Someone soon is going to have the courage to stand up and say “government is a good thing: I like it because it works

Posted on May 6 2011

The FT notes this morning that the Republicans in the US are divided over their Medicare plans.

I guess that any rational observer won't be to surprised about that. A budget plan that guarantees most elderly people in the US will be left without adequate health care at the time in their lives when they'll need it most is not a sure fire vote winner, either with the elderly or their children who will be picking up the tab. That is what Republican Paul Ryan has recommended though.

Now the backlash within the Republican party has begun. They're not all Tea Party fanatics yet, after all.

But the backlash has its limits. Again, as the FT notes apparently "nothing is off the table except raising taxes".

No doubt they think that's an election winning strategy. Well, I'm not American and have a birth certificate to prove it. But I think they may be wrong. Sometime, quite soon people are going to realise tat paying tax is the cheapest way to get the things they really want for their families like healthcare, education, housing, protection against unemployment and related to that, of course, good jobs, employment security, a stable environment in which business can flourish, and more.

Sometime soon someone is going to have the courage to stand up and say "government is a good thing: I like it because it works".

And all around them people will think for a moment and say "that's cool, he or she is right."

It'll be a transformational moment both side of the Atlantic.

And I genuinely think it's coming your way soon.

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4 Responses

  1. Fergal O'Shea says:
    May 6 2011 at 1:41 pm

    Hi Richard,

    Couldn’t agree more. Sooner or later, the Republicans are going to destroy themselves. They’re just a lunatic right wing fringe party these days.

    Interested in your opinion on this Guardian commentary:
    http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2011/may/06/land-value-tax-david-cooper

    Thanks,
    Fergal O’Shea

  2. Tim says:
    May 6 2011 at 2:07 pm

    After the fiasco of the last 10-20-30 years and gross economic mismanagement on behalf of governments of the western world, and the corruption/collusion with big business, I would suggest the last thing we need is more “Government”. We need smaller business and smaller government.

    What we need is civic management on a local level to the degree that people are actually understanding what they are deciding. As you share, in many ways, a philosophical bed with the NEF, I am not sure you can promote more big government which simply cannot extract itself from big business.

    • Richard Murphy says:
      May 6 2011 at 2:57 pm

      Sorry to disagree

      I do not see necessary link between big business and big gov’;t

      And I see small gov’t as very bad for NEF objectives

      Read the Green New Deal

      • Brian says:
        May 7 2011 at 12:36 pm

        But would not big business in a successful economy pay much toward that? If not,there would be no need to worry too much about low corporation tax!