Limited Government

By Brian Woods

A brief synopsis of why government should have a limited role within our lives.

Our nation's founding fathers realized these truths and set out to establish a governmental structure that allowed a limited government to meet the people's base needs, while at the same time placing numerous safeguards into the system that keeps government from becoming tyrannical.

Over the years, a philosophy has developed within our culture that seeks to utilize governmental authority to solve every problem or fix every ill. A new era has arisen where government is perceived to have the capacity to drive large societal agendas, and is encouraged to redistribute wealth and resources, with the presupposed notion that government's role is to lift people out of their circumstances.

This new philosophy is a perversion of government's original role in our lives and leads to a dissolution of the bonds that have previously held us together as a society. While it is easy for people to agree to form an alliance in order to provide for a common defense or to secure water supplies, it is much harder to find common ground in social welfare programs or in job development programs. When citizens routinely see tax money spent on social programs, instead of roads being paved; or when precious dollars are spent purchasing and preserving a historical cemetery, instead of providing the necessary funding needed to keep a child's library open, base support for government begins to erode.

As a limited government candidate, I seek to return government to its original role. I believe government exists to safeguard lives and property, provide for an orderly society, and to secure vital resources. Charity is best left to our churches and not-for-profit groups; and historical preservation is the role of citizen run historical societies. By returning government to its original role, government can more efficiently meet its legitimate obligations and be less of a burden upon the tax payer.

This November spend time thinking about the various programs your local government spends money on and then look at the conditions of your roads, parks, and emergency service agencies. Do you believe your government has properly prioritized its spending? Do you believe your government is limited in scope?