On the national level, elected Democrats just received a wake-up call that their agenda is not our agenda. And, by our, I mean the majority of voting Americans whose number one concern is housing and feeding their families:
Shorn by Massachusetts voters of their pivotal 60th Senate vote and much of their political momentum, the White House and congressional leaders are considering a more modest version of Obama’s top legislative priority. It could focus on curbing insurance company practices like denying coverage to sick people and on helping low-earning people and small businesses afford coverage, officials said.Also fueling the Democratic search for a fresh health care strategy is a conviction by many in the party that it’s time for an election-year focus on jobs and the economy, which polls show are easily the public’s top concerns.
Of course, they’re kind of missing the mark. Jobs and the economy are NOT an election-year focus. They are an EVERY year focus. Think about it. If we have a strong economy and jobs, the vast majority of Americans can take care of meeting their own healthcare needs. I know. What a concept!
I’ll also let you in on a little secret. The more government taxes and regulates, the less likely we’re going to see jobs and a strong economy. The bigger government gets, the smaller the private sector gets.
Don’t believe me? Well, look for a state with a really big government footprint. A state like, hmm, well, a state like New Mexico. We’ve got lots of big government and very little industry. The result? We’ve got a very poor populations per capita. Are we seeing how this works?
Our state legislators would be wise to consider this as they wrangle with how to save all of those “very important” government programs. If we want to see jobs and growth, we need to shrink the size of government. Of course, the easiest way to do that is stop feeding the beast. In other words, make do with the revenue we have as opposed to taking away more jobs by increasing taxes even more.