"Politics and policy have long been dominated by a big versus small government divide. At the end of the day, this boils down to fiscal capacity. In this thinking, we will tend to ask, how much does the government take from your wallet? "
The dichotomous choice between "big" and "small" government largely missed the point. The real question, to put it bluntly, is do we want a "smart" or "dumb" government. Our policy structures constrain or enable us, on a national/civilizational level, but also on an individual level.
Policy should be optimized so as to minimize burdens and maximize opportunity.
"Politics and policy have long been dominated by a big versus small government divide. At the end of the day, this boils down to fiscal capacity. In this thinking, we will tend to ask, how much does the government take from your wallet? "
The dichotomous choice between "big" and "small" government largely missed the point. The real question, to put it bluntly, is do we want a "smart" or "dumb" government. Our policy structures constrain or enable us, on a national/civilizational level, but also on an individual level.
Policy should be optimized so as to minimize burdens and maximize opportunity.
Over the past decade, I have really come around to this point. ^