Big Government Vs Small Government

Government has been a necessity for man for as long as recorded history and this is because mankind cannot effectively regulate themselves . In the words of James Madison and Alexander Hamilton, “If men were angels, no government would be necessary” (Alexander, Madison 51). That is not the case in today's society, nor will it ever be under those circumstances. Since government is vital to the success of the country as a whole, what way, size, or fashion would be the most efficient and beneficial to the people? The United States government as it stands today is considered a big government. The size of the government is too large and should be restricted to a smaller government. What is the criteria for a small government? A small government …show more content…
This is a downside for three reasons. The first example is the government is doing basic services that could be outsourced to private companies. The private sector is better than the government for several reason. The first reason is that the private company can perform better than the government. The private sector worries about adding value to their work. In addition, the service can be competitively sold to the public, creating the opportunity for competition. Competition drives companies to be constantly improving. It also adds the incentive that if the company fails to do the job outlined efficiently enough, they could lose the job to the next highest bidder. The government does not have this competitive drive, it does not have the risk of being fired, and lastly it does not need to improve. The second example is it requires more employees on the payroll. This is costing the government more money which it cannot afford to spend. With more employees comes more taxes to pay for the employees, and the service …show more content…
Large bureaucracies restrict freedoms, are not responsible for their actions, hard to get rid of, and cost money to employ. Also, the government operates basic services that a private company could operate more efficiently. What can be done to limit the size of government would be to elect like minded officials on the subject, persuade fellow citizens to this viewpoint, and write local and federal leaders on the matter. Remember that officials that work at higher levels will be less likely inclined to respond or listen to a viewpoint as a local leader would, unless numerous people write the official on the same topic. If this argument is not acted upon, the government will continue to expand, spend, regulate, and accumulate debt. What is allowed to happen will be on the shoulders of future generations to deal