The Federal Government: The Can't Do Government

(6 of 6)

The consequences of such government paralysis are most apparent in California, where the 1978 Proposition 13 ballot initiative sparked the antitax revolt that swept the country. Now, with the state government hobbled by tax restrictions and unable to respond to public pressure, citizen initiatives have mushroomed. California had 29 propositions on its ballot last year on matters ranging from limits on auto insurance to new tobacco taxes. William Zimmerman, who helps organize such voter initiatives, admits that they are not the best way to handle complex issues. But, he says, "if the alternative is no action, I'll take the flawed solution."

Citizen initiatives can be an example of democracy at work. But in this case they are symptomatic of governmental decay at all levels. Once a great engine of social and economic improvement, the Federal Government began to lose its bearings in the '60s and '70s in the midst of wars, both cold and hot, domestic upheavals and a worldwide economic revolution. As the nation's economic base began to contract, some basic elements of the American Dream -- homeownership, a college education -- began slowly to recede. The Government responded fitfully to these developments and eventually took on the form of a bloated, inefficient, helpless giant.

Jimmy Carter in 1976 and, far more stridently, Ronald Reagan in 1980 performed a valuable service by calling attention to the giant's weaknesses. But Reagan's approach, once he was elected, was fundamentally flawed. So is George Bush's. Government was not the problem. The problem was, and still is, that the country was being governed badly. The conservative complaint that only liberal elitists think Washington must actually do something is self- evidently silly. Of course, the Government must do something. That is why it exists: to act in ways that improve the lives of its citizens and their security in the world. The list of missed opportunities and ignored challenges is already much too long. The sooner Government sets about doing its job again, the better.