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What is meant by being against Big Government?

Kal'Stang

Kal'Stang

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Bonners Ferry ID USA
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This video shows perfect examples of what most people that are against Big Government are talking about when they talk about it.

 
Well there goes my last Cup of Coffee of the day ... "most"
 
It's a 45 minute video. What portion are we supposed to listen to?

I skipped around a bit. There was some smarmy Fox guy repeatedly snarking at people over the concept of protecting ecosystems. There was the guy in the still saying he wasn't going to comply with regulations requiring him to provide modern facilities since he wanted to set something up to show how "primitive people" lived. These are people complaining about government regs that affect one specific aspect of their lives.




See, the problem is that when I hear people complaining about "big government", they are not complaining about specific regulations that are overbroad in some way that affects them personally. They're just reiterating some general complaint. It's used around DP as a political slogan, contrary to the OP's assertion that actually, when people complain about "big government" they're like the people in the video.

The only way to placate someone who complains about "big government" but doesn't bother to elaborate on what precisely it is they are annoyed with would seem to be to go back to something much more like the Articles of Confederation, where you had a virtually non-existent federal government and a bunch of pretty much independent states. After all, when the complaint is 'big government' full stop, only an absurdly overly-simplified solution of 'small government' full stop is a rational answer.

But that would take a mass societal judgment that we don't care about having things like generally applicable laws of commerce, general standards requiring companies to take basic measures to make sure the food they sell isn't ripe with botulism, so on and so forth. Most of don't actually want that.

So yeah, I don't know what more should be said other than that it makes perfect sense to complain about an overbroad government regulation that negatively affects one as an individual, but no sense to simply complain about "big government." Further, that I rather dispute the notion that most people who complain about "big government" are like the people in the video; they're not, since the people in the video are complaining about specific things they don't like......

....not simply complaining about some abstract notion of an unacceptably sized government.






________________________________
And if the OP's creator or others consider this post off-point, then give me more to work with than "here, watch this 45 minute video"
 
16% of the workforce works for the government - state and local included. Taxes pay their salaries. And benefits (in most cases) until they die.
20% of the people have "Trust in government".
$7.3 trillion is spent by the government.
The government impacts for good or bad nearly every aspect of our lives.
While there is such a thing as "states rights", the government pretty much uses it's financial clout to get it's way, nullifying all but the most symbolic features of "states rights".

U.S. National Debt Clock : Real Time

Revenue per citizen is $27,559. (all government income divided by all citizens.)
Each citizen owes $168,000 in national debt.
I seriously doubt the "government" knows where all the money is going. Precisely is just not practical.

The government is mismanaged and is too big.

Our national motto should be: BOHICA
 
chuckiechan said:
16% of the workforce works for the government - state and local included. Taxes pay their salaries. And benefits (in most cases) until they die.
20% of the people have "Trust in government".
$7.3 trillion is spent by the government.
The government impacts for good or bad nearly every aspect of our lives.
While there is such a thing as "states rights", the government pretty much uses it's financial clout to get it's way, nullifying all but the most symbolic features of "states rights".

U.S. National Debt Clock : Real Time

Revenue per citizen is $27,559. (all government income divided by all citizens.)
Each citizen owes $168,000 in national debt.
I seriously doubt the "government" knows where all the money is going. Precisely is just not practical.

The government is mismanaged and is too big.

Our national motto should be: BOHICA
Click to expand...

This is a perfect example of what I was talking about.


Chuckie isn't complaining about specific laws or regulations that impact his life negatively, which he wants to criticize. He's just issuing some vague complaint about the overall size of government.

Same goes for "most" of the people complaining about big government.
 
Kal'Stang said:
This video shows perfect examples of what most people that are against Big Government are talking about when they talk about it.

Click to expand...


Its a long video, so it would be nice if it was summarized by the Op in some way.
 
chuckiechan said:
16% of the workforce works for the government - state and local included. Taxes pay their salaries. And benefits (in most cases) until they die.
20% of the people have "Trust in government".
$7.3 trillion is spent by the government.
The government impacts for good or bad nearly every aspect of our lives.
While there is such a thing as "states rights", the government pretty much uses it's financial clout to get it's way, nullifying all but the most symbolic features of "states rights".

