“Government is Not the Answer”, but They’re Also Not the Problem

John Roberts recently threw up a major league rant on Panhandle Politico. The piece rails on government's current spending habits. In his not-so subtle attack on the spending by the American government, Roberts concludes that they’re currently spending way too much and it’s repulsive. He says government should get out of his way and stop taxing him so that he can make as much money as possible.

Is the government really stifling capitalist growth in America? Who says we spend too much?

For one thing, people involved in private enterprise need the government to keep the capitalism train a-rollin’. Without the government, the capital holders wouldn't be able to get more of it. There's a lot of government spending that’s very important and most of us wouldn’t agree to give it up. The government spends money on very important services that we all need. What are they?

Services like roads, military bases, communications technology, airports, railways and ports are essential. These things keep our economy running smoothly. Without them, capital would go to waste. Capitalists need government, just like government needs capital.

Unfortunately, these services are not cheap and government needs to keep spending more money to keep up with the growth that capitalists create.

The government’s current spending habits are not the problem per se. The problem is they don’t spend it well.