Election Reflections

In Ohio, we discovered much about ourselves this election. We like to kill little animals, we talk funny, and we have a limited understanding of complex issues. Amazingly to both parties, we actually did vote and were even able to overcome those chads.

My family was split between parties and all had strong opinions, and I thought politics would be put aside now that the elections were over. Ha! A recent string of emails predicting the gloom and doom of another four years of Bush got me thinking in a different direction. Instead of focusing on what the federal government is not doing with our hard earned tax dollars, maybe we should focus on what it should be doing.

I, for one, do not believe there is enough money, even in the Kerry-Heinz bank accounts, to pay for all our pet projects, wars, running the government, social security -- the list goes on. So what is the answer? Something that no politician wants to do: discuss the specific purposes of the Federal government, State governments, and Local governments. (We may never reach a consensus, but what could at least focus on what we all agree is important, and base funding on that.)

I think the Local government's first responsibility is to supply police and fire protection. That makes it easy during budget time. Projects to beautify the downtown, trips oversees to trump up business, leaf pickup will all take a back seat to the primary responsibility to provide protection. I am not saying that other uses of "my" money are not important, but that they can only be funded after the primary purposes have as much money as they truly need. Next we go the State. Funding education has to be a primary State responsibility, and that means education can never be the first thing to be cut. I remember the state legislators voting in some new projects, when the budget was already used up. They said after listening to the project pitches, they sounded worthwhile. Well, duh. I could make a project to study Michigan's black flies sound worthwhile, but so what? Spending should be viewed in the context of how it contributes to the primary purposes of government, and just like in Local government budgeting, you can’t spend money on less important issues until the most important ones have all the money they need.

And the Federal government? I believe it is to protect America, to protect and uphold the constitution and guarantee those freedoms, and only then work with and support local and state governments. Just as I believe the reporter's job is to report the news and not to make the news, and the Judiciary’s responsibility is to interpret the laws and not make new laws, I believe the government's job is to protect, secure, promote freedom, guarantee basic rights, but not to determine who gets those rights, determine who gets to profit financially (this year), and who gets their pet projects funded. It doesn’t mean the pet projects aren’t interesting – only that they can’t be funded a single dollar until the government’s primary purposes are taken care of.

I hear about the winners and losers in this election. The winners are the people who were able to vote without fear of violence. The losers are the ones who expect the government to be all things to all people.