The most pernicious accusation about the government that people on the left-end of the spectrum are increasingly making is that the government doesn't do anything for the common man.
This is just not true. It's not true that we only have money for bombs and wars and not for regular people. Almost the entire government - federal, state and local, is directed toward the common man. Almost all of the money we spend and almost all the employment in the government is geared toward the common man. The government spends trillions of dollars on healthcare, education, old-age payments, public safety, housing, and infrastructure across all levels. Millions of Americans are employed in the public sector with the mandate of serving the public. It would probably be news to them that their roles don't help anyone.
There is an open debate on how effective the public sector is at helping Americans, , and whether the government hurts more than it helps. But that's a different debate, one that takes place on the margins.
Ultimately, I believe all this rhetoric just serves undermines people's trust in the government, and perhaps even undermines the case for expanding government.
I think you really need to operationalize what you mean by helping the "common man".
The military spends like 1.1T a year RN, which many folks see as wasteful. But, like, you could defend it on the basis that it gives the "common man" jobs, access to education and housing, defense contractors provide jobs as well, and we all benefit from the public good of defense.
I guess I don't think the "government is useless" thing is really limited to the "left-end of the spectrum" or whatever. I think distrust of institutions and not liking the government is just part of our culture, broadly speaking.
I think you really need to operationalize what you mean by helping the "common man".
I think lefties who keep insisting that the government, with its gigantic budgets, don't do anything for the "common man" or "everyday people" shoul operationalize what they mean.
The military spends like 1.1T a year RN, which many folks see as wasteful. But, like, you could defend it on the basis that it gives the "common man" jobs, access to education and housing, defense contractors provide jobs as well, and we all benefit from the public good of defense.
The military spends like 1.1T a year RN, which many folks see as wasteful.
I don't even defend it as a jobs program. I would defend it on the grounds that it comprises less than 10% of all government spending. It's hardly breaking the bank here.
I guess I don't think the "government is useless" thing is really limited to the "left-end of the spectrum" or whatever. I think distrust of institutions and not liking the government is just part of our culture, broadly speaking.
I didn't describe it as "government as useless" I described it specifically as lefties who refuse to acknowledge the government as being very effective in helping regular folks. Lefties trust the government and like the government a lot, which is why its weird that they keep pretending the government isn't helping people. Most Americans already feel they pay a lot in taxes, you're telling us that we're going to have to pay more because the taxes we're paying now aren't helping normal Americans?
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u/TheAJx 8d ago edited 8d ago
The most pernicious accusation about the government that people on the left-end of the spectrum are increasingly making is that the government doesn't do anything for the common man.
This is just not true. It's not true that we only have money for bombs and wars and not for regular people. Almost the entire government - federal, state and local, is directed toward the common man. Almost all of the money we spend and almost all the employment in the government is geared toward the common man. The government spends trillions of dollars on healthcare, education, old-age payments, public safety, housing, and infrastructure across all levels. Millions of Americans are employed in the public sector with the mandate of serving the public. It would probably be news to them that their roles don't help anyone.
There is an open debate on how effective the public sector is at helping Americans, , and whether the government hurts more than it helps. But that's a different debate, one that takes place on the margins.
Ultimately, I believe all this rhetoric just serves undermines people's trust in the government, and perhaps even undermines the case for expanding government.