The Case for Small Government in the BP Oil Spill

In the first 30-45 days of the BP oil spill there was an outcry from small government conservative governors and legislators who were pleading with the federal government to speed up the response and increase available resources to fight the oil spill. Many people in the media were asking if there was a contradiction in their philosophy. How can one be so opposed to big government, but when things go wrong they scream and yell for government assistance? This is a great question, but it was answered very poorly by those who were asked.

After the recent trend of botched relief/recovery operations by the federal government e.g. Hurricane Katrina and BP Oil Spill it would seem that the government is trending downward in what would be considered its critical functions or core competencies. What is the cause of this decline and what can we do to correct it?

The concept of the "core competency" is something that business has understood for a long time. Essentially, the concept embraces the principle that the further away you get from what you are good at then the less effective you will be at doing anything. This has been proven true by the government and businesses and as of late the gulf coast has suffered the most. The original intent for our government can be summed up best by Thomas Jefferson:

"A wise and frugal government, which shall restrain men from injuring one another, which shall leave them otherwise free to regulate their own pursuits of industry and improvement, and shall not take from the mouth of labor the bread it has earned. This is the sum of good government."

With government now running health care, parts of the automotive industry, and large swaths of the financial industry, while also eyeing takeovers for newspapers, radio and other media it is clear they have strayed from the government's rightful scope intended by our founding fathers. This new direction puts more strain on already scarce resources and puts people at risk. When lives and livelihoods are at stake in situations like the BP Oil Spill we simply cannot afford a fractured government that lacks focus and competence in its critical functions. When the federal government proves itself to be impotent and restricts state and local government from doing what needs to be done, then it is the responsibility of the states to shrug off the federal government and do what is necessary to protect its citizens. In turn, it is the citizens responsibility to protect those elected officials that choose to take the risk and do the right thing. Force your elected leaders to take a stand and hold their feet to the fire. Whether its your local, state or national leaders don't allow them to continue to make big promises with no results. Don't continue to allow a government that makes mediocrity something to strive for.

In conclusion, the simple truth is that if the government were smaller, it would be more effective during the times we really need it. So the outcry from small government advocates should continue. After all if they had their way with government then most of this pain could be avoided. Our question should no longer be what power and responsibility can we give the government, but what power and responsibility should we give the government?