Cover Letter
The title of my blog is known as “Public Policy 101”. This blog aims to educate as well as inform people about various issues concerning government policy. In a nutshell, it aims at communicating in the simplest way possible the existence of the social and economic policies formulated and implemented by the federal government. Thus, the writing will be made simpler to understand for effective dissemination of information.
Further, the intended audience for this particular blog, the “Public Policy 101” blog, comprises of citizens who are politically alert and have the interest of understanding how the government operates. The audience is not limited to members of the academic fraternity but people who have at least a comprehension of their civic rights as citizens. The paper, which is the blog post to be written, aims at describing the difference between a large government and small government to the target audience and how the two functions.
Small Government versus Large Government
The decision to support the idea of a small government or a large government has always been distinguished on philosophical grounds. Support for the two notions is a matter of ideological beliefs. Therefore, the proportion of citizens who choose to back the ideology of a small government differ with their contemporaries on the other side on a fundamental basis.
It must be taken into account, however, that the implication of a small government or a large government should not be interpreted in the literal sense. Hence, there is need to dispel the notion that a small government means one with few government bureaucrats while the same should also be rejected for a large government which might be perceived as a government with so many bureaucrats as highlighted by Reardon.
It is because of such perceptions that this post seeks to inform people of the meaning of a small government and a large government. To begin with, the fundamental difference between the two forms of government is based on the role that each plays in a given polity or country as well as explained by Newport. Because of this, it should be noted that a small government is one that does not interfere with the functioning of the economy at large. Thus, is important to note that a small government doesn’t meddle with the private sector with too much regulation or legislation that may interfere with smooth functioning of the latter. Sometimes small government may also be referred to as a limited government.
On the contrary, a large government, otherwise referred to as big government, is a term that describes a government that is somehow visible. This implies that such kind of a government set up is characterized by making what may be termed as excessive regulations. These excessive regulations end up interfering with the would be seamless operations of the private sector or even of private individuals.
Fundamentally, a larger or big government incurs a relatively higher expenditure than a small or limited government as Dionne illustrates . This is basically because of the more functions that a big government takes on. A small government has restricted functions and thus expenditure by the federal government is quite lower. A small government is mostly concerned with roles such as foreign policy, law and defense. For the case of a large government, it combines these roles plus keeping a keen eye on other functions like healthcare, education and general infrastructural development, social and physical.
Extraction
A. Support for the two notions is a matter of ideological beliefs.
1. Support for either a small government or a large government is common.
2. If the support for either a small government or a large government is common, then it is a matter of ideological beliefs.
3. Therefore, support for the two notions is on the basis of ideological beliefs.
B. Because of this, it should be noted that a small government is one that does not interfere with the functioning of the economy at large.
1. Because of misinformation, a small government is one that limits its interference with the functioning of the economy.
2. If misinformation is the cause of confusion, is should be noted that a small government is one that doesn’t interfere with the functioning of the economy.
3. Therefore, a small government is one which does not interfere with the functioning of the economy.
C. For the case of a large government, it combines these roles plus keeping a keen eye on other functions like healthcare, education and general infrastructural development, social and physical.
1. For a large government, it is active in functions like healthcare, education and infrastructural development.
2. If a government plays a major role in other functions such as healthcare, education, and general infrastructural development then it is considered to be a large government.
3. Therefore, a government that plays a major role in provision of healthcare, education and general infrastructural development is a large government.
Explanation
From A, it can be stated that notions are similar to the ideological beliefs elaborated in the text. Ideological beliefs refer to the philosophical orientation of a person’s beliefs that is what informs his/her liking for a certain way of doing things and not the other one. The major reason as to why the decision to either support a small or large government is anchored on the politico-economic beliefs that people identify with. Thus, it is common for conservatives and libertarians to identify with the idea of a limited government while at the same time, social democrats choose to identify with the notion of a large government.
In addition, from B it can be elaborated that non-interference with the functioning of the economy from the perspective of a small government implies that such a type of government does not fashion the formulation of so many regulations which may lead to the creation of bureaucratic red tapes that are a hindrance in the functioning of an economy. The statement highlighted in part B of the extraction thus seeks to dispel the wrong understanding of the exact or rather precise meaning of what a small government is. It has always been perceived that a small government is one that has fewer government officials but from the explanation, a small government is one characterized by very minimal regulations.
Furthermore, part C of the extraction looks into the roles played by a large government. It should be understood that a large government. Ideally, a government should oversee legislation, defense and foreign policy. But in regards to a large government, it goes further to play other roles concerning education, healthcare and infrastructural development. Therefore, it is very important that a large government is understood from the perspective of the roles it plays other than the high number of government officials.
Evaluation
The argument presented in extraction A is perhaps invalid. It is invalid in the sense that the decision to support a small government or a large government is not explicitly an ideological phenomenon. This is because most people don’t really identify with the ideological orientations of the right or the left but on what is important to the benefits of the citizens. The argument in part B is valid. This is informed by the fact that a small government is defined or described on the basis of the roles that a government plays other than the number of officials present in the government. Additionally, the argument presente
d in part C is also valid as it emphasizes the fact that a large government is described on the basis of the many roles that it plays rather than the number of government bureaucrats.
Reference:
Reardon, Kathleen. “Is Small Government Better Government? Or Is This Just Another “Sounds Good” Ruse”. HuffPost, 2012, October 28th.
Newport, Frank. “Majority in US Still Say Government Doing Too Much.” Gallup, 2013.
E. Dionne. “Big Government vs Small Government.” Politico, 2007, July 31st.