Size, Really?

Republicans who are critical of Democratic policy constantly talk about small government.  From their conversations one might believe that there is a certain size for government to be and anything bigger is bad for the country.  But let’s face it; in the case of government size does not matter.  What matters is the competence of government that is far more important than size.  If the country learned anything from the last Republican/Trump attempts to govern they should have learned that competence is what is needed when it comes to solving problems the country faces.  The Trump administration was a textbook example of not only bad, incompetent government but also an example of small government that did not have the necessary resources to deal with any of the country’s problems.  The Biden administration has focused on the major problems facing the country that are in need of solutions.  In some cases, legislation was passed that will go far towards solving these problems.  In many cases, however, more necessary legislation is either pending passage or proposed but is being blocked by the Senate filibuster, a rule that requires 60 votes for passage instead of the simple majority that is required by the Constitution.  All but two Democrats in Congress have indicated intent to end the filibuster.  Former President Obama and current President Biden have also voiced a need to pass much needed legislation with a simple majority of votes in the Senate.  The Senators from West Virginia and Arizona seem to want to ignore the Constitution and continue the tradition of the filibuster in spite of countless examples of the filibuster resulting in incompetent government.  Republicans will insist on the need for bipartisanship but have failed time and time again to match their words with actual deeds.  There is no reason on earth to think this will change yet the Senator from West Virginia must think he will wake one morning and at least 10 Republicans will be waiting outside of his office to pass legislation that will rebuild the nation’s infrastructure, create jobs, increase corporate taxes to pay some of the costs of both infrastructure maintenance as well as research into better, more efficient infrastructure.  Will these same 10 Republican Senators also have solution to the immigration problem?  Do you really think there are 10 Republican Senators who will vote to make sure the wealthy pay income tax on all of their income or will recognize the need to eliminate tax shelters and all other schemes for both individuals and corporations to shirk their responsibilities to pay taxes?  The Senators from West Virginia and Arizona need to be made aware that competencies far more important than traditions and that the job of the Senate is to write and enact legislation that solves existing problems rather than legislation that is a solution in search of a problem.  None of the solutions to the country’s problems have anything to do with the size of government but are all dependent upon good, effective, competent government.  Hopefully the country will benefit from learning that lesson from the Trump government.