IN AMERICAN HISTORY THERE HAVE BEEN TWO COMPETING IDEOLOGICAL THOUGHTS ABOUT THE ROLE OF GOVENMENT.
One is that government is too big and ineffective, leading to stereotypical statements about social programs.
Critics of government being ineffective began to emerge in protest to the New Deal policies of President Franklin Roosevelt, which helped to establish a strong middle class.
What is often forgotten is how much government has been a force of good in society.
Consider: public health programs, the interstate highway system, Federal Deposit Insurance, consumer protection laws, the GI Bill, anti-discrimination policies, the expansion of the country toward the West, and basic scientific research.
As to financial regulation, Paul Starr of the American Prospect writes:
“Financial regulation reduces the likelihood of old-fashioned panics, raises confidence in the markets, and increases the efficiency of capital allocation.
Overall government spending plays a countercyclical role, helping to prevent downturns from becoming depressions.”
Government is not the enemy. We still need it to help solve some of our biggest political issues from income inequality to heath care.
Sergio Mota, of Sebastian Fl. is an active voice for progressive change. At age 21, in 2015 he ran unsuccessfully for Sebastian City Council, but received over 3,700 votes. He is once again a candidate for Sebastian City Council.
Vero Communiqué 
Sergio, I suggest you read “The 5,000 Year Leap” and then get back to us. Pay particular attention to the enumerated powers and the reason we have a bottom up form of government and not top down.
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Sergio, you are rewriting history. The American middle class was at its largest and strongest before FDR. The onset of the New Deal begin the shrinking of the American middle class.
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The American middle class was weakest prior to FDR in the wake of Republican non-regulation. Glass-Steagall remedied the rapacious tendencies of the financial market, and World War 2 provided for the greatest expansion of the middle class. But sadly, the military-industrial complex, in conjunction with Wall Street, have obliterated those gains. Reagan’s trickle-down policies simply don’t work, and financial deregulation will eventually usher in another economic collapse.
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Repeating talking points simply doesn’t get it done. The American middle class was at its largest as a percentage of the population prior to the Great Depression. It also held the greatest proportion of American Wealth that it is ever held prior to the Great Depression. the greatest expansion of the American middle class occurred during the industrial era, not World War II. It is fashionable among liberals to say that Reagan’s economic policies didn’t work. The only problem with that statement is that Reagan’s economic policies did in fact work. the economy grew at record rates, jobs were created, and wealth increased. The only people who were left out where those who are stuck in the perpetuated poverty of the welfare classes.
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