U.S. National Debt Clock : Real Time

Revenue per citizen is $27,559. (all government income divided by all citizens.)
Each citizen owes $168,000 in national debt.
I seriously doubt the "government" knows where all the money is going. Precisely is just not practical.

The government is mismanaged and is too big.

Our national motto should be: BOHICA
Click to expand...
Tell me the exact percentage of the workforce at which a government is too big
 
Mr Person said:
It's a 45 minute video. What portion are we supposed to listen to?

I skipped around a bit. There was some smarmy Fox guy repeatedly snarking at people over the concept of protecting ecosystems. There was the guy in the still saying he wasn't going to comply with regulations requiring him to provide modern facilities since he wanted to set something up to show how "primitive people" lived. These are people complaining about government regs that affect one specific aspect of their lives.




See, the problem is that when I hear people complaining about "big government", they are not complaining about specific regulations that are overbroad in some way that affects them personally. They're just reiterating some general complaint. It's used around DP as a political slogan, contrary to the OP's assertion that actually, when people complain about "big government" they're like the people in the video.

The only way to placate someone who complains about "big government" but doesn't bother to elaborate on what precisely it is they are annoyed with would seem to be to go back to something much more like the Articles of Confederation, where you had a virtually non-existent federal government and a bunch of pretty much independent states. After all, when the complaint is 'big government' full stop, only an absurdly overly-simplified solution of 'small government' full stop is a rational answer.

But that would take a mass societal judgment that we don't care about having things like generally applicable laws of commerce, general standards requiring companies to take basic measures to make sure the food they sell isn't ripe with botulism, so on and so forth. Most of don't actually want that.

So yeah, I don't know what more should be said other than that it makes perfect sense to complain about an overbroad government regulation that negatively affects one as an individual, but no sense to simply complain about "big government." Further, that I rather dispute the notion that most people who complain about "big government" are like the people in the video; they're not, since the people in the video are complaining about specific things they don't like......

....not simply complaining about some abstract notion of an unacceptably sized government.






________________________________
And if the OP's creator or others consider this post off-point, then give me more to work with than "here, watch this 45 minute video"
Click to expand...

The problem is, you don't want to watch the video, because it reveals the truth. You support big government bureaucracy. :shrug:

"Some smarmy Fox guy"? You've never heard of John Stossel? You must be very young. :roll:
 
Because my detached garage is not defined by the city as a livable dwelling I'm legally not allowed to give guitar or trombone lessons in it. If I give them in my home my front door needs to be widened and a hand rails installed in my bathroom.
I do this on weekends to help people learn music not as a profession.


One day a city inspector may show up and I'll stop. Untill then let's jam
 
Mr Person said:
This is a perfect example of what I was talking about.


Chuckie isn't complaining about specific laws or regulations that impact his life negatively, which he wants to criticize. He's just issuing some vague complaint about the overall size of government.

Same goes for "most" of the people complaining about big government.
Click to expand...

That is a a fools errand. Not only is the governments influence wide and deep, it would be nearly impossible to quantify. But you know that, don’t you?
 
Deuce said:
Tell me the exact percentage of the workforce at which a government is too big
Click to expand...

1% ...haha that is a good question, the percentage of the workforce needs to be as low as we can possibly make it without jeopardizing Security and the justice system
 
Chillfolks said:
Because my detached garage is not defined by the city as a livable dwelling I'm legally not allowed to give guitar or trombone lessons in it. If I give them in my home my front door needs to be widened and a hand rails installed in my bathroom.
I do this on weekends to help people learn music not as a profession.


One day a city inspector may show up and I'll stop. Untill then let's jam
Click to expand...

And all of those thing are required to get a business license. So you are a dirty dog criminal! Like my wife. Who teaches piano. Crime and criminals are everywhere, aren’t we?
 
countryboy said:
The problem is, you don't want to watch the video, because it reveals the truth. You support big government bureaucracy. "Some smarmy Fox guy"? You've never heard of John Stossel? You must be very young. :
Click to expand...

I'm not the subject here.
 
Fenton said:
Its a long video, so it would be nice if it was summarized by the Op in some way.
Click to expand...


