Can government solve our problems – or is it the problem?

Ronald Reagan asked a question years ago that is still relevant today: Is government the solution or is it the problem?

Reagan, our 40th President, actually said it more emphatically:

“Government’s not the solution to the problem. Government is the problem.” And this remains true.

As we look at California spending $24 billion to eradicate homelessness only to see the problem get worse, the city of Los Angeles ineptly battling fires and the Chicago Teachers Union fighting for a multibillion-dollar contract increase the city can’t afford, it brings to mind something else Reagan said:

“The nine most frightening words in the English language are ‘I’m from the government and I’m here to help.’”

Forty-plus years later, his words ring truer than ever.

What’s interesting is that after the explosive growth of government under communist Joe Biden (fine, call him a socialist or liberal Democrat; it’s all heading toward the same goal), voters overwhelmingly elected Donald Trump.

Trump grew the government during his first term, but most of that came during 2020 when the nation was grappling with how to respond to the COVID-19 pandemic. Trump wasn’t a perfect fiscal conservative, but his efforts followed many of its principles. 

Now seasoned and wiser, he prepares to enter his next term ready to dismantle as much of the federal bureaucracy as possible, going so far as to name billionaires Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy directors of the new federal Department of Government Efficiency, or DOGE. 

Trump’s long been after the “Deep State” – entrenched bureaucrats and special interests who run our government behind the scenes – and his efforts to turn the tide and set America on a new course are well-anticipated. 

It won’t be easy, but what more proof of the need do we require?  

All the spending of the so-called “Inflation Reduction Act” actually accomplished the exact opposite, propelling inflation to a 40-year high (it was 1.4% when Trump left office) proving that excessive government intervention doesn’t work and, in fact, makes things worse.  

This trend isn’t new: Government intervention such as price controls in the 1970s failed to save the economy, and even made it decidedly worse. It was Reagan’s tax cuts and deregulation that unleashed American ingenuity, creativity and industry, leading to a prolonged wave of prosperity. 

Today, Reagan’s words still reverberate. There’s nothing worse than hearing “I’m from the government and I’m here to help.”

Whether it’s “fixing” the economy, educating our children or doing any number of things that are best left to private individuals and industry, more government isn’t the answer. Indeed, Obamacare has failed utterly to bring down insurance premiums, which continue to rise. 

What if the hallmark of Trump’s next term is returning power to the people, stripping government of its monopolies, including “public” education, and unleashing a new wave of American excellence and innovation? 

In many ways it’s already here, as the collapse of government schools during COVID unleashed a tide of educational creativity that persists to this day. 

Trump is a fan of school choice, and a national measure could pass on his watch, empowering people everywhere to use their tax dollars to choose the education that is right for their child. 

This is the type of government “help” that we need: simply freeing people to make the best decisions for their family, business and money. 

Gone are the days of looking for government to solve our problems. We tried that under Biden and it was an unmitigated disaster. (Don’t even get me started with his foreign policy blunders; the world is much less safe and peaceful today than when Trump left office four years ago.)  

Freedom works if it is allowed to work. It’s time to slay the government bureaucracy. To that I say, “Go, Trump, go!”  

This year and beyond, let freedom ring!