Government Spending...I Gotta Do It!

Okay, I held out as long as I could.  But, there really is no better example of lack of common sense out there than our government spending.  Seriously, if any average household were run the way our government is run, it would've been broke a long, long time ago.
Here's the problem, as I see it.  People say that they want the government to do less spending, but no one wants their program cut.  I think that the reason that a federal government was formed in the first place was to, what?  Protect the people and provide services that it was not feasible for local governments or private industry to handle, right?  Things like interstate highways and the postal service.  The problem is that, in the best of times, providing for the people got out of hand.  I'm certainly not saying that people with disadvantages or people who need a leg up occasionally shouldn't be provided for.  I'm just not certain that most of these programs belong under the federal government's care.

You see, a whole lot of these programs could be run by local governments or private industry.  Here's where the whole common sense thing comes in.  When I, personally, complain about what the government spends my tax dollars on, I'm not saying that poor people shouldn't be taken care of.  To the contrary, I would love to be able to keep some more of my hard earned money in order to support charities of my choosing.  People are a whole lot more willing to give to someone in need if they feel like they're doing all right themselves, right?  It's just common sense.
So, while we certainly need the military to protect our lives and freedoms, do we really need the Public Broadcasting Service anymore?  Really?  With all of those cable channels?  Hmmmm........