Government is a necessary evil. It is evil because we are only human and it is too much our nature to exploit power of the type that government by its coercive power embodies.
As I said, of course we need some government, but we’ve had if anything too much government for so long now that too little government is hardly a concern.
Instead, we labor under federal, state, and local behemoths that are overfed leeches sucking off the energy from the dwindling private sector.
If Perry has lured a company from another state, he hasn’t created any jobs, though he may have contributed to some relocations and the replacement of jobs for some people with jobs for others. Keeping taxes lower than elsewhere is a good thing, but it doesn’t create jobs. Only those within that geography who actually put together and get up and running a business create jobs.
Why don’t you want to give those working in the private sector their due?
“Government is a necessary evil.”
So you believe that government is incapable of doing any good? I’d say that something must be at least partially good by virtue of being necessary. Food, water, and air are also necessary. I think it’s pretty good when I get enough of them, but they can also be pretty bad if there’s too much.
If you say government is always evil because it’s composed of people who are, by nature, evil, then what isn’t evil? The free market is evil. It’s composed of people who act selfishly, and we generally think selfishness is evil.
So I think the phrase, “government is a necessary evil” is just some pat saying we conservatives love to toss out there. It has an element of truth to it and it’s useful for characterizing our ideology, but it over simplifies the very complex relationship man has with government. Tell me, for example, government is evil when it prevents a hostile military from coming in and killing you and yours!
“...he (Governor Perry) may have contributed to some relocations and the replacement of jobs for some people with jobs for others.”
This also implies job creation is a zero sum game. It’s not. If the Texas government creates an environment that helps companies proper, it would likely result in more jobs.
How does a government create an environment like that? Good roads, a solid education system, the rule of law, low taxes, minimum necessary regulation, etc. What if your customers can barely reach your business because the roads are bad or they’re robbed enroute? Completely separate government from the free market and what do you have? A minimalist economy based mostly on trade.