How to Create a Goldilocks Government
We can argue about details but must agree on fundamentals.
For a thorough explanation read The Goldilocks Manifesto. These are a few of my thoughts.
How do we create a good government? We must first recognize that we can’t maximize good. No matter how much good we do, someone could always do more. Rather than trying to maximize good, we should try to minimize harm.
Government is good. Too much government is tyranny. That is harmful. Too little government is anarchy. That is also harmful. By minimizing harm, we create a government that is neither too much nor too little. It is just right.
How does that advance our situation?
At one point in my life, I was more of a libertarian. I wanted a minimal government. I had become active in the Whatcom County Republican Party. In fact, I was a precinct officer, secretary, and newsletter editor. One day I said something and Mark Nelson, chair of the WCRP said, “Bob you are not an anarchist!” I realized he was right. I want a good government.
Where is the line? How do we decide that we should be doing this and we should not be doing that? How do we minimize harm?
Perhaps, you will agree with me that we should not be spending money on programs that are not solving a problem. Healthcare is a great example. We don’t really have healthcare. We have disease care. A disease is diagnosed, and we use the scientific method to determine what is the best treatment for the diagnosis. Medicare, Medicaid and private insurance cover the costs of treatment.
The scientific method requires that we define a problem. Establish a possible solution. Then, test the solution.
Imagine if we used that process in all of government. What is the problem? How can we solve it? How do we test our solution?
In healthcare, new treatments are being created. They are tested against old methods.
Similarly, our government should allow new approaches to problems to be tested. We would change our approaches based on new data. We would change our spending to be more efficient at solving the problem. We would also look at all problems to prioritize spending. As society evolves our problems change.
There is no limit to what you could do to improve your health. I believe that regular chiropractic checkups are beneficial. Others believe in exercise, massage, acupuncture, Reiki, etc. Today, you have probably heard or seen an advertisement for a food supplement that would help you. If government tried to pay for everything that might be beneficial, we would quickly be bankrupt. There is obviously a limit to how much “good” government can do.
Do I want people to be healthy? Absolutely. Health is not a harm. Nobody wants to minimize health.
How do we incentivize people to take healthy actions and reduce the burden of treating disease? I think education is the best way. We can’t make appropriate choices if we don’t know about the alternatives.
There is much more to The Goldilocks Revolution. I encourage you to download the book. Consider joining the movement.
If you have any questions, I’d be happy to set up a meeting with Rick Raddatz, you and me. You’d have a chance to ask Rick anything you want.
I think it is time to get beyond being Democrat or Republican and get behind a movement for good government. This isn’t just for U.S.A. The ideas apply to all societies.