It's a collection of people who are being effected by government laws and bureaucracy.
Endangered Species, Animal Rights, limit on the # of truckers in Tennessee, and taxi laws in city (He likes uber type apps)
 
Last edited:
chuckiechan said:
That is a a fools errand. Not only is the governments influence wide and deep, it would be nearly impossible to quantify. But you know that, don’t you?
Click to expand...

The only fools' errand is complaining about "big government" and doing nothing more. Why? Because even if everyone agreed with you, it wouldn't point them to any particular solution.

That's why it only makes sense to take aim at specific things that are supposedly the problem.




And as Deuce pointed out to you via question, there is no objectively valid answer as to what precise number of federal workers is too much. It all depends on what you think government should or should not do, which again requires discussion of specific things.




You're only making my point for me: people who complain about "big government" generally aren't saying anything worth listening to. They're not like the people in the video.
 
Kal'Stang said:
This video shows perfect examples of what most people that are against Big Government are talking about when they talk about it.

Click to expand...


I can't watch the whole vid. But after a couple of minutes it seems that the people are complaining more about an intrusive government than Big Government. Though, that could be an aspect of Big Government I would have thought that the main characteristic would be, when government undertakes activities that exceed the mandate or it undertakes to supply private goods publicly.
 
Mr Person said:
It's a 45 minute video. What portion are we supposed to listen to?

I skipped around a bit. There was some smarmy Fox guy repeatedly snarking at people over the concept of protecting ecosystems. There was the guy in the still saying he wasn't going to comply with regulations requiring him to provide modern facilities since he wanted to set something up to show how "primitive people" lived. These are people complaining about government regs that affect one specific aspect of their lives.




See, the problem is that when I hear people complaining about "big government", they are not complaining about specific regulations that are overbroad in some way that affects them personally. They're just reiterating some general complaint. It's used around DP as a political slogan, contrary to the OP's assertion that actually, when people complain about "big government" they're like the people in the video.

The only way to placate someone who complains about "big government" but doesn't bother to elaborate on what precisely it is they are annoyed with would seem to be to go back to something much more like the Articles of Confederation, where you had a virtually non-existent federal government and a bunch of pretty much independent states. After all, when the complaint is 'big government' full stop, only an absurdly overly-simplified solution of 'small government' full stop is a rational answer.

But that would take a mass societal judgment that we don't care about having things like generally applicable laws of commerce, general standards requiring companies to take basic measures to make sure the food they sell isn't ripe with botulism, so on and so forth. Most of don't actually want that.

So yeah, I don't know what more should be said other than that it makes perfect sense to complain about an overbroad government regulation that negatively affects one as an individual, but no sense to simply complain about "big government." Further, that I rather dispute the notion that most people who complain about "big government" are like the people in the video; they're not, since the people in the video are complaining about specific things they don't like......

....not simply complaining about some abstract notion of an unacceptably sized government.






________________________________
And if the OP's creator or others consider this post off-point, then give me more to work with than "here, watch this 45 minute video"
Click to expand...

You need a license to be a wedding planner. Obtaining the license involves 1 three hour class, which, in CT, costs between 700-1000 bucks.

The company I work for wants some of its stores to expand to have beer and liquor. But they can't, but the cities allow the existing liquor store owners a say on new liquor sales licenses issued.

In order for me to have my own photography studio, I either have to have a separate entrance to my house, at which point I have to modify many aspects of my house, or, I have to use a separate building. But not my garage, but it is not climate controlled.

In order to sell food, at, say, a county fair, your "kitchen" has to be inspected by a health inspector. Fair enough. But that kitchen can't be your kitchen at home, unless, again, it has its own separate entrance from the rest of the house. And the appliances must be specific brands, "rated for food service". So, instead of a 100 dollar microwave, it must be a 900+ dollar microwave. Not a thousand dollar stove, a 5k+ stove. Not an 80 dollar deep fryer, a 2500+ deep fryer. Etc.

That specific enough for you?
 
Mr Person said:
It's a 45 minute video. What portion are we supposed to listen to?

I skipped around a bit. There was some smarmy Fox guy repeatedly snarking at people over the concept of protecting ecosystems. There was the guy in the still saying he wasn't going to comply with regulations requiring him to provide modern facilities since he wanted to set something up to show how "primitive people" lived. These are people complaining about government regs that affect one specific aspect of their lives.




