Is the era of big government over???

[Nutmegger]

As many of you know, Clinton made this statement.

I really like the thought of "big government"....

http://www.cnn.com/US/9601/budget/01-27/clinton_radio/

You think it's over? Is "big government" something that can be obtained as it was in the past?

On edit: I'm talking about the big government that benefits the people not the one we're living under today. Particularly strong, public social programs and involvement in the markets.

From Wiki:
Big government is a pejorative term generally used by political conservatives or advocates of laissez-faire to describe the government of their country as excessively large or inefficient, or as inappropriately involved in certain areas of public policy.

Commentators who use the term are typically concerned about government delivery of public-support programs, and government involvement in the formulation and implementation of laws and policies concerning civil rights, social justice and social welfare.

On the other hand, such commentators are often supportive of capital punishment, stronger executive powers for government, a larger criminal justice system (particularly in terms of police and prisons), and a powerful military.

Some populist commentators combine criticism of "big government" with criticism of "big business," casting them as an alliance against the public. Others include "big labor," although this connection would be somewhat contrived in many countries, such as the United States, where organized labor often has distinctly populist goals.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Big_government

[Sammy Pepys]

1. What do you mean exactly?

That you like "the thought of big government?"

Just looking for clarification...

[Nutmegger]

3. Social programs mainly

What else could mean "big government"??? I don't want my government telling me what to do.

Sorry for the confusion.

[BurgherHoldtheLies]

2. This admin. has spent the most /created the most intrusive gov't EVER

That's my definition of BIG government and we're living it.

[LisaLynne]

5. I agree.

The "anti-big government" rhetoric is really just another one of the Repug lies. They LOVE big government. They just don't want the government to help anybody. They just want people bombed, locked up, and spied on. But, that takes a LOT of government!

[Nutmegger]

6. Well that's true

Okay, this of an example of big government for the worse.

[BlueEyedSon]

4. Yes, it has been replaced by the era af HUGE, PERVASIVE government.

[BurgherHoldtheLies]

9. Well said!

:toast:

[BlueEyedSon]

11. And did I mention "outsourced" and "privatized"?

[BlueEyedSon]

14. I forgot "secretive", "spying" and "theocratic"!

[Just Me]

12. Agreed. We are living in the worst kind of "big government".

;(

[mmonk]

7. Define big government.

If you mean public spending on the poor, disabled, elderly, and such, then it definitely is in decline. If you mean in actual terms, the answer is no. We have become the world's largest military state with no slowdown in the horizon and public money being funneled into private hands is at an all time high. We are creating a massive security state, the world's biggest big brother, and spending like crazy while borrowing the money. Debt comes due in one form or another to somebody. No, we are forming the ultimate big government with no real benefits.

[Nite Owl]

8. Well I'd go back to Clinton's

idea of big government being over:

We will meet these challenges, not through big government. The era of big government is over, but we can't go back to a time when our citizens were just left to fend for themselves.

We will meet them by going forward as one America, by working together in our communities, our schools, our churches and synagogues, our workplaces across the entire spectrum of our civic life.

As we move forward with tomorrow's challenges, we also must take care of yesterday's unfinished business. First, we must balance the budget. In the 12 years before I took office the deficit skyrocketed and our national debt quadrupled.

I came to Washington determined to act, and we did. In the first three years of our administration -- thanks to the Deficit Reduction Act of 1993 -- we cut the deficit nearly in half. In fact, our budget would be in balance today were it not for the interest payments we have to make on the debt that accumulated in the 12 years before I took office.

http://www.cnn.com/US/9601/budget/01-27/clinton_radio/



We have big government now and during any repuke reign. They speak in the law of opposites, they are what they say liberals are, they are the spenders---just not on us.

[VelmaD]

10. I think I'll pass on the Clinton vision...

thanks all the same. I'm still embarassed to be a member of the same party as the man who pushed through "welfare reform". *sigh*

[BillZBubb]

13. Of course not.

Big government is here to stay. Society is complex. That necessitates a large government.

The problem is not the size of government per se, but how that government is used.