4 ms·

Do you think reducing the size of the government, meaning the offices, bureaucrats, and some of the regulations, might help?

analog31 6y ago
No. My state has been doing those things, and has just been digging itself deeper onto the hole. It's hard to imagine them trying any harder. Most importantly, we've been waiving environmental regulations, either overtly or through lack of enforcement. Our courts have already forbidden the government from implementing statewide public health policy during the COVID crisis. Our state motto is "Open for Business." Bars and restaurants are in full swing throughout a large portion of the state. If our drinking water becomes toxic, we're kind of screwed. The two biggies are wages and taxes because those things affect the bottom line in an immediate and measurable way. Everything else is a smoke screen.
- boznz 6y ago
  Agree with everything but with a different conclusion. Yes. Regulations need to concentrate on basics that keep you safe and the infrastructure running, however most of local (and central) government these days is to micro-manage everything and produce statistics for how good they are doing.
  - analog31 6y ago
    Maybe that's a matter of geographic variation. It's certainly a cause celebre for the conservative press, but I'm not sure that it's materialized in my locale, a mid sized city in the US Midwest. I run a small business, and have literally never had to interact with the city or county government. Here in the US, local governments are responsible for managing their own schools, police, and so forth. So they face a larger attack surface for suspicions of micro-management and bureaucracy. The prosperity of any smaller city in the US Midwest depends to a large extent on what industries it's lucky enough to attract, most importantly hospitals and universities. Mine also happens to be the seat of state government. The government of the county that I live in has been exemplary in managing the public health response to the COVID in the face of a total leadership vacuum at both the state and federal level. We're one of the most prosperous counties in the state, yet we are believed to be the county that is suffering the most under activist government.

analog31 6y ago

No. My state has been doing those things, and has just been digging itself deeper onto the hole. It's hard to imagine them trying any harder. Most importantly, we've been waiving environmental regulations, either overtly or through lack of enforcement. Our courts have already forbidden the government from implementing statewide public health policy during the COVID crisis. Our state motto is "Open for Business." Bars and restaurants are in full swing throughout a large portion of the state. If our drinking water becomes toxic, we're kind of screwed. The two biggies are wages and taxes because those things affect the bottom line in an immediate and measurable way. Everything else is a smoke screen.

boznz 6y ago
Agree with everything but with a different conclusion. Yes. Regulations need to concentrate on basics that keep you safe and the infrastructure running, however most of local (and central) government these days is to micro-manage everything and produce statistics for how good they are doing.
- analog31 6y ago
  Maybe that's a matter of geographic variation. It's certainly a cause celebre for the conservative press, but I'm not sure that it's materialized in my locale, a mid sized city in the US Midwest. I run a small business, and have literally never had to interact with the city or county government. Here in the US, local governments are responsible for managing their own schools, police, and so forth. So they face a larger attack surface for suspicions of micro-management and bureaucracy. The prosperity of any smaller city in the US Midwest depends to a large extent on what industries it's lucky enough to attract, most importantly hospitals and universities. Mine also happens to be the seat of state government. The government of the county that I live in has been exemplary in managing the public health response to the COVID in the face of a total leadership vacuum at both the state and federal level. We're one of the most prosperous counties in the state, yet we are believed to be the county that is suffering the most under activist government.