Scherpelz: Government is not the enemy

Government is now a dirty word, especially when preceded by “Big.” After decades of anti-government rhetoric, many Americans have forgotten that our government can and should be a reliable force for the common good.

To counteract the widespread contempt of government, I propose that we rebrand “Big Government” as “Good Government of, by and for the people.” Government is not too big. The problem is its poor health, not its size.

Well-funded special interests wield unhealthy influence while the public wields too little. The Republicans who currently control government are opposed to the very institution they control. They are poised to undermine public protections to favor their funders, who prefer to avoid public oversight.

For example, citizens rely on the Environmental Protection Agency to guard our health, and the EPA relies on tax dollars collected by the Internal Revenue Service. Yet conservative politicians and big business openly disdain both agencies. The Trump administration wants to slash the IRS budget by 14%, according to a recent New York Times report, even though Republican Congresses already have cut its budget to 29% below its 2010 level, in inflation-adjusted terms.

How does that serve the common good? It makes more sense to fully fund tax enforcement, because the IRS can collect several dollars for each dollar it spends. Lax enforcement allows the richest Americans and the biggest companies to skip paying taxes that support our public treasures — including roads, water systems, courts, parks, schools and more. Citizens and businesses both prosper thanks to public investment, so ordinary Americans are understandably angry when they pay their fair share while others don’t, and our infrastructure crumbles.

Conservatives shrewdly exploit that anger, deflecting the blame from tax dodgers to government — insisting that we shrink it “down to the size where we can drown it in the bathtub.” Their small-government argument is a dangerous smokescreen. Government is certainly not our enemy, and when it serves us, it can be our best friend. In fact, our democracy empowers citizens to band together to make sure government serves ordinary people instead of wealthy tax dodgers.

In “A Civics Lesson,” Benjamin Barber suggests that “Big government — or let's call it strong democracy — is for the little guy; it’s how he and his neighbors can take on the big bullies in the private sector.”
Politicians who attack government are simply providing cover for wealthy donors who like low taxes and large corporations that lobby for less regulation. Citizens lose when the result is faulty products, low wages, and more pollution — then we are encouraged to blame government for being ineffective.

Here’s the end result when we elect lawmakers who say government is to blame for every problem: President Donald Trump’s cabinet appointees despise the very agencies they lead. His chief strategist Steve Bannon describes the Trump agenda as the “deconstruction of the administrative state.” The goal is to cripple federal agencies that give us fair labor laws and housing standards, environmental and financial protections, food and drug safety, and more.

Yet Americans want good health care and education, strong infrastructure, breathable air and drinkable water. They don’t want social programs and public protections eliminated. Our common good is on the chopping block because wealthy individuals and prosperous companies have too much control over Congress.

When lawmakers promise to “free” us from big government by deregulating financial institutions and industries, beware. We lose our freedom to choose everything from cable providers and airlines to medicine and health care unless good government protects us from corporate monopolies.

Don’t be fooled. In a government by, for and of the people, we are the government. Government is not a disembodied force opposed to its own citizens, even though it feels that way right now. We are beginning to realize that when government is defunded and hamstrung, we lose. Americans are getting tired of school budget cuts, leaky lead pipes, and threats to Social Security and health care. We are starting to see that the attack on government is really an attack on us. To regain effective government, we must reclaim it from the moneyed interests that control it.

How do we do that? First, refuse to vote for candidates who are hostile to the role of government. If they claim government is the problem, they won’t be much use at solving real problems. If, once in office, lawmakers demonize and denigrate government, vote them out. Elect those who want to honor, not smash our precious public institutions. Remind yourself and your neighbors that much of America’s achievement has come from people acting collectively through governing together.

The best people in the country will step up to serve in government only when it ceases to be a dirty word. We need their skill more than ever.

Carrie Scherpelz is a marketing communications professional in Madison.