Democrats do not consider the word “Government” to be bad. It is necessary and has been one of the driving forces in the amazing success of the United States to this point. As the nation grows in size, wealth, and complexity, Government will also grow. Arbitrary cuts in “Big Government” will not solve problems. Government protects its citizens from enemies abroad, criminals at home, and corporate excess, and provides thousands of services to citizens more efficiently than they could provide these services for themselves. Obvious examples are schools, police and fire protection, highways, airports, libraries, parks, and hopefully soon real health care. The rich and powerful generally oppose government, because they don’t need as many of these services, except security for their person and property, of course, which the government provides for all, and they resent paying taxes to support it. The purpose of government is not to provide jobs or profitable contracts to those who have supported the party in power. Government must be truly OF THE PEOPLE, BY THE PEOPLE, and FOR THE PEOPLE, and to accomplish this we must make sure that the best people can be fairly elected to public office, and that they have incentive to serve.
