Alan Colmes routinely appears on TV and radio, providing a liberal perspective on current events. A couple of years ago I remember he said something that really caught my attention.

It was in response to a survey that showed the majority of Americans favor smaller government. I don’t remember his answer verbatim, but I recall it went to the effect that, “Yes, Americans say they want smaller government when asked, but if you ask for details, like, ‘Do you want public schools?’ ‘Do you want publicly funded roads?’ ‘Do you want government-funding for this program or that program?’ Americans overwhelmingly answer ‘Yes.’ Americans may say they want smaller government, but the truth is they want things that only a bigger government can provide.”

I really think Colmes hit the nail on the head with his statement.  Americans want smaller government, but they also want their government to provide services for them.

Here’s the truth:

  • You cannot have smaller government and financial incentives for first-time homebuyers.
  • You cannot have smaller government and government-insured mortgages.
  • You cannot have smaller government and expand publicly-funded education.
  • You cannot have smaller government and welfare programs.
  • You cannot have smaller government and a centrally-planned economy.
  • You cannot have smaller government and expect your local school to feed your kids breakfast, lunch, and dinner.
  • You cannot have smaller government and grants for college tuition.
  • You cannot have smaller government and mass public transportation systems.
  • You cannot have smaller government and bail out failing businesses.
  • You cannot have smaller government and subsidize private industries, products, or programs.
  • You cannot have smaller government and publicly-funded healthcare.

And you most certainly cannot have smaller government and all of these things at once. They are mutually exclusive.

If you really want smaller government, you have to be willing to do without something—or at the very least have someone other than the government provide it for you. After all, when governments begin offering a service, more often than not they are simply taking over a role that was previously filled by someone else.

Every government service costs money. There are bills to pay, and there are government employees who have to administer the program. More often than not this leads to increases in spending and the expansion of government offices. In other words, the government grows, and taxpayers foot the bill.

We all must be willing to stop looking to the government for so many goods and services. It’s the only way we can ever truly hope to have a smaller government.

The bottom line: If you want smaller government, something has to give.