Subject: Government vs. You

This article was reprinted from http://www.DownsizeDC.org. DownsizeDC.org, Inc. -- a non-profit educational organization promoting the ideas of individual liberty, personal responsibility, free markets, and small government.

In 1871 the city of Chicago burned to the ground. There was no FEMA or large federal funding to rebuild it. Instead, the people of Chicago rebuilt their own city and in short order it soared to new heights.

In 1906, after a major earthquake, the city of San Francisco also burned down. There was no FEMA or large federal funding to rebuild it. Instead, the people of San Francisco did it themselves and the city was soon restored.

In 2005 a large part of the city of New Orleans was destroyed when a levy, designed, built, and maintained by government, proved inadequate to protect against a hurricane that was far from the worst that could have struck the city. Private citizens and businesses such as Wal-Mart rushed to the city's aid, but were largely blocked by federal officials. FEMA and large federal funding were there to rebuild the city, but today much of New Orleans still lies in ruins.

We see the evidence all around us, where government seeks to help, harm often follows. Education, food, energy, and medical care are all areas where the government alleges it helps you, but all are areas where prices are rising faster than in other sectors.

Government doesn't work, because government has no incentive to succeed. Instead, government prospers by failing -- constantly gaining new power and resources because of the crises it creates.
Meanwhile, we see companies like Wal-Mart working effectively to lower the cost of prescription drugs, and Walgreens is opening discount medical clinics in thousands of their stores to lower the cost of routine health care. We see home schoolers providing vastly better academic results. And we see private innovation that will lower the cost of energy and protect the environment . . .

A company called Sunrgi has just announced a design for photovoltaic cells that promises to make solar power competitive with other sources of electricity.

A research team at Stanford has created a battery technology that is ten times more efficient than existing batteries. And an oil company, Exxon, has also produced an improved battery technology that will LOWER THE DEMAND FOR THEIR OIL by making hybrid cars more cost effective.

The evidence is abundant, if only we will look and heed what we see. The solutions we seek will not come from the top down, designed by politicians and provided by the government. More problems than solutions come from that source. Instead, the solutions to our problems will come from "the bottom up," provided by innovative firms responding to human needs.

The same is true of the problem of government itself. The solution to "the government problem" will not come from politicians. It will come from innovative private entities such as Downsize DC.
Stated another way, you will not solve the problem of government by somehow electing the right politicians to do the job for you, from the top down.

Instead . . .You will only solve the problem of government by compelling politicians, from "the bottom up," to lessen the harm caused by Big Government. And just as innovative firms solve problems by lowering costs -- constantly doing more with less -- Downsize DC is also trying to lower the cost you pay to solve "the government problem."

For just a few cents per day, from a few hundred more DC Downsizers making monthly pledges, we could reach the take-off point, beyond which every additional dollar we raise could be devoted to outreach that would . . .

Recruit more DC Downsizers fasterSpread the word about things like the "Read the Bills Act" and the "One Subject at a Time Act" And exert more bottom-up pressure to COMPEL politicians to solve "the government problem."This could be done for a tiny fraction of what has been spent trying to elect even one candidate to office.

So . . .As you relax from your labors this weekend, ask yourself, has the age-old attempt to elect the right people to office worked? Has it enabled you to accomplish more with less, or has it constantly required you to pay more and more and more with little measurable return?

We recognize that we are selling a new paradigm that clashes with habitual modes of thought. We know that only constant repetition can carve a new groove in the public mind to make a place for this new paradigm. But we believe in this new paradigm and in the power of repetition, and so we push . . . and push . . . and push.

We will be back to work on Monday, meanwhile . . .

Start a monthly credit card pledge. It could be as low as a few cents per day -- $3, $5, $10, $15, $20, or $25 per month. Or, . . .Help us earn a $1,000 matching contribution from DC Downsizer James Marquart. You can do so by making a one-time donation of $100 or more -- your contribution will be worth $200 to us. Or, . . .Help us with whatever size contribution you can afford.

Your contribution is our budget. Your investment is our expansion. You can contribute here.

Thank you for being a part of the growing Downsize DC Army. Remember to look below my signature for listening details on the my Jerry Hughes show appearance today. We welcome comments to this Dispatch at our blog.
Jim BabkaPresidentDownsizeDC.org, Inc.

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