A Most Impractical Guide To Small Government

Part 3 -- Simplify and Rationalize Public Policy

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   The first installment of An Impractical Guide established that critical thinking, as a national value and widespread among an enlightened populace, is necessary to bring about positive change in America. http://www.opednews.com/articles/An-Impractical-Guide-To-Sm-by-Larry-Butler-Children_Culture_Economic_Economics-131021-896.html   The second installment suggested that critical thinking be applied to a fundamental evalutation of public policies such as taxation.   <> But all this effort means nothing without action; we must create new solutions that replace today's inefficient and inequitable public policies.

   To have arrived at this point in our revolution, critical thinking must have been restored as a national value, and critical thinkers must have actively evaluated public policies.   A democratic society that has not progressed this far will be vulnerable to the influence and propaganda of traditional vested interests.

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   Let's see where we already agree.   First of all, consider the valid roles of the federal government.   I believe that they include:   (1) Champion and protector of individual rights; (2) Champion and protector of equal opportunity; and (3) Champion and protector of the common good.

   If you agree, please continue reading.   Feel free to add any other categories that you feel may fall outside the three listed above, but remember to keep it simple.

   This phase reminds us that critical thinking is not necessarily an end to itself.   Our founding fathers took the ideas of the best thinkers of their day and set them in motion.   They created a new nation and the public policies that defined it.   We desperately need to do the same today, and you can be sure that it will be the hardest element of our own revolution.

   Within the context of critical thought, the process of simplifying a system will also serve to rationalize it.   By carefully and critically analyzing the fundamentals of an issue, we can devise solutions in the form of new structures and processes that are more direct, compact, and rational.   Government becomes more practical, more equitable, more effective, and more efficient.   And smaller.

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