McCotter/Ryan "What Is Government For?"

There are serious thinkers in Congress who have begun to examine the question "What is Government for?".

Paul Ryan's brought up the topic a couple of times--last night he mentioned it again.

Thad McCotter, who could easily be defined as a 'son of the sage of Mecosta' is another.

...transforming Washington’s centralized and suffocating bureaucracy will require reaffirming or reorienting root assumptions about the role of government in our lives.

The American consensus rightly holds that workers, innovators and entrepreneurs have made our economy the most prosperous and equitable in human history; and, further, holds that within our economy a social safety net is both necessary and just. This is why, from the consent of the governed, Americans support government helping those who cannot help themselves; and that, wherever possible, such assistance must be temporary and must promote a citizen’s return from governmental dependence to self-reliance.

McCotter recognizes that the Party of FDR and LBJ will not do what's necessary; but he also understands that a lot of (R) folk don't get it:

If, however, Republicans simply parley amidst the ruins of the welfare state, a rhetorically skilled President will conflate opposing his means with opposing shared goals; paint the GOP as heartless accountants; drag the costly, decrepit carcass of the welfare state one small step further into the 21st Century and America one giant leap toward ruin.

Yup.

This, then, is the true state of our union: a nation grappling with the present, grasping for the future; and, all the while, transforming today into tomorrow. High time their servants in Congress did the same by burying the welfare state’s crumbling remnants; nurturing a 21st Century “citizen driven government”; and ensuring the last, best hope of earth’s future remains in the safest hands of all – yours.

The time is now.

Ryan, in his SOTU response:

ROLE OF GOVERNMENT: “We believe government’s role is both vital and limited – to defend the nation from attack and provide for the common defense … to secure our borders… to protect innocent life… to uphold our laws and Constitutional rights … to ensure domestic tranquility and equal opportunity … and to help provide a safety net for those who cannot provide for themselves. We believe that the government has an important role to create the conditions that promote entrepreneurship, upward mobility, and individual responsibility. We believe, as our founders did, that ‘the pursuit of happiness’ depends upon individual liberty; and individual liberty requires limited government. Limited government also means effective government. When government takes on too many tasks, it usually doesn’t do any of them very well. It’s no coincidence that trust in government is at an all-time low now that the size of government is at an all-time high.” --quoted at AOSHQ

He elaborated a bit on McCotter's foundation and moves the (R) position to something a LOT better than "Dr. No."

The time is now.