ParisTampaBlog

Sometimes I think that this is the only important question confronting the elected leaders of our democracy: Is it the proper and essential role of government to most of all promote fairness or opportunity?

Current government spending habits seem to come down on the side of fairness, given that current spending bills will, if nothing is done to change them, grow domestic programs by 12.1%, even with current inflation numbers running close to zero. (See: The Spending Rolls On)

Of course government should promote both fairness and opportunity, but as between liberty and equality a line between the two kinds of government action is almost impossible to draw, especially by the politicians who lead us and who are most of all bent on their own survival.

I’ve taken the following quotation from an op ed piece in today’s Wall Street Journal, Why Government Health Care Keeps Falling in the Polls, by Arthur Brooks, president of the American Enterprise Institute and author of “The Battle: How the Fight Between Free Enterprise and Big Government Will Shape America’s Future,” to be published by Basic Books next June.

Most people in the survey mentioned come down on the side of opportunity. Hard to believe in our rapidly expanding fairness by entitlement country. But “most people” hardly ever refers to “most members of Congress.”

“An April 2009 survey conducted by the polling firm Ayers, McHenry & Associates for the conservative nonprofit group Resurgent Republic asked respondents which of the following statements about the role of government came closer to their view: (a) ‘Government policies should promote fairness by narrowing the gap between rich and poor, spreading the wealth, and making sure that economic outcomes are more equal’; or (b) ‘Government policies should promote opportunity by fostering job growth, encouraging entrepreneurs, and allowing people to keep more of what they earn.’ Sixty-three percent chose the second option; just 31% chose the first.”