Keep out: Connect the dots and you will see why government doesn't work

As the campaign season nears, you will start to hear the siren calls as political hopefuls start telling you why they above all others should be the person who represents you in Washington.

Some will say it is to protect the government programs that you depend on, while others will say it is to cut back on the waste and to bring your tax dollars home.

And right now, it looks like we should all seriously consider paying a little closer attention to those who want to make government interference in our lives a little less prevalent.

Want evidence? Look around. Do you see any government program right now that is not beset with some sort of problem?

The health care wunderkind is a mess -- and it doesn't look like it will be anything any better anytime soon. The disability program is laced with fraud and bad management -- and is facing serious financial problems.

And we won't even look at the food stamps and other programs that we all witness malfunctioning every day.

Do we really need to put government in charge of anything else?

And yes, that was a rhetorical question.

There is a place for government -- as a stop-gap measure. It should not become a crutch or a substitute for providing the incentives, training and jobs people need.

There are plenty of people who could use a hand up, but we can't give it to them until we stop the flood of handouts.

That's just the way it is.

If we do not quell this latest round of misspent money, we will soon find more and more people in the line for these programs. They will not have any choice.

We need candidates who want to see more people succeed -- not who want to put more people on the government payroll.

And it is high time we figure out a way to make it happen.

Remember that as you listen to the speeches this coming year.

Published in Editorials on November 26, 2013 10:50 AM