Pitiful parables

My stepson, who just turned 18 and will be voting for the first time in the November election, sent me the email below - his grandmother had forwarded it to him, complete with a ringing endorsement. It annoyed me, so I felt compelled to write a long, intellectual response. But seriously, he's at a critical phase in the development of his political perspective, so I thought I was obligated to put this fairy tale into some kind of context.

There was a Chemistry professor was asked this question by a foreign student in his class, "Do you know how to catch wild pigs?" [There is a long explanation of putting out free corn and trapping the pigs] . . . soon they go back to eating the free corn. They are so used to it that they have forgotten how to forage in thewoods for themselves, so they accept their captivity. The young man then told the professor that is exactly what he sees happening to America . The government keeps pushing us toward socialism and keeps spreading the free corn out in the form of programs such as supplemental income, tax credit for unearned income, tobacco subsidies, dairy subsidies, payments not to plant crops (CRP), welfare, medicine, drugs, etc. while we continually lose our freedoms - just a little at a time. [It goes on and on like this.]

[Her endorsement] How profound and true . . . Here is something to think about in this time of electioneering when every candidate seems to be trying to "out give" his/her opponent.

MY RESPONSE [Rich will love this!]:

This parable is incredibly out of date. Maybe this rang true to some extent in the 1960s or 1970s, but whatever socialistic tendencies America had have been gone for at least 2 decades. The prescription drug benefit for seniors is the first new government program in almost 30 years. What "free lunch" can anyone point to in America? We don't get our heathcare from the government, many people use alternatives to public education, at both the elem-secondary levels and for college, while Social Security is a safety net of sorts, no one depends completely on it for their retirement.

In America, quite the opposite is true - ever since Reagan was elected in 1980, the government has provided less and less. Bush has continued in this tradition - many government agencies have been actively reduced or just allowed to languish. Think FEMA. Think EPA. Think FDA (food inspection). Even medical research gets much less government funding now compared with 20 or 30 years ago - it's all paid for with private money. This story may appeal on some emotional level, but it doesn't match reality at all.

As for candidates trying to "out give" each other - that doesn't match reality either. Maybe 20 years ago, but the political narrative in this country now is "do for yourself" and "get government out of it." Look at the phenomenon of Ron Paul's candidacy - he's a libertarian, who wants the government to be involved in nothing but defense of the nation, and "average" people just love him.

What is the purpose of government? This is a question that people must answer when deciding who to vote for and deciding what role they think the government should take in the major concerns of the day. Should the government help control gas prices? What do all those people who support Ron Paul say about that? Should the government raise the fuel efficiency standards on cars so that automakers are forced to build cars that get better gas mileage? Should the government protect wildlife areas from commercial development? Should the government force schools to close if they don't meeting certain testing standards? Should the government provide healthcare for people who can't afford it? Should the government provide subsidized student loans to make it easier to go to college? Should the government provide tax breaks or subsidies to farmers to make certain foods more available and more affordable? Should the government provide emergency help for people when disaster strikes? Are these things the "free lunch" that this parable is talking about? Instead of relying on sound bites, everyone needs to think about what they want their government to do and what they think government should not be involved in. It's more complicated than it looks!