I regret the fact that so many Conservatives are so comfortable with spending and increasing the size of the state. I don't think it's at all unrealistic for Dale to call for the government to cut spending. Sure, even government's on the right increase spending, but does that really mean that we just give up?
I especially agree with this point:
The trouble with too many modern day politicians (and commentators) is that they look at government as it is, not how they think it should be. It has become so bloated and thirsty for taxpayers' money that it seems almost impossible to reverse the trend of public spending growth. There are, of course, areas where Conservatives would indeed continue the growth of spending, but equally, there are areas where that savings can be made - either through efficiency savings or outright abolition of wasteful government programmes. In a budget of £617 billion no one could possibly assert that that there are no savings to be made or priorities to be altered.Again, I'd stress Conservative politicians and commentators.
Allowing the state to expand can often be seen by the government as a tacit approval from its citizens to hike taxes. I think Dale's spot on - the real evil here is the size of the state. The sooner Conservatives address this, the better.
2 comments:
Well said.
You will have read my comments here about the growth in spending and the size of the state and how we need to reframe the debate away from the socialist narrative of "if you pay tax you are a good citizen, if you pay more tax you are a BETTER citizen" to "value for money".
Right now the NHS and our education service do not represent a good ROI and that needs to be addressed.
It's odd. I'm not a huge fan of McCain, but I'm somewhat perplexed by the negative coverage he gets from the right, especially those who choose to call him "a liberal". This is coming from people who supported Bush - the man who made the Great Society look fiscally prudent.
I'm concerned at the extent that Conservatives have accepted a new social democratic consensus, especially on public spending. I've already stated that Cameron's speech could easily have been written by Tony Crosland. Even if public spending is reduced as a percentage of GDP, it's still a threat to personal choice and liberty. It's deeply regretable that so many Conservatives appear to embrace this.
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