What Should Be The Role Of Government?
How do we move forward, politically and socially, despite our different beliefs on that central question?
The role of government is one of the fundamental questions of American political philosophy.
From tax breaks to health care, the role of government in the U.S. is at the heart of almost every political debate and often divides people and politicians.
The difficult part is cutting through the tension to find common ground through compromise, an essential component of politics on the state and federal level.
“The, sort of, interesting middle that we have in American politics is voters who are philosophically conservative, but operationally liberal,” says Matt Grossman, the director of Michigan State University’s Institute for Public Policy and Social Research.
Shikha Dalmia, senior analyst for the Reason Foundation and Jeff Irwin, former Democratic state representative from Ann Arbor also speak with Detroit Today host Stephen Henderson about the role of government.
Dalmia says small businesses and big businesses should be treated the same by government, which has often been criticized for favoring winners and losers.
“Big government is corrupted by big business,” says Dalmia. “Which is why we need to keep [government] small.”
Irwin sees government as the evolution of humans working to make society a better place for everyone.
“Government is what has emerged out of our common need to do better for ourselves,” says Irwin, who adds that he signed up to be a Democrat to “fight for the little guy.”
Click on the audio player above to hear the full conversation.
