In a perfect world the idea of a tiny government would be absolutely correct but the reality is that without government regulation the playing field gets really lop-sided in favor of BIG BUSINESS, BIG OIL and BIG BANKING. Examples: The lack of effective regulation is what contributed to the Gulf Oil Disaster that literally wiped-out an entire regional economy. The lack of regulation on Wall Street helped crash the American economy a put us in the worst recesssion since the Great Depression. The lack of regulation in the Banking Industry has led to unfair high interest rates by banks and lead to the real estate collapse and devalued property values.
Government deregulation has done more to hurt the American people than any other single ideal in the last 30 years. In the beginning it looked like a great idea but what has happened is the lack of regulation has allowed the corporations to unfairly gobble up the competition an now we have fewer choices and we must pay higher prices due to the lack of competition. Additionally it allowed corporations to move operations away from America where labor is cheap and now our jobs have been peddled to the LOWEST bidder.
As far as Congress taxing the people it is absolutely constitutional: Article I, Section 8, Clause 1 of the United States Constitution, is known as the Taxing and Spending Clause. It is the clause that gives the federal government of the United States its power of taxation.
My friend Darrel is mistaken about the Estate Tax: the new tax law provides an amount that is exempt from the tax at $5 million, and the tax on the rest, except for assets going to a citizen spouse or to charity, will be 35%. A lot of wealth passes through trusts, which we can't see because they are private documents. And without full disclosure of assets on an estate tax return, even the Internal Revenue Service won't know for sure how much decedents left behind.
As far as government provided child care is concerned there is pro’s and cons to the issue but generally speaking many experts agree that the benefits are greater than the cost but it is a controversial subject. My personal stance irrespective of any economic gains is that it seems to me the right thing to do to give single parents an opportunity to work and better themselves.(this is not only a woman’s issue because there many men that are single parents) If Republicans truly are compassionate then here is an area that seems to me is of noble value by making it possible to keep people off the welfare roles and provide for themselves while contributing to society. Here is some further reading on the subject:
Further Reading
Finally, I believe your sketch of the difference in the Dems and Reps is grossly distorted. Anthony Weiner view is closer to reality where Republicans have sold out to wealthy corporations and essentially are a do nothing party at present. They represent the interest of BIG BUSINESS and to hell with the small man. Even the passage of the this latest tax bill (that by the way will cost the American middle class $870 BILLION) was no compromise but held America hostage by REPUBLICANS to give their wealth buddies a tax break in exchange for giving the unemployed some breathing space until jobs are available. Jobs that were lost due to irresponsible Republican Leadership. That is just plain WRONG. This bill was a BAD idea - period!
