

10. Twilight's Last Gleaming?
''Downsizing"
is a popular buzzword today. Word
has it from Cato Institute's Stephen Moore, that 200
years ago, and on the eve of Thomas Jefferson's
election as President, our nation's capitol was relocated
to Washington, D.C. on the south bank of the Potomac.
This was accomplished in part, to placate southern
legislators. All federal government reports, documents,
etc. that existed were filed into 12 crates for the
journey by road to the new, permanent nation's capitol.
Back then, there were 3,000 federal employees,
compared to 18,000,000 governmental employees at all
levels today. The bare bones budget was equivalent to
$100 million in current dollars, compared to a $1.6
trillion federal budget today. Indeed, " ...
provide for
the common defense ...,"
was given more priority
then; it was far less expensive and expansive
than to
" ...
promote the general welfare.... "
What then should we do regarding economic policy?
We can fiddle around or go back to the policies of
former civilizations. If we do that, we will most
certainly be drawn further to the left, any hope of
reversing fiscal irresponsibility will be lost. Our taxes
will soar.
Government, the bureaucracy, and
regulations will continue to gobble up the American
ingenuity, that enterprising spirit that once was the
hallmark of our nation's success.
But there is another alternative. We can muster up
the courage, gird up our loins, and resolve to make
some hard decisions. Further, we can stick with these
decisions and repair the damage that big government
has done to our economic and individual freedoms.
Only in that way can we then expect people to work,
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