See, the problem is that when I hear people complaining about "big government", they are not complaining about specific regulations that are overbroad in some way that affects them personally. They're just reiterating some general complaint. It's used around DP as a political slogan, contrary to the OP's assertion that actually, when people complain about "big government" they're like the people in the video.

The only way to placate someone who complains about "big government" but doesn't bother to elaborate on what precisely it is they are annoyed with would seem to be to go back to something much more like the Articles of Confederation, where you had a virtually non-existent federal government and a bunch of pretty much independent states. After all, when the complaint is 'big government' full stop, only an absurdly overly-simplified solution of 'small government' full stop is a rational answer.

But that would take a mass societal judgment that we don't care about having things like generally applicable laws of commerce, general standards requiring companies to take basic measures to make sure the food they sell isn't ripe with botulism, so on and so forth. Most of don't actually want that.

So yeah, I don't know what more should be said other than that it makes perfect sense to complain about an overbroad government regulation that negatively affects one as an individual, but no sense to simply complain about "big government." Further, that I rather dispute the notion that most people who complain about "big government" are like the people in the video; they're not, since the people in the video are complaining about specific things they don't like......

....not simply complaining about some abstract notion of an unacceptably sized government.






________________________________
And if the OP's creator or others consider this post off-point, then give me more to work with than "here, watch this 45 minute video"
Click to expand...

Spot on.
 
KevinKohler said:
You need a license to be a wedding planner. Obtaining the license involves 1 three hour class, which, in CT, costs between 700-1000 bucks.

The company I work for wants some of its stores to expand to have beer and liquor. But they can't, but the cities allow the existing liquor store owners a say on new liquor sales licenses issued.

In order for me to have my own photography studio, I either have to have a separate entrance to my house, at which point I have to modify many aspects of my house, or, I have to use a separate building. But not my garage, but it is not climate controlled.

In order to sell food, at, say, a county fair, your "kitchen" has to be inspected by a health inspector. Fair enough. But that kitchen can't be your kitchen at home, unless, again, it has its own separate entrance from the rest of the house. And the appliances must be specific brands, "rated for food service". So, instead of a 100 dollar microwave, it must be a 900+ dollar microwave. Not a thousand dollar stove, a 5k+ stove. Not an 80 dollar deep fryer, a 2500+ deep fryer. Etc.

That specific enough for you?
Click to expand...

That kind of thing, yes.

"Here's a thing that I think government shouldn't be doing" + "here's what should fix it" + "here's why helping me by fixing it won't have even more negative effects on others" is generally the most useful. But even if someone just wants to criticize a reg, then yeah, talking about the specific problem is useful.

I think someone who is generally opposed to the concept of "big government" might be surprised to find that there's nobody out there who is willing to defend every last regulation. There's tons of bad regs, overbroad regs, or simply pointless ones. That's virtually guaranteed by the way agencies do this.

So there definitely is a lot of meat to talk about out there. It's just.....people usually don't talk about the meat.
 
countryboy said:
The problem is, you don't want to watch the video, because it reveals the truth. You support big government bureaucracy. :shrug:

"Some smarmy Fox guy"? You've never heard of John Stossel? You must be very young. :roll:
Click to expand...

Ok, so lets discuss specifics and start with Eustace for example. He wants to live however he wants to. Fine. He is inviting large groups of people to learn his way of life. I guess as long as they sign a waiver in case they get hurt on his property, that's ok.
Eustace also raises hogs for sale. Do all his sales include a waiver as well? I am not questioning the quality of the meat but his sanitary standards. Having watched the show a few times makes my skin crawl.
Rabbit magician is complaining about his rabbit license. Sounds great at first glance. Why on earth would he need a license? Hint... it isn't about the rabbit.
We have regulations for a reason. Sure, some go way too far, but so do people.
Don't be mislead by a 45 min clip, but rather independently research each example and weigh both sides.
 
Mr Person said:
This is a perfect example of what I was talking about.


Chuckie isn't complaining about specific laws or regulations that impact his life negatively, which he wants to criticize. He's just issuing some vague complaint about the overall size of government.

Same goes for "most" of the people complaining about big government.
Click to expand...

No one favors “big government” until their house blows away!
 
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