Government is the Problem

Over the last two decades, many so-called conservatives seem to have forgotten one of the most important, bedrock principles of conservatism — fiscal conservatism!

Another forgotten principle is the one President Reagan famously espoused: “Government is the problem.” I cannot stress this point strongly enough. More government is never the solution to whatever problem you believe needs to be solved, which makes it extremely problematic when conservatives start advocating for higher taxes, increased spending, or additional government employees.

Let me be clear. As a fiscal conservative, I cannot (and will not) support any increases in taxation or government spending. Period. Full stop.

This doesn’t mean we can’t work to make government less harmful. What I do support (and the strategy I encourage conservatives to embrace) is shifting government spending — at or below existing levels — away from the worst things government does toward priorities that are more free-market oriented and less harmful to individual self-reliance.

For example, conservatives should support shifting funding away from government schools into education choice tax credits for families who choose not to subject their children to the leftist indoctrination of state schools. This is a way to reduce the harm caused by government and to shift education into the free market.

Similarly, conservatives should support efforts to defund Medicaid (and other forms of government healthcare) and shift that money into things like tax deductions or tax credits for health savings accounts that encourage people to save money and purchase needed healthcare services in the free market.

As somewhat of an aside, the way we fund most healthcare in this country is illogical. Insurance should be for unlikely and catastrophic events. You don’t use car insurance for brakes or tires and we shouldn’t be using health insurance for health maintenance expenses either. Normal, anticipatable expenses should be paid for out of savings, which is why we need fully tax-free, uncapped health savings accounts.

Of course, the best option for real government reform would be to fully defund all redistributive programs and return the money to taxpayers through proportional tax cuts, leaving the provision of all goods and services including education and healthcare entirely to the free market. We’re a long way from even attempting such goals, unfortunately.

The critical point here is that growing government is always the wrong choice, and conservatives should never support or vote for a budget or policy proposal that increases government spending. Claiming to be conservative while supporting fiscal profligacy is hypocrisy at best, if not full-on duplicity.

Government is not the solution. It’s the problem. Never forget it.