The Role of the Government

With all this talk of stimulating the economy and how best to do it, I've been wondering what the role of the government really is in our society. I've always been taught that while the government should be there to help and support it's citizens, creating laws and regulating them, that in the matters of the economy we as Americans support a free market style. Anything with high governmental control begins to stink of socialism. The government has control in our schools, our health care, how a significant portion of our money is spent and now, they've begun to move in on our banks, our companies, all in the name of economic stimulation.

Is this a bad thing? Quite frankly, I don't know. I am not going to claim to have wisdom in the subject of the economy. Logically, it makes sense that it is better the government put its own stakes in companies rather than have them go under, claiming bankruptcy.

I begin to wonder what the Founding Fathers would say about President Obama's economic policies. Would they congratulate him on his initiative or would the give him a word of warning. How I wish that we could talk to them, learn from their wisdom. How much closer were they to God than our leaders of today? Were their policies more guided by the hand of the Lord? Are President Obama's?

No one can deny that Obama means well. It is obvious that he cares highly for the country and will do all that is in his power as leader of the free world, to turn around the current dismal condition. I also support what he's trying to accomplish. I agree that our education needs improvement, that we need a more green and conservative energy system--theses are all good things that I fully support. I, however, still have an uneasy feeling about it all. 3 trillion dollars is a lot of money. What happens if things don't turn out as planned? I hope Obama's policies work as well as he thinks they will but I will not deny a fear of the reprocussions of their failure.

What really is the role of the government? Is it the place of the government to step in and take over if need be? Like a parent trying to right the bad choices in their child's life, or should it be left open, to the private sector to deal with. The private sector doesn't have the same kind of budget or power individually as the government does. While the climb may be shortened, so will the fall.