I have often been accused, as an elected Budget Committee member, of having an agenda. Well, I’ve been pretty open about actually having one – and this chart almost perfectly sums it up. This image pretty much says why I do what I do and how I approach the Proper Role of Government:
(H/T: Big Journalism)
And this does not reflect my view of the Proper Role of Government – it actually shows the antithesis of it. It shows, in spending terms, how the Progressive view of government (Democrats have been responsible for much of this but certainly Republicans own a share of this as well).
My agenda:
Why should the rise of Government spending outstrip that of the normal working family (which is pretty much in line with the rate of inflation)?
And when I have challenged people on their condescending answer of "times have changed" to my question of "who screwed it up – WHY does government have to be bigger?", pretty much, no one can give me a great answer other than a wafty, gauzy type bromide along the lines of:
- people are hurting
- the needs are growing
- we can’t do it ourselves
Frankly, I think the translated answer is more like:
Rare it is that I would find myself on the contrary side of anything in GraniteGrok, populated as it is with genuine New Hampshire Patriots always ready to contend for individual freedom. Nor would I expect to argue against the formidable Steve MacDonald, with whom I have been happy to rhetorically stand elbow-to-elbow in the grand work of re-claiming limited government for all. Yet, here we are, diverging at last over the question of marriage, and the state’s authority to regulate it.