To Renew America: on Government Reform

Class mobility is key part of America’s genius

Big Government is a 20th century idea; let it die

World War II was the ultimate creator of the large state in America. The success of our temporary effort to mobilize an entire free people intoxicated a number of liberal intellectuals. Many young people who were at the center of the war effort could never distinguish between the temporary subordination of a free people to a great national cause and the inevitable decay and dishonesty that would come if wartime controls were transmuted into a permanent peacetime system.

The Cold War gave big government a good excuse to hang on for yet another generation. But the case against the centralized state began to make headway.

Devolve power first to states, then to cities & families

Yet our ultimate goal is to move power even beyond the state capitals. However, much as I sympathize with both state and local governments, what we really want to do is to devolve power all the way out of government and back to working American families. We want to leave choices and resources in the hands of individuals and let them decide if they prefer government, the profit-making sector, the nonprofit sector, or even no solution at all to their problems.

Republicans envision a decentralized America in which responsibility is returned to the individual. We believe in volunteerism and local leadership. We believe that a country with 10 million local volunteer leaders is stronger than one with a thousand brilliant national leaders.

Monthly "Corrections Day" to remove destructive rules

For my entire life, I've been listening to politicians explain to audiences that, although they can understand people's frustrations, they really have very little control over the bureaucracy. Again and again people go to their elected representative and bring some particularly harmful, arrogant, or wasteful behavior to their attention only to get sympathy--but no action.

12-year term limits ok; 6-year limits empower bureaucrats

Six-year term limits for the House of Representatives is popular, but frankly I do not believe that gives members enough time to learn the legislative leadership process. After all, a 6-year term limit would require leaders to emerge with only one or at most terms 2 terms (and they would then serve for only one more.) I believe the 6-year term limit would guarantee an ignorant legislative branch and an enormous transfer of power to professional staffs, bureaucracies, and lobbyists.