The polluted Los Angeles skyline.

Why we need big government

If you turn on the Fox News Channel at any given hour, you will likely find a pundit or news commentator who has abandoned all pretense of objectivity and chosen to flog the old Republican idea of small government as a solution to America's problems. If America's poor are forced to stand on their own - especially its minorities, they say - they will learn the value of hard work and start making a contribution to society. There's just one problem with that. It doesn't work. I'll admit, there are plenty of people who abuse the government's social welfare system and refuse to get a job no matter how many children they have, or the state of poverty they live in. But the way the Fox News people talk, you would think that they believe that the solution is to cut these people off drastically and completely, and I think there's a great deal of hatred in that approach. A person who has lived on welfare for years and has not prepared themselves in any way for a job is not going to be ready for one just because Congress suddenly cuts off their food stamps. There are people with legitimate disabilities out there who are not going to be helped by the private sector for the simple reason that there is no profit motive for that sector to do so. In an America where able-bodied factory workers with years of experience are being laid off by the thousands to give their jobs to foreigners who work dirt cheap, why would these same companies extend a helping hand to those who for various reasons - lack of training, addiction, criminal records, mental or physical illness - have trouble getting and keeping a job? This is where the government has to step in and help take care of its own. Pell grants and federal student loans to educate the poor, Medicaid and Medicare to take care of the sick, drug and alcohol rehab programs to help keep America sober, a fully funded education mandate for the kids - all these things can help the poor and disadvantaged learn to take care of themselves and make a contribution. Without big government and social welfare programs to help those who need a leg up, America's poor, which is comprised mostly of minorities, will remain a permanent underclass. It is also necessary for the government to assume responsibility for environmentally policing America's industries. The Bush administration has gutted regulations governing the coal and timber industries, and refused to get serious about finding an alternative to fossil fuels. It seems to believe that without punitive measures to keep big business honest, our industries will police themselves. I don't believe it, and I think that a safe workplace, clean air, clean water, and plentiful natural resources are also the responsiblity of our government. Conservatives sneer at these ideas, and refer to the liberal ideal as a "nanny state." All I can say to that is, without the nanny state, maybe your kids don't get to go to college. Maybe one of them gets cancer due to the lack of a Superfund to clean up toxic waste. Maybe if you lose your job, you don't get unemployment to keep you and your family fed until you can find another. Conservatives hate big government, but let's get serious here. We are a big country with different people who have different abilities. We need it. See related article.