Benjamin Franklin stated that "those willing to trade some freedom
for the promise of security deserve neither freedom nor security".

1: I wasn't talking about security.

2: The quote does not really refer to government excess, which is what
we are discussing. It refers to the impossibility of providing security
without sacrificing so much freedom it's too much.

3: You said, in the same post:

The job of government is not to "serve" us.. its job is to provide
national security so that our citizens can thrive...

So, maybe =you= should read Franklin's quote.

Maybe you accept the fact that your taxes should support the education
and 'entertainment' of other people's children but I don't. It is the
responsibility of the parents...

Well, yes. But it is important to me that future voters, who =will=
decide the future of this country, be educated. You may not like the
state of public schools here, but there are quite a few parents who
would choose not to educate their children were it to cost them. Some
can't afford it, some don't see the value of education, and some want or
need helping hands at home. All of those children will vote one day.

There are some things that are tailor-made for government - among them
law enforcement and national defense. There are other things for which
government is a reasonable venue. Pure scientific research is such a
thing. It helps make our nation strong, even if there are no economic
benefits (which would attract the profit sector), because it makes this
country attractive to brainpower. Then, there are the ancillary things.
It makes little sense =not= to spend a little extra tax money to take
services that the government needs for its own uses and make them
available to the public who paid for them. Weather forecasting is such
a thing. And making that forecast available in the language of a
significant segment of the populace is (IMHO) included in this.

Yes, one must be alert for bloat and corruption. But this is not where
it is.

Jose
--
Humans are pack animals. Above all things, they have a deep need to
follow something, be it a leader, a creed, or a mob. Whosoever fully
understands this holds the world in his hands.
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