Congress Wants to Grow Their Business

We love growth. America loves bigger, better and faster. CEOs strive to grow their businesses. because Wall Street worships growth. College football coaches love it when players get bigger in the weight room. We like our savings accounts and IRAs to grow. Growth, growth, growth. If you consider the modern mindset of America, it really makes sense that our elected officials love growth, too. They are essentially the CEOs of America. They run the business we call Government. What do CEOs do? They get more customers and grow their businesses. This is how companies survive and thrive. Modern day government works in the same way. However, bigger is not always better when it comes to government. Actually, for the real CEOs of America, a bigger government is often a worst case scenario. Just ask anyone currently in the health care industry. Most people do not realize it, but bigger government often times makes the average citizen worse off.

Over the past few decades there has hardly been a government official who can claim that he or she did not grow government in some way. The citizens of the United States are the customers in this scenario (called Life), and every customer is a potential vote. In the private business world people vote with dollars by buying products. Apple grows its business by making the iPod better and better every year to get more people buy it. Government largely works in the same way. The different is that the "products" that the Government comes up with (think Social Security, health care, regulations etc.) are not always needed. These "products" also cost money, but to get this money the government must first take the money away from you and me by force. We don't have the choice of whether or not to "buy" government services like we do with an iPod. Most of the time when government offers someone a "product" it takes away liberty and responsibility in some way. It's a "you won't have to worry about it anymore because we'll take care of it for you" offering, and this is how politicians keep their jobs. If they don't have enough customers/votes then they lose their jobs. How do politicians get votes? They give you tangible stuff. Usually this involves something like a tax credit, a new government agency, welfare, health care, a neighborhood park, newly paved roads etc. These are all tangible things ("products") that people notice. Politicians then turn around and say "look what I put in your hands." Unfortunately, most people don't realize that our country was founded on and grew to greatness via government giving people the intangibles, the things we cannot see or touch, mainly liberty.

Most people do not notice liberty. We have this notion in America these days that the government must fix all of our problems. This takes away an important aspect of liberty: the freedom to fail. Liberty has become equated with success. Liberty has become equated with money. Liberty has become equated with health care and security. As I said previously, America was founded on the principle of liberty. The Founding Fathers wanted everyone to have it, and this is how some people get away with touting "liberty," although their definitions of liberty are far different from that of the Founding Fathers .

These days, having liberty means everyone must succeed. Success isn't a choice anymore. It has almost become a requirement. Liberty has become synonymous with everything except failure. People write their congressional representatives and say "I cannot play because I do not have a park near my house." 200 years ago you would be told to walk to one or move. If you don't then you have failed, because you have been given the liberty to take these actions. They say "I cannot pay my mortgage. Help me!" If you took out a loan that you could not afford to pay back then you have failed, because you have been given the liberty to buy a smaller house that you could afford. These days, however, your congressperson needs your vote, so she responds by giving you more welfare or a tax credit or a mortgage bailout or a neighborhood park.

This is how government grows. When you have 535 members of Congress sending money to their constituents in one way or another the growth simply compounds. America rewards growth. Like I said, it's only natural that government wants to grow their "business." The more things they have to manage, the more things for which they can take credit. The more things in your life they can take credit for, the more they get noticed and the more votes they get. We no longer reward the liberty of 200+ years ago, because the definition of liberty has changed. Popular liberty now equals having to take care of less and less within your own life. Liberty currently means "I don't have to take care of it, because the government will do it for me. I can do whatever I want to do." The Declaration of Independence says we all have the right to Liberty, so Congress gives the people what they want: "liberty," albeit the newly defined popular liberty.

If we are going to redefine liberty in this way then we need to throw out the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution and replace them. We currently reward our government for doing the exact opposite of what our country was founded upon while simultaneously allowing our elected officials to trample on the intent of the Founders using their own words. It's the ultimate historical kick in the face. As long as we keep voting for candidates who will grow their business we will continue to lose true liberty. I would gladly vote for a congressional candidate who puts nothing tangible in my hands other than liberty as defined by the Founders.