A possible philosophy and a possible message - Granite Grok

A possible philosophy and a possible message

There is some serious discussion over at The Next Right about the future of the Republican Party and how it should proceed.  With Obama’s heading at tilt speed to recreate not Clinton’s third term but FDR’s fourth (and it’s failed socialist policies of Knyesian spending and a Second Bill of Rights", we should be able to articulate a better message. 

An Agenda of Equal Opportunity: The New Contract with America?

The Message

So if I were a Republican candidate for elected office, how would I use an Agenda of Equal Opportunity to speak to Average Joe voters?

  • "It’s not about what government can tax, spend and create. It’s about how government can contribute to promoting equal opportunity for you. It’s not government’s job to promise success. It’s government’s job to give everyone the equal opportunity to succeed. It’s not government’s job to make history. It’s government’s job to help people on Main Street make history."
  • "Politicians have to be honest with you. In a free market society, in a democracy, there are winners and losers. We can’t promise that your start-up business will grow. We can’t promise that you’ll keep your job forever. We can’t promise that you’ll become a millionaire. But if you work hard and play by the rules, we can promise that we won’t get in your way if you want to start a business. We can promise you the equal opportunity to get a job. And government can promise you accountability and transparency of the tax dollars you give us."
  • "Too often, politicians focus on what they can do to make things better over the next two years, four years or six years, without regard to what happens over the next two, four or six decades. It’s time to take on the long term problems that will affect our country’s ability to prosper. It’s time to start thinking about tomorrow, rather than today, to make sure that the same opportunities that exist today will also exist tomorrow."

Part II of the Series adds this:

So how does all of this relate to the Agenda of Equal Opportunity? Simple. Not only is it government’s job to provide equal opportunity (and not equal outcomes) through the law, substantively. It is also government’s job to provide equal opportunity procedurally through the daily operations of government. The principles involved are just as simple, and are easy to communicate:

  • Money is not the fix-all to all of society’s and government’s problems. Everybody knows that throwing money at a problem doesn’t necessarily create a solution. In order to create equal opportunity for those interested in using government money wisely, government should adopt "investment principles" instead of "spending priorities," paying attention to outputs as well as inputs of government agencies.
  • Smaller government means smarter government, and vice versa. Smaller, smarter government doesn’t only mean reducing the size of government. It also means government regulating the externalities of market forces, not the market itself.
  • Government should not be in the business of picking winners and losers. (This is the tie-in to Samuelson’s argument.) When government does pick winners and losers, through the tax code or the budget or the administrative code, it can lead to problems. "Special interests" don’t create problems for government; bigger government leads to more "special interests."

I’m sure individuals, businesses and other organizations don’t want to spend money for lobbyists. So instead of relying on who can get the best lobbyist inside the Beltway, instead of trying to compete for the attention of lawmakers, instead of attempting to get the government to distort the market in their favor, the American people should rely on their creativity and ingenuity to compete and succeed in society. All government needs to do is give them the equal opportunity to do so. A smaller, smarter government that can truly provide equal opportunity will also be a "cleaner" government. Let’s not concede the intellectual battleground on the size and the role of government … especially now!

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