mission is outlined in our constituiton. Our government was established to serve the people, we now serve it.
Click to expand...


That was the mission THEN, but that mission has radically changed since the role of government is no longer to serve the interests of white land-owners and bankers almost exclusively.

The Constitution is a frame-work for government .. period.
 
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